Barbara Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Baroness Castle of Blackburn
|
|
|---|---|
Castle in 1965
|
|
| Secretary of State for Health and Social Services | |
| In office 5 March 1974 – 8 April 1976 |
|
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Keith Joseph |
| Succeeded by | David Ennals |
| First Secretary of State | |
| In office 6 April 1968 – 19 June 1970 |
|
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Michael Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Michael Heseltine |
| Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity | |
| In office 6 April 1968 – 19 June 1970 |
|
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Ray Gunter |
| Succeeded by | Robert Carr |
| Minister for Transport | |
| In office 23 December 1965 – 6 April 1968 |
|
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Tom Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Richard Marsh |
| Minister for Overseas Development | |
| In office 18 October 1964 – 23 December 1965 |
|
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Greenwood |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 15 June 1990 – 3 May 2002 |
|
| Member of the European Parliament for Greater Manchester West Greater Manchester North (1979–1984) |
|
| In office 17 July 1979 – 21 July 1989 |
|
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Gary Titley |
| Member of Parliament for Blackburn Blackburn East (1950–1955) |
|
| In office 5 July 1945 – 7 April 1979 |
|
| Preceded by | George Sampson Elliston |
| Succeeded by | Jack Straw |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Barbara Anne Betts
6 October 1910 Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England |
| Died | 3 May 2002 (aged 91) Ibstone, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Edward Castle, Baron Castle
(m. 1944; died 1979) |
| Alma mater | St Hugh's College, Oxford |
Barbara Castle (born Barbara Anne Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was an important British politician. She was a member of the Labour Party. She served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1979. This made her one of the longest-serving female MPs in British history.
Barbara Castle worked closely with Prime Minister Harold Wilson. She held many important jobs in the government's top team, called the Cabinet. She is the only woman to have ever held the job of First Secretary of State. This was a very senior role in the government.
Before becoming an MP, Castle worked as a journalist. She wrote for Tribune and the Daily Mirror. After being elected to Parliament in 1945, she quickly became known. She was a strong supporter of Harold Wilson. When he became Prime Minister in 1964, he made her a Cabinet minister.
She was known for making big changes. As Minister of Transport, she introduced speed limits and compulsory seat belts. She also brought in breathalyser tests for drivers. Later, as Secretary of State for Employment, she helped pass the Equal Pay Act 1970. This law made it illegal to pay men and women differently for the same work.
After leaving Parliament, she became a Member of the European Parliament. She continued to be active in politics until she passed away at 91.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Barbara Anne Betts was born on 6 October 1910 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. She was the youngest of three children. Her family moved often because her father was a tax inspector. They lived in places like Pontefract and Bradford.
Barbara grew up in a family that cared a lot about politics. Her parents were interested in socialism, which is about fairness and equality. Her father even edited a local socialist newspaper. Her mother ran a soup kitchen for coal miners. Barbara joined the Labour Party when she was a teenager.
She went to Pontefract and District Girls High School and then Bradford Girls' Grammar School. She was a very good student and enjoyed acting. She even organized mock elections at school. She then studied at St Hugh's College, Oxford, a famous university. At Oxford, she became involved in student politics. She was the Treasurer of the Oxford University Labour Club.
Early Career
After university, Barbara Castle started her political career. She was elected to the St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council in London in 1937. She stayed on the council until 1945.
During World War II, she worked for the Ministry of Food. She also volunteered as an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden during the Blitz. This meant she helped people during air raids.
She became a reporter for the left-wing magazine Tribune. Later, she worked as a housing correspondent for the Daily Mirror newspaper. In 1944, she married Ted Castle, who later became Lord Castle.
Member of Parliament (1945–1979)
In the 1945 general election, Barbara Castle was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the House of Commons. She was one of the youngest women elected that year. The women of the Blackburn Labour Party had insisted she be on the list of candidates.
Even though she didn't live in Blackburn before, she worked hard to understand the town. She learned about local industries like weaving. In her first speech in Parliament, she talked about problems faced by soldiers returning from the war.
Early in her time as an MP, she worked for Stafford Cripps and then Harold Wilson. This was the start of her long political partnership with Wilson. She became known as a strong speaker. She also supported countries gaining independence from colonial rule. She was against Apartheid, a system of racial segregation in South Africa.
Cabinet Minister
Minister for Overseas Development (1964–1965)
In 1964, the Labour Party won the general election. Prime Minister Harold Wilson appointed Barbara Castle to his Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group of the most important ministers in the government. She became the fourth woman in British history to hold a Cabinet position.
She was made the first Minister for Overseas Development. This was a brand new government department. Her job was to help other countries, especially those that were less developed. She wanted to increase the money given as aid. However, the country's economy was facing difficulties.
Minister of Transport (1965–1968)
In 1965, Barbara Castle became the Minister of Transport. She was very effective in this role. She wanted to make roads safer. She pointed out that many people were dying on British roads each year.
She introduced the breathalyser test for drivers. This test checks if a driver has too much alcohol in their system. She knew this might make her unpopular, but she believed it would save lives. After the breathalyser was introduced, road deaths dropped significantly.
Castle also made the national speed limit of 70 mph permanent. This limit had been a trial before. She also passed a law that made seat belts compulsory in all new cars. Even though she was Transport Minister, Barbara Castle did not drive herself! She was always driven by a chauffeur.
She also approved the building of the Humber Bridge. This bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1981. She also helped introduce government funding for train lines that were important for communities but didn't make a profit.
First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment (1968–1970)
In 1968, Prime Minister Wilson gave Castle two very important jobs. She became First Secretary of State, which was like being the second most senior person in the Cabinet. She also became Secretary of State for Employment.
In her role as Employment Secretary, she tried to change the rules for trade unions. Her plan was called 'In Place of Strife'. This caused a big debate within the government and the Labour Party. Many people on the left of the party felt she was attacking workers' rights. The plan was eventually dropped.
However, she also made history by helping to resolve the Ford sewing machinists' strike. Women working at the Ford factory in Dagenham went on strike. They demanded to be paid the same as men for doing the same work. Barbara Castle supported the women. As a result of this strike, she helped pass the Equal Pay Act 1970. This law made it illegal for employers to pay men and women differently for equal work.
Opposition
In 1970, the Labour Party lost the general election. Barbara Castle was no longer a Cabinet minister. She felt that the party had become too confident. She tried to run for a senior position within the Labour Party, but Harold Wilson was against it. She remained a Labour MP, speaking on employment issues from the opposition benches.
Return to Cabinet
Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1974–1976)
In 1974, Labour returned to power, and Harold Wilson again became Prime Minister. He brought Barbara Castle back into the Cabinet. She became Secretary of State for Health and Social Services.
In this role, she introduced many new welfare reforms. These included the Carer's Allowance, which provided financial help for people who cared for severely disabled relatives. She also introduced a pension for disabled people who hadn't qualified before.
One of her most important achievements was the Child Benefit Act in 1975. This law provided financial support for families' first child. It also made sure that child benefit was paid directly to mothers, not fathers.
During the 1975 referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Economic Community (EEC), Castle was against staying. She believed Britain should leave. She even told Prime Minister Wilson she would resign if the vote was to stay. However, she later changed her mind about Europe.
When James Callaghan became Prime Minister in 1976, he removed Barbara Castle from the Cabinet. They had a difficult relationship. Castle felt he gave her a "phoney reason" for sacking her.
European Parliament (1979–1989)
After leaving the UK Parliament in 1979, Barbara Castle was elected to the European Parliament. This is the law-making body of the European Union. She represented Greater Manchester from 1979 to 1989. She was the only British Member of the European Parliament (MEP) at that time who had been a Cabinet minister.
She led the Labour Party's group in the European Parliament. She also worked on committees related to agriculture and relations with other countries. During this time, she changed her mind about Britain's membership in the EEC. She now believed Britain should stay and fight for its interests from within.
Her diaries, which shared insights into her time in government, were published in two volumes in 1980 and 1984. They were very popular and gave people a look at how the government worked.
Life Peer
In 1990, Barbara Castle was given a life peerage. This meant she became a member of the House of Lords, which is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. She was known as Baroness Castle of Blackburn. She remained active in politics, even criticizing the government on issues like pensions, until her death in 2002.
She was also critical of "New Labour" policies. She felt they accepted too much of a market-driven economy and the power of large international companies.
Death
Barbara Castle passed away on 3 May 2002, at her home in Ibstone, Buckinghamshire. She was 91 years old.
Legacy
Barbara Castle is remembered as one of the most important female Labour politicians of the 20th century. She was a powerful and engaging speaker. She was known for being determined and for fighting for what she believed in.
Many people admired her strength and ability to get things done in government. She was loyal to her friends and colleagues. However, she was also known for holding grudges against her political rivals.
She was always careful about her appearance and was described as stylish. Many women politicians today say Barbara Castle inspired them to get into politics.
- In 2008, she was named one of "Labour's greatest heroes" by The Guardian newspaper.
- In 2016, she was on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour Power List. This list recognized women who had a big impact on women's lives over 70 years.
- In 2021, a bronze statue of Barbara Castle was unveiled in Blackburn, the town she represented as an MP. The statue shows her carrying a copy of the Equal Pay Act.
- A road in Blackburn is named Barbara Castle Way.
- She was featured on a British postage stamp in 2008 for her work on the Equal Pay Act.
Barbara Castle has been portrayed in films and TV shows:
- In the 2010 film Made in Dagenham, about the Ford sewing machinists' strike, she was played by Miranda Richardson.
- She was also portrayed in the musical adaptation of Made in Dagenham.
- She appeared in the Netflix drama The Crown and the BBC One drama The Trial of Christine Keeler.
Honours and Awards
Barbara Castle received several awards for her work:
- She received the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo in Silver from South Africa. This was for her fight against Apartheid and her support for a fair and democratic South Africa.
- In 1990, she received the Cross of the Order of Merit from Germany. This was for her "services to European democracy".
- In 2002, she was given an honorary doctorate by the Open University.
- In 2008, a train was named after her by Northern Rail.
Books by Barbara Castle
- The Castle Diaries, 1974–1976, 1980.
- The Castle Diaries, 1964–1970, 1984.
- Sylvia and Christabel Pankhurst, 1987.
- Fighting All the Way, 1993.
See also
- Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968
- In Place of Strife
- Rail subsidies
