Beatrice Seear, Baroness Seear
Encyclopedia
Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear PC
(7 August 1913– 23 April 1997) was a British
social scientist and politician. She was leader of the Liberal Party
in the House of Lords
from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
in the House of Lords from 1988 to 1997. She was also appointed Privy Councillor in 1985.
in 1963 she was approached by the Rev. Mary Webster, who had given up her work as a Minister to care for her aged parents, and hit the UK headlines with her highly effective campaigning work. Nancy Seear said that within five minutes of meeting Mary Webster "I knew that she was someone quite exceptional" (Tim Cook, 2007)
She became one of twelve founder member of the NCSWD - the National Council for Single Woman and Her Dependants on 15 December 1965. Another prominent member was Sir Keith Joseph. She continued working for the movement and eventually became a Patron of Carers National Association when it was formed by a merger with the Association of Carers on 14 May 1988.
She was unmarried.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(7 August 1913– 23 April 1997) 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...
social scientist and politician. She was leader of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
in the House of Lords from 1988 to 1997. She was also appointed Privy Councillor in 1985.
Career
- Born in CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Surrey - Educated at Croydon High SchoolCroydon High SchoolCroydon High School for Girls GDST is a leading non-denominational independent school for girls, located near Croydon, Greater London, England. It is one of the schools in the Girls' Day School Trust....
, Newnham CollegeNewnham College, CambridgeNewnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and the London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
; - Personnel Officer, C & J Clark Ltd, 1936–1946; seconded as part-time member of staff, Production Efficiency Board, Ministry of Aircraft Production, 1943–1945;
- Teacher of, and Reader in, Personnel Management, LSE, 1946–1978;
- contested HornchurchHornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)Hornchurch was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, 1950 and 1951, Truro, 1955 and 1959, EppingEpping (UK Parliament constituency)Epping was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1974. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, 1964, RochdaleRochdale (UK Parliament constituency)Rochdale is a county 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:...
, 1966, and WakefieldWakefield (UK Parliament constituency)Wakefield is a county 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:...
, 1970, as a Liberal; - President, Liberal Party, 1964–1965;
- President, Fawcett SocietyFawcett SocietyThe Fawcett Society is an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation's roots date back to 1866 when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage....
, 1970–1985; - Top Salaries Review Board, 1971–1984;
- created Life Peer, 1971;
- Member of Council, Industrial SocietyIndustrial societyIn sociology, industrial society refers to a society driven by the use of technology to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the west in the period of time following the Industrial Revolution, and replaced...
, 1972–1984; - President, British Standards Institute, 1974–1977;
- President, Women's Liberal Federation, 1974;
- Hansard Social Commission on Electoral Reform, 1975–1976;
- President, Institute of Personnel Management, 1977–1979;
- Visiting Professor of Personnel Management, City University, LondonCity University, LondonCity University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
, 1980–1987; - Leader of the Liberal Party, House of Lords, 1984–1988;
- Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, House of Lords, 1988–1997;
- Honorary President of the National Postgraduate CommitteeNational Postgraduate CommitteeThe National Postgraduate Committee of the United Kingdom represents postgraduates at UK universities. Since 2002 it has held charitable status...
, 1991–1997
Carers champion
Baroness Seear was also remembered as a pioneer for Carers and women's rights. As a Reader in Personnel Management at the LSELondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1963 she was approached by the Rev. Mary Webster, who had given up her work as a Minister to care for her aged parents, and hit the UK headlines with her highly effective campaigning work. Nancy Seear said that within five minutes of meeting Mary Webster "I knew that she was someone quite exceptional" (Tim Cook, 2007)
She became one of twelve founder member of the NCSWD - the National Council for Single Woman and Her Dependants on 15 December 1965. Another prominent member was Sir Keith Joseph. She continued working for the movement and eventually became a Patron of Carers National Association when it was formed by a merger with the Association of Carers on 14 May 1988.
She was unmarried.
Archives
- Papers of Baroness Beatrice Nancy Seear are held at The Women's Library at London Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
, ref 7BNS
Publications
- A career for women in industry (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1964);
- Policies for incomes (Liberal Publication Department, London, 1967);
- Training: the fulcrum of change (British Association for Commercial and Industrial Education, London, 1976);
- Interdependence and survival: population policies and environmental control (Wyndham Place Trust, London, 1976);
- Women in the penal system (Report for the Howard League for Penal Reform, 1986);
- Education: a quantum leap? (Hebden Royd Publications, Hebden Bridge, 1988).