David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later led the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was a Member of Parliament for 26 years, from 1966 to 1992.
Robert Adam Ross "Bob" Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, was a British Liberal Democrat politician and life peer.
William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, is a British politician and life peer. As a Labour Party member of Parliament, he served as Secretary of State for Transport from 1976 to 1979, and was one of the "Gang of Four" of senior Labour politicians who defected to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He subsequently helped to lead the SDP into the merger that formed the Liberal Democrats in 1988, and later served as the party's leader in the House of Lords between 1997 and 2001.
The Peerage Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed.
Viscount Cobham is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created in 1718. Owing to its special remainder, the title has passed through several families. Since 1889, it has been held by members of the Lyttelton family.
Viscount Chandos, of Aldershot in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and held by a branch of the Lyttelton family. It was created in 1954 for the businessman and public servant Oliver Lyttelton. He was the son of the politician and sportsman Alfred Lyttelton, eighth son of George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton, whose eldest son, the 5th Baron Lyttelton, also succeeded his kinsman The 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos as 8th Viscount Cobham in 1889. As of 2017 the title of Viscount Chandos is held by the first Viscount's grandson, the third Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1980. He lost his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act of 1999, which removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament. However, in 2000 he was given a life peerage as Baron Lyttelton of Aldershot, of Aldershot in the County of Hampshire, and was thus able to return to the House of Lords, where he now sits on the Labour benches. Lord Chandos is also in remainder to the viscountcy of Cobham and its subsidiary titles the barony of Cobham, the barony of Lyttelton, the barony of Westcote and the baronetcy of Frankley.
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is an independent British political public policy think-tank based in Westminster, London. It is one of the 'Top 12 Think Tanks in Britain' and was named 'UK Think Tank of the Year' by Prospect in 2012. Its purpose is to "advance the education of the public in the economic, social and political sciences" and to "champion ideas that marry a pro-market orientation with concern for social justice". Policy ideas are based on the concept of the social market economy.
Walter Garrison Runciman, 3rd Viscount Runciman of Doxford,, usually known informally as Garry Runciman, was a British historical sociologist and hereditary peer. A senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, Runciman wrote several publications in his field. He also sat on the Securities and Investments Board and chaired the British Government's Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (1991–1993).
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the Dukedom of Edinburgh awarded for life to Prince Edward in 2023, all life peerages conferred since 2009 have been created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 with the rank of baron and entitle their holders to sit and vote in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as age and citizenship. The legitimate children of a life peer appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958 are entitled to style themselves with the prefix "The Honourable", although they cannot inherit the peerage itself. Prior to 2009, life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges.
Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts.
Herbert William Bowden, Baron Aylestone, was a British Labour politician.
Lucius Edward William Plantagenet Cary, 15th Viscount of Falkland, styled Master of Falkland from 1961 to 1984, is a British nobleman and former politician.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed in 1988 was a political party in the United Kingdom led by David Owen, which lasted for only two years. A successor party to the original Social Democratic Party (SDP), it was known informally as the 'continuing' SDP.
Henry Stephen Wilson, Baron Wilson of Langside, PC, QC was a Scottish lawyer, Labour politician and life peer.
Jeremy Nicolas Hutchinson, Baron Hutchinson of Lullington, was a British barrister. He was the son of St John Hutchinson, KC, and his wife, Mary Barnes, and was descended from a regicide of Charles I, Colonel John Hutchinson of Owthorpe. Standing as a Labour candidate in the 1945 general election, he finally entered Parliament as a life peer in 1978, eventually voting with the Liberal Democrats.
Daniel William Finkelstein, Baron Finkelstein, is a British journalist, author, political advisor and politician. He is a former executive editor of The Times, where he remains a weekly political columnist, and has been a regular columnist at The Jewish Chronicle since 2010. Finkelstein was formerly an advisor to Prime Minister John Major and leader of the Conservative Party William Hague. Since 2013 he has sat as a Conservative Peer of the House of Lords.
Anthony Freskyn Charles Hamby Chaplin, 3rd Viscount Chaplin was a British hereditary peer and an amateur zoologist and musician.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a centrist to centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. The party supported a mixed economy, electoral reform, European integration and a decentralised state while rejecting the possibility of trade unions being overly influential within industrial relations. The SDP officially advocated social democracy, and unofficially for social liberalism as well.
Antony Alfred Lyttelton, 2nd Viscount Chandos was a British soldier and peer from the Lyttelton family.
The Lyttelton family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family include the viscountcies of Cobham and Chandos, as well as the Lyttelton barony and Lyttelton baronetcy. Several other members of the family have also risen to prominence, particularly in the field of cricket.
