Bernard Taylor, Baron Taylor of Mansfield
Encyclopedia
Bernard Taylor, Baron Taylor of Mansfield, CBE
, JP
(18 September 1895 – 11 April 1991) was a British
coalminer and politician who was a Labour Party
Member of Parliament
(MP) for 25 years.
in Nottinghamshire
and left school at 14 to work at the Sherwood Colliery. After working at the coalface for several years, he was promoted to be a checkweighman. He was a conscientious objector
in the First World War
. He was elected to Mansfield-Woodhouse Urban District Council in 1925, also serving on the Board of Guardians
. From the 1929 general election
he was Election Agent for Mansfield Constituency Labour Party
, and organised the successful election campaigns of Charles Brown
.
Taylor kept the Mansfield seat Labour despite the electoral disaster of 1931
and in slightly more favourable times in 1935
. That year he had himself been elected to Nottinghamshire County Council, and he was President of the Nottinghamshire Miners' Association in 1936-37, and Vice-President of the Notts Miners' Federated Union from 1937 to 1941.
. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Ben Smith
, who was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aircraft Production in the wartime coalition government.
, the Minister of National Insurance. While this job normally entailed managing relations between the Minister and Parliamentary colleagues, Taylor also accompanied Griffiths on trips in the country. He was promoted to be Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Insurance in March 1950, after the 1950 general election
, and served until the Labour government went out of office in October 1951.
, opposing German rearmament and the development of the Hydrogen bomb. However, he was critical of the Soviet action in Hungary
in 1956 and thereafter. Following the Cuban missile crisis, he was one of the MPs who signed a letter calling on U.S. President John F. Kennedy
to withdraw Polaris and Thor missiles from the UK as a gesture in response to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev
withdrawing Soviet missiles from Cuba.
in the dissolution honours after the 1966 general election
and took the title Baron Taylor of Mansfield, of Mansfield in the County of Nottingham. That year he was also awarded the CBE
. Taylor wrote his memoirs, "Uphill All the Way", in 1973.
against the Industrial Relations Bill, a move of which the Labour whips did not approve. He voted for divorce reform but against legalised euthanasia
. In the short Parliament of 1974 he was chosen to move the motion for an humble address in reply to the Queen's Speech. During the Common Market referendum campaign of 1975, Taylor campaigned for a 'No' vote.
He was a diligent attender in the Lords, even in his 90s. In the 1988-89 session, Taylor attended 133 of 153 sitting days.
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...
, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(18 September 1895 – 11 April 1991) 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...
coalminer and politician who was a Labour Party
Labour 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...
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,...
(MP) for 25 years.
Mining
Taylor was from a mining family in Mansfield WoodhouseMansfield Woodhouse
Mansfield Woodhouse is a large village about 2 kilometres north of Mansfield itself, in Nottinghamshire, England. With a history dating back before the Romans, it is still noteworthy for its stone built town centre...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and left school at 14 to work at the Sherwood Colliery. After working at the coalface for several years, he was promoted to be a checkweighman. He was a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
in the First World War
Politics
A member of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, Taylor also joined 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...
. He was elected to Mansfield-Woodhouse Urban District Council in 1925, also serving on the Board of Guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
. From the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
he was Election Agent for Mansfield Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
, and organised the successful election campaigns of Charles Brown
Charles Brown (Labour politician)
Charles Brown was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected at the 1929 general election as Member of Parliament for Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, and held the seat until his death in 1940, at the age of 56....
.
Taylor kept the Mansfield seat Labour despite the electoral disaster of 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
and in slightly more favourable times in 1935
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
. That year he had himself been elected to Nottinghamshire County Council, and he was President of the Nottinghamshire Miners' Association in 1936-37, and Vice-President of the Notts Miners' Federated Union from 1937 to 1941.
Parliament
Mansfield's Labour MP Charles Brown died just before Christmas 1940. Taylor was his obvious successor and he was elected unopposed at a by-election in April 1941Mansfield by-election, 1941
The Mansfield by-election, 1941 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Mansfield on 9th April 1941. The seat had become vacant when the Labour Member of Parliament Charles Brown had died on 22 December 1940...
. He was 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 Ben Smith
Ben Smith (British Labour politician)
Sir Benjamin Smith, PC was a Labour Party politician in England. A driver of one of London's first taxicabs, he was Member of Parliament for Rotherhithe from 1923 until 1931 and from 1935 until 1946...
, who was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aircraft Production in the wartime coalition government.
Ministerial office
Much of Taylor's concerns related to the welfare problems of miners and in the post-war Labour government he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim GriffithsJim Griffiths
James "Jim" Griffiths CH , was a Welsh Labour politician, trade union leader and the first ever Secretary of State for Wales.-Background and education:...
, the Minister of National Insurance. While this job normally entailed managing relations between the Minister and Parliamentary colleagues, Taylor also accompanied Griffiths on trips in the country. He was promoted to be Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Insurance in March 1950, after 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...
, and served until the Labour government went out of office in October 1951.
Political outlook
In opposition, Taylor continued to take up issues such as workers' compensation for industrial injuries and improved welfare benefits. He often spoke on mining issues. During the Labour Party split in the early 1950s, Taylor sided with the left and Aneurin BevanAneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
, opposing German rearmament and the development of the Hydrogen bomb. However, he was critical of the Soviet 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...
in 1956 and thereafter. Following the Cuban missile crisis, he was one of the MPs who signed a letter calling on U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to withdraw Polaris and Thor missiles from the UK as a gesture in response to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
withdrawing Soviet missiles from Cuba.
Peerage
Taylor announced his retirement at the age of 70 in December 1965. He was created a life peerLife 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...
in the dissolution honours after the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
and took the title Baron Taylor of Mansfield, of Mansfield in the County of Nottingham. That year he was also awarded 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...
. Taylor wrote his memoirs, "Uphill All the Way", in 1973.
House of Lords
In 1971 Taylor joined with Lord Blyton (another former miner MP made a Peer) to divide the House of LordsHouse 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....
against the Industrial Relations Bill, a move of which the Labour whips did not approve. He voted for divorce reform but against legalised euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. In the short Parliament of 1974 he was chosen to move the motion for an humble address in reply to the Queen's Speech. During the Common Market referendum campaign of 1975, Taylor campaigned for a 'No' vote.
He was a diligent attender in the Lords, even in his 90s. In the 1988-89 session, Taylor attended 133 of 153 sitting days.