Larry Whitty

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Person.png Lord Whitty  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Lord Whitty.jpg
BornJohn Lawrence Whitty
15 June 1943
Alma materSt John's College (Cambridge)
PartyLabour

Employment.png Leaked Labour Report Inquiry Panel

In office
1 May 2020 - Present
EmployerLabour Party

Employment.png Chair of the Road Safety Foundation

In office
July 2014 - Present

Employment.png Member of the House of Lords Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
21 October 1996 - Present

Larry Whitty, Baron Whitty of Camberwell is a former General Secretary of the Labour Party who was appointed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to a panel of three Labour peers (with Ruth Lister and Debbie Wilcox) to conduct an inquiry into the leaked report "The work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014-2019".[1][2]

The Leaked Labour Report Inquiry is headed by Martin Forde QC and is expected to conclude in July 2020 when Forde presents his findings to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC).[3]

SKWAWKBOX commented:

Astonishingly, a panel meant to investigate allegations that include obstruction of the processing of racism complaints including antisemitism – and comments by staff members described as antisemitic – includes no Jewish person.
A move to include the highly-regarded Labour peer Alf Dubs was blocked by the Labour right on the NEC because he made comments supportive of Jeremy Corbyn during the UK/2019 General Election. The vote to include him was defeated by 18 votes to 16.[4]

In July 2014, Lord Whitty was appointed Chairman of the Road Safety Foundation, taking over from Lord Dubs who led the charity since 2007.[5]

Career

Trade unions

Larry Whitty was employed by the Trades Union Congress from 1970 to 1973 and the General Municipal Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union (GMB) from 1973 to 1985.

Labour Party

In 1985, Whitty became the General Secretary of the Labour Party, a post he held until 1994. He was part of the reforming leadership of Neil Kinnock and in the role progressed a wide-ranging agenda including the modification of internal rules, a shift towards a national membership scheme, the expulsion of entryist Militant group members and, following the 1987 General Election defeat, the internal Policy Review. Whitty's period as General Secretary meant that he oversaw two General Elections (the later in 1992), and the election of John Smith and Tony Blair as Leader of the Labour Party. He was the European Co-ordinator for the Labour Party from 1994 to 1997.

Peerage

Whitty was created a life peer on 21 October 1996 as Baron Whitty of Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark. From July 1998, Whitty was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions with responsibility for roads and road safety issues. From 1997 Lord Whitty was a Lord-in-Waiting (Government Whip) covering education and foreign affairs. He became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with responsibility for Farming, Food and Sustainable Energy in June 2001, serving in this position until the General Election of May 2005.

Consumer Focus

Whitty was appointed as the first Chairman of Consumer Focus in July 2007.[6] Consumer Focus was the statutory organisation campaigning for a fair deal for consumers in England, Wales, Scotland, and, for postal services, Northern Ireland. Consumer Focus was created through the merger of three organisations – energywatch, Postwatch and the National Consumer Council (including the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils) – by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007.

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References

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