Farewell to former MP

Joel Barnett in 1976, just after he became a peer

FORMER Oldham Labour MP Joel Barnett has died, aged 91.

Awarded a life peerage in 1983, Lord Barnett, MP for Heywood and Royton from 1964-83, died on Saturday.

Labour Lords leader Baroness Royall, said: “Joel was an extraordinary individual. As an MP, minister and colleague in the House of Lords, to the very end he was diligently holding the Government to account and doing his best to ensure the best for the people of this country.”

Lord Barnett was educated at Manchester Central High School and worked as an accountant, eventually running the successful textiles import firm S Casket Holdings Group.

He became a Prestwich councillor in 1956 and was treasurer of the Manchester Fabian Society.

As an MP he served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1974-79), gained a seat in the Cabinet from 1977 onwards and was Denis Healey’s right-hand man in the Callaghan government.

Lord Barnett also served as BBC vice-chairman and received an honorary doctorate of law from Strathclyde University.

He was a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts.