‘A giant of the Labour movement’: Roy Hattersley, former Labour deputy leader, dies aged 93

Roy Hattersley was made deputy leader under Neil Kinnock and was made a life peer in 1993 as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook. Photograph: Cambridge Jones/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Roy Hattersley was made deputy leader under Neil Kinnock and was made a life peer in 1993 as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook. Photograph: Cambridge Jones/Getty Images ‘A giant of the Labour movement’: Roy Hattersley, former Labour deputy leader, dies aged 93 Labour grandee was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 until his retirement from the Commons in 1997 Roy Hattersley, the former Labour deputy leader and author, has died aged 93, his family has said. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described Hattersley as a “giant of the Labour movement”. “Through decades of service, including as deputy leader and a minister, he never lost his belief in a more equal Britain. My thoughts are with his wife Maggie and his family.” Hattersley was a councillor at the age of 23, an MP at 31 and a minister by 33 where he served in Jim Callaghan’s cabinet in addition to Harold Wilson’s government. He was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 until his retirement from the House of Commons in 1997. In the 1960s, Hattersley held posts as employment minister and as deputy to Denis Healey in defence. From 1974 to 1976, the MP served under Wilson again as minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs. He was appointed a privy councillor in 1975. From 1976 to 1979 he joined Callaghan’s cabinet as secretary of state for prices and consumer protection. The Labour grandee was made deputy leader under Neil Kinnock and was made a life peer in 1993 as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook. Kinnock, who led the Labour party between 1983 and 1992, said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Hattersley’s death. “Roy was a socialist of deep conviction, a dedicated democrat who believed that liberty should be unqualified by anything but responsibility and never by background or fortune. He held that freedom had to be made real and secure by collective action and contribution, by accountability, and by equality. “He was fluent and courageous in expressing these beliefs in speech and writing and wrote countless columns and published 20 books. He was never solemn nor deferential and his common sense, humour and endless stories made him excellent company. “All of this made him a valued comrade and an incomparable asset to the Labour Party, to British democracy and to wider humanity.” Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell said: “Roy Hattersley shaped the Labour Party and British politics. He was a giant of our movement and of that generation of politicians. I met him a few times and he was always kind, thoughtful and full of sound advice.” As well as contributing to numerous national newspapers, he wrote a number of books including The Edwardians; Borrowed Time: the Story of Britain between the Wars; In Search of England, and acclaimed biographies of John Wesley, Lloyd George and the Devonshires. Alastair C