Stanley Orme, Baron Orme
Encyclopedia
Stanley Orme, Baron Orme PC
(5 April 1923 – 27 April 2005) was a British Labour Party
politician
. He was a Member of Parliament
(MP) from 1964 to 1997, and served as a cabinet minister in the 1970s.
, Cheshire
. He was educated at a technical school, which he left in 1938 to become an instrument maker's apprentice.
He joined the RAF
in 1942, becoming a bomber-navigator, serving in Canada
and Egypt
. He was demobilised in 1947 as a warrant officer
.
.
He first stood for Parliament
in Stockport South
at the 1959 general election
, when he lost to the Conservative
candidate. He was elected as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Salford West
at the 1964 general election
.
When Labour returned to office at the February 1974 general election
, Orme was installed at Stormont as Minister of State
for Northern Ireland
. He made an impression in this role, before moving to the Department of Health and Social Security
in March 1976. The Prime Minister James Callaghan
promoted him to the Cabinet
in September 1976 to sit alongside his departmental boss David Ennals. He remained in this role until 1979.
Orme joined the Shadow Cabinet
in 179 as chief health and social security spokesman, before later moving on to hold the Industry and Energy portfolios until 1987.
After constituency boundary changes for the 1983 general election
, he was elected for the redrawn seat of Salford East
.
He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party
(1987-1992). He retired from the House of Commons
at the 1997 general election
, when he was awarded a life peerage as Baron Orme of Salford in the County of Greater Manchester
.
Orme made several unsuccessful attempts to be elected to Labour's National Executive Committee
, without breaking through.
Lord Orme died in 2005. His funeral at Dunham Crematorium was attended by many family, friends and political colleagues. A memorial service was held in the House of Lords
, with speeches from Neil Kinnock
and Michael Foot
. A very rare exception was made by the Lord Chancellor such that any Divisions were suspended during this evening service.
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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...
(5 April 1923 – 27 April 2005) was a British 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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was 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,...
(MP) from 1964 to 1997, and served as a cabinet minister in the 1970s.
Early life
Stan Orme was born in SaleSale, Greater Manchester
Sale is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, the town lies on flat ground on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of the city of Manchester...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. He was educated at a technical school, which he left in 1938 to become an instrument maker's apprentice.
He joined the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1942, becoming a bomber-navigator, serving in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He was demobilised in 1947 as a warrant officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
.
Political career
Orme joined the Labour Party in 1944 and he became a Sale Borough Councillor in 1958. A committed Bevanite, he embraced many left-wing causes, including the Movement for Colonial Freedom and the Campaign for Nuclear DisarmamentCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
.
He first stood for Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in Stockport South
Stockport South (UK Parliament constituency)
Stockport South was a borough constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 1983.-Members of Parliament:...
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...
, when he lost to the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate. He was elected as 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 Salford West
Salford West (UK Parliament constituency)
Salford West was a parliamentary constituency in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester from 1885 until 1983. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- History :...
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...
.
When Labour returned to office at the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, Orme was installed at Stormont as Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. He made an impression in this role, before moving to the Department of Health and Social Security
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Social Services.-History:...
in March 1976. The Prime Minister 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...
promoted him to the Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
in September 1976 to sit alongside his departmental boss David Ennals. He remained in this role until 1979.
Orme joined 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...
in 179 as chief health and social security spokesman, before later moving on to hold the Industry and Energy portfolios until 1987.
After constituency boundary changes for the 1983 general election
United 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...
, he was elected for the redrawn seat of Salford East
Salford East (UK Parliament constituency)
Salford East was a parliamentary constituency in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
.
He served as the Chairman of the 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....
(1987-1992). He retired from the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, when he was awarded a life peerage as Baron Orme of Salford in the County of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
.
Orme made several unsuccessful attempts to be elected to Labour's National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
, without breaking through.
Lord Orme died in 2005. His funeral at Dunham Crematorium was attended by many family, friends and political colleagues. A memorial service was held 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....
, with speeches from Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
and Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
. A very rare exception was made by the Lord Chancellor such that any Divisions were suspended during this evening service.
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