White stood in the 1945 general election in Flintshire without success. She was elected a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee in the women's section in 1947. She was elected Labour MP for East Flint in 1950, one of the first female MPs in Wales. An early private member's bill encouraged the government to relax divorce laws. Annoyed by fights between left and right, she stepped down from the NEC in 1953 but returned in 1959 until 1972.
White served as chairman of the Fabian Society and of the Labour Party NEC 1968–9. She was a governor of the British Film Institute and a member of the board of Trade Films Council.
On 10 June 2022, a purple plaque was unveiled at Flint Town Hall in her honour, recognizing the fact that she was one of the first three women to represent Wales in the UK Parliament, and indeed Wales's only female MP for ten years.[4]
eirene, white, baroness, white, eirene, lloyd, white, baroness, white, née, jones, november, 1909, december, 1999, british, labour, politician, journalist, right, honourablethe, baroness, whiteunder, secretary, state, colonieswithlord, taylorin, office, 1964, . Eirene Lloyd White Baroness White nee Jones 7 November 1909 23 December 1999 was a British Labour politician and journalist 1 The Right HonourableThe Baroness WhiteUnder Secretary of State for the ColonieswithLord TaylorIn office 1964 1965Prime MinisterHarold WilsonPreceded byRichard Hornbyand Nigel FisherSucceeded byLord Taylorand Lord BeswickMember of Parliamentfor East FlintshireIn office 23 February 1950 29 May 1970Preceded byNew constituencySucceeded byStephen Barry JonesPersonal detailsBornEirene Lloyd Jones 1909 11 07 7 November 1909Died23 December 1999 1999 12 23 aged 90 Political partyLabour Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editWhite was born in Belfast the daughter of Dr Thomas Jones commonly known as TJ a noted civil servant educationalist and friend of the establishment She was educated at St Paul s Girls School London and Somerville College Oxford where she read Philosophy Politics and Economics She spent a year in Heidelberg before working for the New York Public Library Back in England she studied housing policies and the problems of the homeless Career editDuring World War II White joined the Women s Voluntary Service and became Welsh Regional Secretary She was recruited by the Ministry of Labour to help with the training of workers in Wales particularly women for the war effort She also worked as a civil servant at the Board of Education until 1945 and after the War as a political correspondent for both the Manchester Evening News and the BBC In 1948 she married fellow House of Commons lobby correspondent John Cameron White White stood in the 1945 general election in Flintshire without success She was elected a member of the Labour Party s National Executive Committee in the women s section in 1947 She was elected Labour MP for East Flint in 1950 one of the first female MPs in Wales An early private member s bill encouraged the government to relax divorce laws Annoyed by fights between left and right she stepped down from the NEC in 1953 but returned in 1959 until 1972 When Labour came to power under Harold Wilson in 1964 White became parliamentary under secretary at the Colonial Office in 1966 Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and in 1967 Minister of State at the Welsh Office for three years White managed to hang on to her marginal constituency for 20 years at one election by just 72 votes White served as chairman of the Fabian Society and of the Labour Party NEC 1968 9 She was a governor of the British Film Institute and a member of the board of Trade Films Council In 1970 she retired from the House of Commons and was created a life peer on 12 October 1970 taking the title Baroness White of Rhymney in the County of Monmouth 2 Later posts included president of Coleg Harlech and governor of the National Library of Wales She was chairman of the Land Authority for Wales 1976 80 deputy chairman of the Metrication Board 1972 76 and a member of the Royal Commission on Environment Pollution 1974 81 She was Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords from 1979 to 1989 She was awarded an Honorary Degree Doctor of Laws from the University of Bath in 1983 3 On 10 June 2022 a purple plaque was unveiled at Flint Town Hall in her honour recognizing the fact that she was one of the first three women to represent Wales in the UK Parliament and indeed Wales s only female MP for ten years 4 Personal life editIn 1948 she married fellow House of Commons lobby correspondent John Cameron White 1911 1968 They had no children Death editShe died aged 90 in Abergavenny 5 A viewfinder monument was erected on the summit of Allt yr Esgair 393 metres 1290 feet Grid Ref SO126243 References edit Lena Jeger 27 December 1999 Baroness White of Rhymney The Guardian Retrieved 29 April 2019 No 45217 The London Gazette 22 October 1970 p 11580 Corporate Information Bath ac uk Archived from the original on 17 July 2010 Retrieved 13 October 2017 Purple plaque to honour one of the first female MPs for Wales to unveiled in Flint today Deeside com 10 June 2022 Retrieved 13 June 2022 Lena Jeger 27 December 1999 Baroness White of Rhymney The Guardian Retrieved 15 April 2019 Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPsExternal links editHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by Eirene White https www theguardian com news 1999 dec 27 guardianobituaries Obituary in The Guardian Eirene White Papers at the National Library of Wales Eirene White at the Dictionary of Welsh Biography Parliament of the United Kingdom New constituency Member of Parliament for East Flintshire1950 1970 Succeeded byBarry Jones Political offices Preceded byRichard HornbyNigel Fisher Under Secretary of State for the Colonies1964 1965 With Lord Taylor Succeeded byLord TaylorLord Beswick Party political offices Preceded byRoy Jenkins Chairman of the Fabian Society1958 1959 Succeeded byBilly Hughes Preceded byJennie Lee Chair of the Labour Party1968 1969 Succeeded byArthur Skeffington Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eirene White Baroness White amp oldid 1216511450, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,