Arthur Moyle, Baron Moyle
Encyclopedia
Arthur Moyle, Baron Moyle CBE
(25 September 1894 – 23 December 1974) was a British
bricklayer, trade union
official and politician. As a Member of Parliament
for nineteen years, he was principally known for serving as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Clement Attlee
during Attlee's Premiership. He was also perennially lucky in the ballot for Private Member's Bill
s.
, the son of a stonemason. He grew up in Llanidloes
, Montgomeryshire
and went to the National School there. He learned the trade of a bricklayer
, and worked in Wales and the Welsh Marches
. He was active in trade union work and in 1918, he became Secretary of the Shrewsbury
Building Trades Federation.
, and in the 1924 general election
he was chosen as Labour Party candidate for Torquay
. Moyle's intervention in what was a close fight between the Conservatives and Liberals, where Labour had not fought in the two previous elections, was met with annoyance on the part of the Liberal Party. In the end, the Liberals lost the seat by much more than the 2,752 votes which Moyle obtained.
, which made him responsible for local authority workers generally and not just those in construction. In the year 1937-38 Moyle was Chairman of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Non-Trading Services. He was a spokesman of a delegation to the government to ask for pensions for manual workers as well as local government officers in 1937.
In May 1938 he joined a delegation pressing for a Whitley Council for nurses, to fix minimum salaries and maximum hours. During the Second World War, Moyle served on a departmental committee on Nurses' salaries under Lord Rushcliffe
. Moyle was a member of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Administrative Professional, Technical and Clerical Staffs, and in 1945 was chairman of the Trade Union Congress Local Advisory Committee.
in January 1940, His chance to fight the seat had to be delayed during the war, but when the election came in 1945
he won the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of nearly 16,000. In Parliament he concentrated on local authority workers' issues, and in supporting the National Insurance Bill in February 1946, he spoke of his concern for the local authority staff who would find themselves redundant after the Bill became law. He called for adequate compensation to be paid.
to the Prime Minister
, Clement Attlee
, following Geoffrey de Freitas
who had been given a ministerial post. The appointment gave Moyle a central role in managing relations between Attlee and government backbenchers, and almost silenced him in the chamber of the House of Commons. Attlee gave his PPS access to almost all important decisions, and respected Moyle's advice on the sometimes fractious Parliamentary Labour Party
.
in the 1950 general election
. That November, he drew top place in the ballot for Private Member's Bill
s, and introduced a Bill to tighten up the licensing of fireworks
. The Bill passed into law. Moyle continued to act as Attlee's Parliamentary Private Secretary when Labour went into opposition after the 1951 general election
, and received the CBE
in Attlee's resignation honours list.
In July 1952 Moyle insisted that civil defence, even in the nuclear age, should not be made into a disciplined force, but instead find its own level of discipline as in the Second World War. In November 1953 he came top of the ballot for Private Member's Bills, and chose the subject of humane slaughter of horse
s. His Bill received government support and was also enacted. Later, in June 1957, Moyle was elected chairman of the International League for the Protection of Horses.
, Moyle stated that Britain had destroyed her moral authority by one action and lost the opportunity to criticise the Soviet Union
for its action in Hungary
. He wanted courts martial to be composed of petty officers and ratings as well as officers.
on the children of divorce
d people. As with his previous Bills, he secured government support and received Royal Assent. In 1957 and 1958, Moyle ran unsuccessfully for the Shadow Cabinet
, although he polled poorly.
After the 1959 general election
, Moyle found himself unable to play an active part in Parliament due to illness. His lack of participation was highlighted by the BBC
television programme "That Was The Week That Was
" in January 1963, which listed all 13 MPs who had not made a speech in the entire Parliament. He announced his retirement, and left the House at the 1964 general election
.
to urge that one cricket
test match in each tour should be allocated to South Wales. In the Queen's Birthday honours list of 1966, he was given a life peer
age, taking the title Baron Moyle. On the death of Earl Attlee (as he had since become), Moyle was named as his literary executor
. In March 1970 he spoke against making an application to join the European Communities
, arguing that Britain should stand by the United States
who had stood by Britain in two world wars and were continuing to do so.
Moyle married Elizabeth Evans from Llanidloes in 1921, but was widowed in 1949. Their son, Roland Moyle
, was later a Labour Member of Parliament in Lewisham. He married Lena Bassett in 1952.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(25 September 1894 – 23 December 1974) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bricklayer, trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
official and politician. As a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for nineteen years, he was principally known for serving as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
during Attlee's Premiership. He was also perennially lucky in the ballot for Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
s.
Early work
Moyle was a native of CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, the son of a stonemason. He grew up in Llanidloes
Llanidloes
Llanidloes is a town along the A470 road and B4518 road in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire , Mid Wales.It is the first town on the River Severn...
, Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
and went to the National School there. He learned the trade of a bricklayer
Bricklayer
A bricklayer or mason is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...
, and worked in Wales and the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
. He was active in trade union work and in 1918, he became Secretary of the Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
Building Trades Federation.
1924 election
From 1920 Moyle was promoted to be an official of the National Federation of Building Trade Operatives. He also became active in the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, and in the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
he was chosen as Labour Party candidate for Torquay
Torquay (UK Parliament constituency)
Torquay was a county constituency in Devon, South West England, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. Moyle's intervention in what was a close fight between the Conservatives and Liberals, where Labour had not fought in the two previous elections, was met with annoyance on the part of the Liberal Party. In the end, the Liberals lost the seat by much more than the 2,752 votes which Moyle obtained.
Trade union work
After trade union mergers, Moyle became National Officer of the National Union of Public EmployeesNational Union of Public Employees
The National Union of Public Employees was a British trade union which represented public sector workers. The union was founded in 1908 as the National Union of Corporation Workers, which split from the Municipal Employees Association, following Albin Taylor's dismissal as General Secretary...
, which made him responsible for local authority workers generally and not just those in construction. In the year 1937-38 Moyle was Chairman of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Non-Trading Services. He was a spokesman of a delegation to the government to ask for pensions for manual workers as well as local government officers in 1937.
In May 1938 he joined a delegation pressing for a Whitley Council for nurses, to fix minimum salaries and maximum hours. During the Second World War, Moyle served on a departmental committee on Nurses' salaries under Lord Rushcliffe
Henry Betterton, 1st Baron Rushcliffe
Henry Bucknall Betterton, 1st Baron Rushcliffe GBE, PC , known as Sir Henry Betterton, Bt, between 1929 and 1935, was a British barrister and Conservative politician...
. Moyle was a member of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Administrative Professional, Technical and Clerical Staffs, and in 1945 was chairman of the Trade Union Congress Local Advisory Committee.
Member of Parliament
Moyle had been adopted as Labour Parliamentary candidate for StourbridgeStourbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Stourbridge is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
in January 1940, His chance to fight the seat had to be delayed during the war, but when the election came in 1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
he won the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of nearly 16,000. In Parliament he concentrated on local authority workers' issues, and in supporting the National Insurance Bill in February 1946, he spoke of his concern for the local authority staff who would find themselves redundant after the Bill became law. He called for adequate compensation to be paid.
Parliamentary Private Secretary
In May 1946, Moyle was appointed as Parliamentary Private SecretaryParliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
, following Geoffrey de Freitas
Geoffrey de Freitas
Sir Geoffrey Stanley de Freitas was a British politician and diplomat. For many years a Labour Member of Parliament, he also served as British High Commissioner in Accra and Nairobi, and later as President of the Council of Europe....
who had been given a ministerial post. The appointment gave Moyle a central role in managing relations between Attlee and government backbenchers, and almost silenced him in the chamber of the House of Commons. Attlee gave his PPS access to almost all important decisions, and respected Moyle's advice on the sometimes fractious Parliamentary Labour Party
Parliamentary Labour Party
In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....
.
Private member's bills
After boundary changes, Moyle was elected for Oldbury and HalesowenOldbury and Halesowen (UK Parliament constituency)
Oldbury and Halesowen was a parliamentary constituency in the West Midlands, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election....
in the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
. That November, he drew top place in the ballot for Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
s, and introduced a Bill to tighten up the licensing of fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
. The Bill passed into law. Moyle continued to act as Attlee's Parliamentary Private Secretary when Labour went into opposition after the 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
, and received the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in Attlee's resignation honours list.
In July 1952 Moyle insisted that civil defence, even in the nuclear age, should not be made into a disciplined force, but instead find its own level of discipline as in the Second World War. In November 1953 he came top of the ballot for Private Member's Bills, and chose the subject of humane slaughter of horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s. His Bill received government support and was also enacted. Later, in June 1957, Moyle was elected chairman of the International League for the Protection of Horses.
Air pollution
After Attlee retired as Leader of the Opposition, Moyle was allowed to range more widely in his contributions. He was particularly concerned about air pollution and complained that smokeless fuel was too expensive and slow to order; he advocated the nationalisation of the companies who made it in order to expand production. During the Suez crisisSuez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
, Moyle stated that Britain had destroyed her moral authority by one action and lost the opportunity to criticise the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for its action in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He wanted courts martial to be composed of petty officers and ratings as well as officers.
Third private member's bill
Moyle topped the ballot for Private Member's Bills for a third time in November 1957. This time he introduced a Bill to implement recommendations of a Royal CommissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on the children of divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d people. As with his previous Bills, he secured government support and received Royal Assent. In 1957 and 1958, Moyle ran unsuccessfully for the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
, although he polled poorly.
After the 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, Moyle found himself unable to play an active part in Parliament due to illness. His lack of participation was highlighted by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television programme "That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
" in January 1963, which listed all 13 MPs who had not made a speech in the entire Parliament. He announced his retirement, and left the House at the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
.
Life peerage
In September 1965, Moyle wrote to The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to urge that one cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
test match in each tour should be allocated to South Wales. In the Queen's Birthday honours list of 1966, he was given a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
age, taking the title Baron Moyle. On the death of Earl Attlee (as he had since become), Moyle was named as his literary executor
Literary executor
A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of a literary estate. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate...
. In March 1970 he spoke against making an application to join the European Communities
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, arguing that Britain should stand by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who had stood by Britain in two world wars and were continuing to do so.
Moyle married Elizabeth Evans from Llanidloes in 1921, but was widowed in 1949. Their son, Roland Moyle
Roland Moyle
Roland Dunstan Moyle is a British Labour politician.Moyle's father, Arthur Moyle, became a Labour Member of Parliament and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Clement Attlee...
, was later a Labour Member of Parliament in Lewisham. He married Lena Bassett in 1952.