Christopher Haskins

Last updated

The Lord Haskins
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
25 July 1998 1 December 2020
Life peerage
Personal details
Born
Christopher Robin Haskins

(1937-05-30) 30 May 1937 (age 86)
Dublin, Ireland
Nationality British
Political party British Labour Party.
Alma mater

Christopher Robin Haskins, Baron Haskins (born 30 May 1937 in Dublin) [1] is an Irish businessman, life peer, and former member of the British Labour Party.

Contents

Early life

The son of a Protestant farmer, he attended St Columba's College, Dublin, and Trinity College, Dublin, where was known as a student radical and member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Graduating with an honours degree in modern history, he contemplated becoming a journalist but later joined De La Rue.

Career

Haskins proposed to marry Gilda Horsley, whose father consented upon condition that Haskins joined the family business, Northern Dairies, based in Yorkshire, England. Haskins agreed and joined the company in 1962. [2] Haskins foresaw the huge demand for good quality prepared meals, and turned the company into Northern Foods, whose brands include Ski yoghurt and Bowyers sausages, while Marks and Spencer are the company's largest customer for ready meals. [3] Haskins became a director in 1967, deputy chairman in 1974, and was chairman from 1980 to 2002. [4]

House of Lords

Haskins was ennobled as a life peer with the title Baron Haskins, of Skidby, in the County of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on 25 July 1998. [5] During 2001, at the height of the foot and mouth disease epidemic, he became Prime Minister Tony Blair's 'rural tsar'. [4] Lord Haskins retired from the Lords on 1 December 2020. [6]

In August 2005, it was revealed that Haskins had donated £2,000 to the campaign of Scottish Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Danny Alexander. Following an investigation, Haskins was expelled from the Labour party for this action. [7] He subsequently sat as a crossbencher.

He has been Chairman of the Better Regulation Task Force and a member of the New Deal Task Force. [4] A pro-European, he was a leading member of the Britain in Europe campaign, [8] the House of Lords European Sub-Committee, and is a former Chairman of the European Movement. He was a fellow board member of Yorkshire Forward and also Chairman of the Council of the Open University. In 2016, he was chair of the Humber local enterprise partnership. [9]

Related Research Articles

John Anderson Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC, DL is a British politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament for over 30 years, serving for Whitehaven from 1970 to 1983 and then Copeland until the 2005 general election, and had served in the Cabinet of Tony Blair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith</span> Lord Speaker of the House of Lords

John Francis McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith is a British politician and life peer who has served as Lord Speaker since 2021. He was a member of Parliament for the Labour and Co-operative Party from 1987 to 2010, first for Dumbarton and then from 2005 for West Dunbartonshire. He also served as Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee. Following his appointment to the House of Lords, McFall served as Senior Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2021 before succeeding Lord Fowler as Lord Speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury</span> British politician (born 1946)

Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, Baron Gascoyne-Cecil,, is a British Conservative politician. From 1979 to 1987 he represented South Dorset in the House of Commons, and in the 1990s he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne. Lord Salisbury lives in one of England's largest historic houses, the 17th-century Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, and currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivor Richard</span> British politician (1932–2018)

Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, was a British Labour politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 until 1974. He was also a member of the European Commission and latterly sat as a life peer in the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Kirkhope</span> British Conservative politician and life peer

Timothy John Robert Kirkhope, Baron Kirkhope of Harrogate is a British lawyer and politician who previously served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. Between December 2004 and November 2010 he was leader of the Conservative delegation for a total of six years. He was the chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel's Europe grouping, the European Conservatives Spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs, and a member of the European Parliament's U.S Delegation. In 2016, he was created a life peer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd</span> British politician (1918–2001)

Malcolm Newton Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd, Baron Shepherd of Spalding, was a British Labour politician and peer who served as Leader of the House of Lords under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan and member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed</span> British politician (born 1957)

Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed is a former Labour politician and convicted sex offender of Pakistani origin. He was appointed a life peer in 1998 by the Labour Government.

Alexander Bernstein, Baron Bernstein of Craigweil, was a British television executive and Labour member of the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon</span> British politician (1926–2020)

David Leonard Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon from 1970 to 1983, and as a life peer in the House of Lords from 1983 to his death in 2020. He served as a Labour peer from 1983 to 2002, when he was expelled from the Labour benches, after which he sat as an Independent Labour peer until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill</span> British politician and barrister (1936–2020)

Anthony Paul Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, QC was a British barrister and member of the House of Lords. He was at different times a member of the Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democrats. Lester was best known for his influence on race relations legislation in the United Kingdom and as a founder-member of groups such as the Institute of Race Relations, the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination and the Runnymede Trust. Lester was also a prominent figure in promoting birth control and abortion through the Family Planning Association, particularly in Northern Ireland.

John Edward Tomlinson, Baron Tomlinson was a British Labour Co-operative politician. He served as a life peer in the House of Lords from 1998 until his death, and had previously been a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 1979, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby</span> British politician (1898–1996)

Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby, was a British Labour politician. He was the last British Cabinet minister born in the 19th century. After he retired in 1967, every Cabinet minister has been born since 1900. He was also the last veteran of World War I to serve in the Cabinet and both Houses of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace Browne, Baron Browne of Belmont</span>

Wallace Hamilton Browne, Baron Browne of Belmont, is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2006, and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2007 to 2011.

Charles Lamb Allen, Baron Allen of Kensington, is a British businessman, broadcaster, and chairman of THG plc, Global Radio, 2 Sisters Food Group, ISS and Advisory chairman at Moelis & Company. Lord Allen was chief executive of Granada Group from 1996 to 2000, executive chairman of Granada Media plc from 2000 to 2004, chief executive of ITV plc from its formation in 2004 until 2007, and chairman of the music company EMI. He was chairman of Endemol, a non-executive director of Tesco plc and Virgin Media. In March 2012, he was appointed by Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour Party, to the position of chairman of the executive board of the party. He has been chairman of the British Red Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Laird, Baron Laird</span> Northern Irish politician and life peer

John Dunn Laird, Baron Laird,, of Artigarvan was a Northern Irish politician, life peer and former chairman of the cross-border Ulster-Scots Agency. In 2013 Laird allegedly offered to lobby for a firm against parliamentary rules. Consequently, he resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell</span>

Julian Pascoe Francis St Leger Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell, Baron Grenfell of Kilvey, is a Labour hereditary peer, life peer, and former member of the House of Lords known for his strong Europhile views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Stone, Baron Stone of Blackheath</span>

Andrew Zelig Stone, Baron Stone of Blackheath is a Labour member of the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merlyn Rees</span> British politician (1920–2006)

Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1976) and Home Secretary (1976–1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Scriven</span>

Paul James Scriven, Baron Scriven is a Liberal Democrat politician and former Leader of Sheffield City Council (2008–11), who was once described as Nick Clegg's "closest ally in local government".

Digby Michael Godfrey John Willoughby, 12th Baron Middleton MC, was a Conservative British peer who actively opposed the House of Lords Act 1999 which expelled most hereditary peers from the House of Lords. In addition to his service in the House of Lords, where he served as Chairman of the Food and Agriculture Subcommittee from 1989 to 1992, he was a veteran of World War II.

References

  1. Profile Archived 25 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine , fedtrust.co.uk; accessed 8 May 2015.
  2. "Northern Foods". Corporate Watch . Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. "Pastures new for milk man turned rural tsar". The Guardian. 18 November 2001. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Stevenson, Alexander (2013). The Public Sector:Managing the Unmanageable. Kogan Page. ISBN   978-0-7494-6777-7.
  5. "No. 55210". The London Gazette . 30 July 1998. p. 8287.
  6. "Lord Haskins". UK Parliament . Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  7. "Labour peer expelled for donation". BBC News. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2006.
  8. "Lord Haskins on the EU constitution". BBC News. 28 October 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  9. "Lord Haskins of Skidby » Humber LEP". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Haskins
Followed by