Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby
Encyclopedia
Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby PC
(born 27 July 1930) is a British
politician
and academic. Originally a Labour Member of Parliament
(MP) and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four
" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party
(SDP) in 1981. In 2001–2004, she served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, and served as Adviser on Nuclear Proliferation to Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. Williams also serves as Professor Emerita of Electoral Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
.
and philosopher
Sir George Catlin
, and pacifist writer Vera Brittain
. She was educated at Talbot Heath School
in Bournemouth, St Paul's Girls' School
, London, and Somerville College, Oxford
, where she was an Open Scholar. As a member of the OUDS
she toured the USA playing the role of Cordelia in Shakespeare
's King Lear
. She was the first woman to chair the Oxford University Labour Club
(1950).
After graduating as a Bachelor of Arts
in Philosophy, Politics and Economics she was a Fulbright Scholar
and studied at Columbia University
in New York City
. On returning to Britain, she began her career as a journalist. In 1960, she became General Secretary of the Fabian Society
.
of Southampton Test at the 1959 general election
, in the 1964 general election
Williams was elected as Labour MP for the constituency
of Hitchin
in Hertfordshire
, and rose quickly to a junior ministerial position. Between 1971 and 1973 she served as shadow Home Secretary
. In 1974 she became Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection under Harold Wilson
, and, when Wilson was succeeded in 1976 by James Callaghan
, she became Secretary of State for Education and Paymaster General, two cabinet positions held at the same time.
system and the abolition of Grammar Schools. Controversially she sent her own daughter Rebecca to one of the best selective schools in London, Godolphin and Latymer. The Williams family lived outside the catchment area of this school, so Rebecca was sent to stay with friends who lived close to the school, in order to qualify for entry.
in the Labour Party general election defeat of 1979
(her seat had been renamed Hertford and Stevenage
in 1974). Williams's defeat was one of the most prominent of the election. She was interviewed by Robin Day
for BBC Television
's Decision 79 election programme shortly after learning that she had lost her seat. Merlyn Rees, the Labour Home Secretary, and Norman St John Stevas—the Conservative education spokesman who had frequently clashed with Williams at the Dispatch Box—both paid tribute to her. In 1981, unhappy with the influence of the far left in the Labour Party, she resigned from it to form the SDP, along with Roy Jenkins
, David Owen
and Bill Rodgers. Later that year, following the death of Conservative
Sir
Graham Page
, she won a by-election in Crosby
in Merseyside
, becoming the first elected SDP MP.
. She then stood for Cambridge
in the 1987 general election
, but lost to the Conservative candidate. Williams supported the SDP's 1988 merger with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats
. During this time Williams served as a BBC broadcaster on Shirley Williams in Conversation and has since appeared on many television and radio programmes. She has appeared on BBC's Question Time more than any other panellist.
to serve as a full professor at Harvard
's Kennedy School of Government until 2001, and thereafter as Public Service Professor of Electoral Politics, Emerita.
Nonetheless, she remained active in politics and public service in Britain, the United States and internationally. During these years, Williams helped draft constitutions in Russia
, Ukraine
, and South Africa
. She also served as director of Harvard's Project Liberty, an initiative designed to assist the emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe; as a board member and acting director of Harvard's famed Institute of Politics (IOP). Upon Shirley Williams' elevation to the House of Lords
in 1993, she returned to the United Kingdom and continued a more public life; but has maintained a close association with Harvard University.
Jim Callaghan, Williams was created a life peer
as The Baroness Williams of Crosby, of Stevenage in the County of Hertfordshire, in 1993 and subsequently served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2001 to 2004. Baroness Williams remains an active member of the House of Lords, and regularly speaks from the floor of the House of Lords.
Among other non-profit boards, Williams is or has been a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, the European Union
's Comité des Sages (Reflection Group) on Social Policy, the Twentieth Century Fund
, the Ditchley Foundation
, the Institute for Public Policy Research
, the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She also served as President of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
, as Commissioner of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
and as President of Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats
. Williams served as United Nations Special Representative to the Former Yugoslavia (with American politician Lynn Martin
). Williams was also an attendee of the 2010 Bilderberg
conference in Sitges, Spain.
In June 2007, after Gordon Brown
replaced Tony Blair
as Prime Minister, Williams accepted a formal Government position as Advisor on Nuclear Proliferation
provided she could serve as an independent advisor. She remains a Liberal Democrat.
Her interest and commitment to education has continued, and she serves as Chair of Judges of the British Teaching Awards.
Williams is currently a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation
, established in October 2009.
(the future head of British Rail
) and they had a relationship. In her autobiography ("Climbing the Bookshelves") Williams says that "...by the spring of 1949 I was in love with him, and he, a little, with me...".
In 1955, she married the moral philosopher Bernard Williams
. Bernard left Oxford to accommodate his wife's rising political ambitions, finding a post first at University College London
, where he worked from 1959 until 1964. He was later appointed Professor of Philosophy at Bedford College, University of London
, while she worked as a journalist for the Financial Times
. For 17 years, the couple lived in a large house in Kensington
with the literary agent Hilary Rubinstein and his wife.
During this time, described by Bernard as one of the happiest of his life, the marriage produced a daughter, Rebecca, but the development of Shirley's political career kept the couple apart, and the marked difference in their personal values—Bernard was a confirmed atheist
, Shirley a Roman Catholic—placed a strain on their relationship, which reached breaking point when Bernard had an affair with Patricia Law Skinner, then wife of the historian Quentin Skinner
. The marriage was dissolved in 1974 and Bernard Williams and Patricia Skinner subsequently married and had two sons. Shirley Williams said of her marriage to Bernard:
In 1987, she married the Harvard professor and presidential historian Richard Neustadt
. Neustadt died in 2003. She has a daughter, a stepdaughter, and two grandchildren. Williams is a Roman Catholic, visiting church almost every Sunday with her grandson.
.
Williams also has appeared more than any other panellist on the BBC political talk show Question Time
; most recently on 3 November 2011 in Westminster.
In the fictional comic strip Invasion!
, set in 1999 and first appearing in 1977, Shirley Williams was depicted as the Prime Minister, before being killed by the invading Volgans
in the first episode. References are made to this event (and Williams's premiership) in later episodes, notably the recent reboot of the strip set in 2004, where Williams is still mentioned as having been the PM at the time of the invasion and is venerated to some extent by the resistance.
On Brian Eno
's 1977 Before and After Science
album, guest musician Robert Wyatt
is credited for his percussion contributions under the pseudonym Shirley Williams.
There is a substantial article on Shirley Williams by Phillip Whitehead
in the Dictionary of Labour Biography, by Greg Rosen (ed), Politicos Publishing, 2001.
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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...
(born 27 July 1930) is 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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and academic. Originally a Labour 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) and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four
Limehouse Declaration
The Limehouse Declaration was a statement issued on 25 January 1981 by four senior British Labour politicians, all MPs or former MPs and Cabinet Ministers: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
(SDP) in 1981. In 2001–2004, she served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, and served as Adviser on Nuclear Proliferation to Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. Williams also serves as Professor Emerita of Electoral Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Early life
Born Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Catlin, Williams is the daughter of a political scientistPolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
Sir George Catlin
George Catlin (political scientist)
Sir George Edward Gordon Catlin was an English political scientist and philosopher. A strong proponent of Anglo-America cooperation, he worked for many years as a professor at Cornell University and other universities and colleges in the United States and Canada. He preached the use of a natural...
, and pacifist writer Vera Brittain
Vera Brittain
Vera Mary Brittain was a British writer, feminist and pacifist, best remembered as the author of the best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth, recounting her experiences during World War I and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism.-Life:Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Brittain was the...
. She was educated at Talbot Heath School
Talbot Heath School
Talbot Heath School is a selective, independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3–18 located in Talbot Woods, Bournemouth.The school was founded in 1886 as Bournemouth High School, by Mary Broad, with eighteen pupils. In 1935 the school moved from its original site in Westbourne to Talbot...
in Bournemouth, St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
, London, and Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
, where she was an Open Scholar. As a member of the OUDS
Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
she toured the USA playing the role of Cordelia in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
. She was the first woman to chair the Oxford University Labour Club
Oxford University Labour Club
Oxford University Labour Club was founded in 1919 to provide a voice for Labour Party values and for socialism and social democracy at Oxford University, England...
(1950).
After graduating as a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Philosophy, Politics and Economics she was a Fulbright Scholar
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
and studied at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. On returning to Britain, she began her career as a journalist. In 1960, she became General Secretary of the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
.
Member of Parliament
After unsuccessfully contesting the constituencyUnited Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Southampton Test at 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...
, in 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...
Williams was elected as Labour MP for the constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Hitchin
Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)
Hitchin was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, and rose quickly to a junior ministerial position. Between 1971 and 1973 she served as shadow Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. In 1974 she became Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection under Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, and, when Wilson was succeeded in 1976 by James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
, she became Secretary of State for Education and Paymaster General, two cabinet positions held at the same time.
Controversy
Williams best known political achievement while in office was the creation of the Comprehensive schoolComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
system and the abolition of Grammar Schools. Controversially she sent her own daughter Rebecca to one of the best selective schools in London, Godolphin and Latymer. The Williams family lived outside the catchment area of this school, so Rebecca was sent to stay with friends who lived close to the school, in order to qualify for entry.
Creating the SDP
Williams lost her seat to Bowen WellsBowen Wells
Petrie Bowen Wells, known as Bowen Wells; is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.-Education:Wells was educated at St Paul's, the University of Exeter, and Regent Street Polytechnic.-Member of Parliament:...
in the Labour Party general election defeat of 1979
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
(her seat had been renamed Hertford and Stevenage
Hertford and Stevenage (UK Parliament constituency)
Hertford and Stevenage was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from February 1974 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
in 1974). Williams's defeat was one of the most prominent of the election. She was interviewed by Robin Day
Robin Day
Sir Robin Day, OBE was a British political broadcaster and commentator. His obituary in the Guardian stated that "he was the most outstanding television journalist of his generation...
for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Decision 79 election programme shortly after learning that she had lost her seat. Merlyn Rees, the Labour Home Secretary, and Norman St John Stevas—the Conservative education spokesman who had frequently clashed with Williams at the Dispatch Box—both paid tribute to her. In 1981, unhappy with the influence of the far left in the Labour Party, she resigned from it to form the SDP, along with Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, David Owen
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
and Bill Rodgers. Later that year, following the death of Conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Graham Page
Graham Page
For the American automobile company, see Graham-Paige.Sir Graham Page was a British Conservative Party politician....
, she won a by-election in Crosby
Crosby by-election, 1981
The Crosby by-election, 1981 was a by-election held in England on 26 November 1981 to elect a new Member of Parliament for the House of Commons constituency of Crosby on Merseyside...
in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, becoming the first elected SDP MP.
General election defeat and after
Despite becoming SDP President, she lost her seat in the 1983 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. She then stood for Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary 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 voting system....
in the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, but lost to the Conservative candidate. Williams supported the SDP's 1988 merger with the Liberal Party to form 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...
. During this time Williams served as a BBC broadcaster on Shirley Williams in Conversation and has since appeared on many television and radio programmes. She has appeared on BBC's Question Time more than any other panellist.
Harvard University
In 1988, Shirley Williams moved to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to serve as a full professor at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Kennedy School of Government until 2001, and thereafter as Public Service Professor of Electoral Politics, Emerita.
Nonetheless, she remained active in politics and public service in Britain, the United States and internationally. During these years, Williams helped draft constitutions in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. She also served as director of Harvard's Project Liberty, an initiative designed to assist the emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe; as a board member and acting director of Harvard's famed Institute of Politics (IOP). Upon Shirley Williams' elevation to 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....
in 1993, she returned to the United Kingdom and continued a more public life; but has maintained a close association with Harvard University.
Life peer
Having previously turned down a DBE offered to her by the then-Prime MinisterPrime 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...
Jim Callaghan, Williams was created 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...
as The Baroness Williams of Crosby, of Stevenage in the County of Hertfordshire, in 1993 and subsequently served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2001 to 2004. Baroness Williams remains an active member of the House of Lords, and regularly speaks from the floor of the House of Lords.
Among other non-profit boards, Williams is or has been a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, the European Union
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...
's Comité des Sages (Reflection Group) on Social Policy, the Twentieth Century Fund
The Century Foundation
The Century Foundation is an US progressive think tank. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy research institution on the belief that the prosperity and security of the United States depends on a mix of effective government, open democracy, and free markets. The Foundation is headquartered...
, the Ditchley Foundation
Ditchley Foundation
The Ditchley Foundation is a British organisation based at Ditchley House near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, which aims to promote international relations, especially Anglo-American relations, through a programme of around fifteen annual conferences on matters of international interest...
, the Institute for Public Policy Research
Institute for Public Policy Research
The IPPR is the leading progressive think-tank in the UK. It produces research and policy ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and IPPR North has branches in Newcastle and Manchester.It was founded in...
, the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She also served as President of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Chatham House
Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
, as Commissioner of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament is a joint initiative of the Australian and Japanese governments. It was proposed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 9 June 2008, and on 9 July 2008 Rudd and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda agreed to establish...
and as President of Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats
Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats
Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at both Cambridge University and the Anglia Ruskin University campus in Cambridge...
. Williams served as United Nations Special Representative to the Former Yugoslavia (with American politician Lynn Martin
Lynn Martin
Lynn Martin may refer to:*Lynn Martin , U.S. TV writer*Lynn Morley Martin , U.S. politician...
). Williams was also an attendee of the 2010 Bilderberg
Bilderberg Group
The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 120 to 140 guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are people of influence. About one-third are from government and politics, and two-thirds from...
conference in Sitges, Spain.
In June 2007, after Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
replaced Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
as Prime Minister, Williams accepted a formal Government position as Advisor on Nuclear Proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
provided she could serve as an independent advisor. She remains a Liberal Democrat.
Her interest and commitment to education has continued, and she serves as Chair of Judges of the British Teaching Awards.
Williams is currently a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation
Top Level Group
The Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation is a cross-party parliamentary group in the United Kingdom, whose primary focus is the advancement of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda in Britain and internationally...
, established in October 2009.
Personal life
During the Second World War, Williams was evacuated to Minnesota, USA, for three years, where she experienced a society free from the English social class system that she opposed in her political career. She has been married twice. At Oxford she met Peter ParkerPeter Parker (British businessman)
Sir Peter Parker KBE LVO was a British businessman, best known as chairman of the British Railways Board from 1976 to 1983.-Early life:...
(the future head of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
) and they had a relationship. In her autobiography ("Climbing the Bookshelves") Williams says that "...by the spring of 1949 I was in love with him, and he, a little, with me...".
In 1955, she married the moral philosopher Bernard Williams
Bernard Williams
Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams was an English moral philosopher, described by The Times as the most brilliant and most important British moral philosopher of his time. His publications include Problems of the Self , Moral Luck , Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy , and Truth and Truthfulness...
. Bernard left Oxford to accommodate his wife's rising political ambitions, finding a post first at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he worked from 1959 until 1964. He was later appointed Professor of Philosophy at Bedford College, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, while she worked as a journalist for the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
. For 17 years, the couple lived in a large house in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
with the literary agent Hilary Rubinstein and his wife.
During this time, described by Bernard as one of the happiest of his life, the marriage produced a daughter, Rebecca, but the development of Shirley's political career kept the couple apart, and the marked difference in their personal values—Bernard was a confirmed atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, Shirley a Roman Catholic—placed a strain on their relationship, which reached breaking point when Bernard had an affair with Patricia Law Skinner, then wife of the historian Quentin Skinner
Quentin Skinner
Quentin Robert Duthie Skinner is the Barber Beaumont Professor of the Humanities at Queen Mary, University of London.-Biography:...
. The marriage was dissolved in 1974 and Bernard Williams and Patricia Skinner subsequently married and had two sons. Shirley Williams said of her marriage to Bernard:
... [T]here was something of a strain that comes from two things. One is that we were both too caught up in what we were respectively doing—we didn't spend all that much time together; the other, to be completely honest, is that I'm fairly unjudgmental and I found Bernard's capacity for pretty sharp putting-down of people he thought were stupid unacceptable. Patricia has been cleverer than me in that respect. She just rides it. He can be very painful sometimes. He can eviscerate somebody. Those who are left behind are, as it were, dead personalities. Judge not that ye be not judged. I was influenced by Christian thinking, and he would say "That's frightfully pompous and it's not really the point." So we had a certain jarring over that and over Catholicism.
In 1987, she married the Harvard professor and presidential historian Richard Neustadt
Richard Neustadt
Richard Elliott Neustadt was an American political scientist specializing in the United States presidency. He also served as advisor to several presidents.-Biography:...
. Neustadt died in 2003. She has a daughter, a stepdaughter, and two grandchildren. Williams is a Roman Catholic, visiting church almost every Sunday with her grandson.
In the media
Williams has been a fixture of the British media for decades, and is indeed one of the most quotable politicians of the past 50 years. Williams also hosted in the early 1980s BBC TV's Shirley Williams in Conversation. She started her career soon after graduating university as a journalist, working firstly for the Daily Mirror and then for the Financial TimesFinancial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
.
Williams also has appeared more than any other panellist on the BBC political talk show Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
; most recently on 3 November 2011 in Westminster.
In the fictional comic strip Invasion!
Invasion! (2000 AD)
Invasion! was a series created by Pat Mills and mostly written by Gerry Finley-Day that appeared in the first 51 editions of the weekly comic 2000 AD....
, set in 1999 and first appearing in 1977, Shirley Williams was depicted as the Prime Minister, before being killed by the invading Volgans
Volgans
The Volgans are a fictional fascist Russian government appearing in 2000 AD in the stories of Bill Savage and the ABC Warriors. The Volgans in both series are in the same fictional universe - this was explicitly shown shown with ABC Warriors: The Volgan War Book 1 referring to a specific event ...
in the first episode. References are made to this event (and Williams's premiership) in later episodes, notably the recent reboot of the strip set in 2004, where Williams is still mentioned as having been the PM at the time of the invasion and is venerated to some extent by the resistance.
On Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
's 1977 Before and After Science
Before and after Science
Before and After Science is the fifth studio album by British musician Brian Eno. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it was originally released by Polydor Records in December 1977. Unlike Eno's previous albums which were written and recorded quickly, the album took over two years to complete...
album, guest musician Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
is credited for his percussion contributions under the pseudonym Shirley Williams.
Further reading
Shirley Williams has written several books including:- Climbing the Bookshelves: The Autobiography of Shirley Williams, Virago Press Ltd (2009).
- God and Caesar: Personal Reflections on Politics and Religion (2003)
- Ambition and Beyond: Career Paths of American Politicians (1993) w/ Edward L. Lascher, Jr.
- New Party - The New Technology (1988)
- A Job to Live (1985)
- Politics is for People (1981)
There is a substantial article on Shirley Williams by Phillip Whitehead
Phillip Whitehead
Phillip Whitehead, was a British Labour politician, television producer and writer.Born in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, he was adopted by a local family, and attended Lady Manners School in Bakewell and Exeter College at Oxford University, where he obtained his BA .Whitehead apparently went to...
in the Dictionary of Labour Biography, by Greg Rosen (ed), Politicos Publishing, 2001.
External links
- Baroness Williams of Crosby at the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe 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...
- Faculty profile at the John F. Kennedy School of GovernmentJohn F. Kennedy School of GovernmentThe John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country... - The NS Interview: Shirley Williams, New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, 12 May 2010
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