William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, PC (born 1928), usually known as William Rodgers but also often known as Bill Rodgers, was one of the "Gang of Four" of senior British Labour Party politicians who defected to form the Social Democratic Party (or SDP). He subsequently helped to lead the SDP into the merger that formed the Liberal Democrats, and later served as that party's leader in the House of Lords. This article concerns the British Sovereigns Privy Council. ... 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Politics and history In Chinese history, the Gang of Four was a group of Communist politicians based in Shanghai. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or Democratic Socialist political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a United Kingdom political party that existed between 1981 and 1990. ... The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a United Kingdom political party that existed between 1981 and 1990. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

Rodgers first entered the British House of Commons in 1962, and served in Labour Governments under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, becoming Secretary of State for Transport in Callaghan's Cabinet in 1976. He held the post until Labour's defeat in the 1979 general election. With Labour drifting to the left, Rodgers joined Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins and David Owen in forming the Social Democratic Party in 1981. The House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Lords. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, PC (March 11, 1916 – May 24, 1995) was one of the more successful Labour Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and a 1960s icon. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... In British politics, the Cabinet is comprised of the most senior government ministers, most of them heads of government departments with the title Secretary of State. The Cabinet is actually a committee of the Privy Council and all Cabinet members are also Privy Councillors and therefore have the prefix of... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The UK general election, 1979 was held on May 3, 1979 and is regarded as a pivotal point in 20th century British politics. ... The Baroness Williams of Crosby Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, PC (born July 27, 1930), is a British politician. ... Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 - January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour MP in the 1960s and 1970s and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, PC (born July 2, 1938), is a British politician. ...

At the 1983 general election the SDP-Liberal Alliance won many votes but few seats, and Rodgers lost his seat of Stockton North (known as Stockton-on-Tees before the boundary changes of 1983). He remained outside Parliament, unsuccessfully contesting Milton Keynes for the SDP in the 1987 general election, until he received a life peerage in 1992. During that interval he was Director-General of the Royal Institute of British Architects and also became Chairman of the Advertising Standards Agency. The UK general election, 1983 was held on June 9, 1983 and gave the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher the second most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945. ... The SDP-Liberal Alliance was an electoral alliance of the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the UK that ran from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal Democrats. ... Stockton-on-Tees is an industrial town and port on the River Tees in north-eastern England. ... Milton Keynes (pronounced1 mill-tun keens) is a purpose-built, high technology city in the south east of England approximately 50 miles (80km) north of London and mid-way between Oxford and Cambridge. ... The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a United Kingdom political party that existed between 1981 and 1990. ... The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects in the United Kingdom. ...

In 1987 Rodgers was chairman of the successful "Yes to Unity" campaign within the SDP in favour of merger with the Liberal Party. He became the Liberal Democrats' Lords spokesman on Home Affairs in 1994 and was its leader in the Lords between 1997 and 2001. His autobiography was titled Fourth Among Equals, reflecting his position as the least prominent of the SDP's founders. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a United Kingdom political party that existed between 1981 and 1990. ... The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become known as...