Doug Hoyle

Eric Douglas Harvey Hoyle, Baron Hoyle, JP, GMH (17 February 1926 – 6 April 2024) was a British politician and life peer who was chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1992 to 1997 and a lord-in-waiting from 1997 to 1999. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Nelson and Colne from 1974 to 1979 and Warrington North from 1981 to 1997.[1][2]

The Right Honourable
The Lord Hoyle
JP GMH
Official portrait, 2018
In office
8 May 1997 – 9 April 1999
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byThe Earl of Courtown
Succeeded byThe Lord Burlison
Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party
In office
18 July 1992 – 3 May 1997
Leader
Preceded byStan Orme
Succeeded byClive Soley
In office
14 May 1997 – 25 July 2023
Life peerage
Member of Parliament
for Warrington North
Warrington (1981–1983)
In office
16 July 1981 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byThomas Williams
Succeeded byHelen Jones
Member of Parliament
for Nelson and Colne
In office
10 October 1974 – 7 April 1979
Preceded byDavid Waddington
Succeeded byJohn Lee
Personal details
Born
Eric Douglas Harvey Hoyle

(1926-02-17)17 February 1926
Coppull, Lancashire, England
Died6 April 2024(2024-04-06) (aged 98)
Political partyLabour
ChildrenLindsay

Parliamentary career

House of Commons

Hoyle first stood for Parliament at Clitheroe in 1964, but came second. In 1970, he first fought Nelson and Colne, and was defeated by the Conservative incumbent David Waddington by 1,410 votes. He fought the seat again in February 1974, and reduced Waddington's margin to 177. He was finally elected at the general election of October 1974 for Nelson and Colne by 669 votes; this was the first Labour gain to be announced on election night.

Hoyle narrowly lost his seat at the general election of 1979, but returned to Parliament in 1981 when he saw off a strong challenge from Roy Jenkins in a traditionally safe Labour seat. This was a notable by-election in Warrington when enthusiasm for the newly created Social Democratic Party was at its peak. Constituency boundaries were redrawn for the general election of 1983, when he became MP for Warrington North.

In the 1992 Labour Party leadership election he voted for Bryan Gould one of only 12 MPs to do so.[3]

House of Lords

Hoyle stepped down from the House of Commons at the general election of 1997, and on 14 May 1997, he was created a life peer as Baron Hoyle, of Warrington in the County of Cheshire in the 1997 Dissolution Honours.[4][5][6] He retired from the Lords on 25 July 2023.

Other interests

Lord Hoyle served as chairman of Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club from 1999 to 2009.[7] He was also a non-executive director of the major local employer Debt Free Direct.[8][9] In 1957 he helped found Labour Friends of Israel. [10] Hoyle received the Freedom of the Borough of Warrington on 11 November 2005.[11]

Hoyle was awarded the Freedom of the City of Gibraltar, and in July 2008 received the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour (GMH).[12]

In November 2010, Lord Hoyle was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Chester for his 'outstanding contribution to the Borough of Warrington'.[13]

Personal

Eric Douglas Harvey Hoyle was born in Coppull, near Chorley, in Lancashire, on 17 February 1926.[14][15][16]

Hoyle's son, Lindsay Hoyle, has been Member of Parliament for Chorley since 1997 and Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019.[17]

Lord Hoyle died on 6 April 2024, at the age of 98.[18][15][16]

References
  1. "Mr Doug Hoyle". Hansard. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  2. "Parliamentary career for Lord Hoyle - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. "Lord Hoyle obituary: Labour backbencher and parliamentary party chairman". The Times. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  4. "No. 54768". The London Gazette. 19 May 1997. p. 5853.
  5. "Find Members of the House of Lords - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". Archived from the original on 12 December 2008.
  7. Murphy, Connor (13 September 2009). "Doug Hoyle steps down as Warrington Wolves chairman". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  8. Debt Free Direct, FAQ, Frequently Asked Questions | Debt Free Direct Archived 17 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Debt Free Direct". Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  10. Harpin, Lee. "Commons Speaker says 'family history' makes him determined to fight antisemitism". www.jewishnews.co.uk.
  11. "The Mayor's role and history".
  12. "Gibraltar Medallion" (PDF). Government of Gibraltar. July 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  13. "Local heroes honoured". Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  14. "Eric D. H. Hoyle". FreeBMD. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  15. "Tributes to Doug Hoyle, former MP and father of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay, who has died aged 98". ITV News. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  16. Langdon, Julia (7 April 2024). "Lord Hoyle obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  17. Martin, Daniel (21 February 2024). "Lindsay Hoyle: The Speaker from a very political - and very Labour - family". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  18. Downey, Emma (7 April 2024). "Sir Lindsay Hoyle left devastated after dad passes away". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
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