A “giant of the Labour movement” has announced his retirement from public life after more than five decades serving the people of Newcastle.
Jeremy Beecham, the city’s longest serving councillor and a former council leader, has been hailed as one of the most influential British politicians in modern history after confirming he is stepping down. The 77-year-old was first elected as a Labour councillor for Benwell in May 1967, when he was just 22, and has remained on the council ever since.
He served as leader of the local authority from 1977 to 1994, was knighted in 1994, awarded the Freedom of Newcastle in 1995, and appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2010.
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Announcing his retirement due to ill health on Thursday, Lord Beecham said: “I feel very honoured to have served on Newcastle City Council as a councillor for Benwell, and latterly Benwell and Scotswood, for the past 55 years. It has been a true privilege to have worked with Labour colleagues to address the needs of the ward and its people, especially those in most need of support.
“I will miss my connection with the people of Benwell and Scotswood and I am confident that my successor, together with my current colleagues, will continue to work hard on their behalf.”
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Lord Beecham’s retirement was “richly deserved” after 55 years of unbroken public service. Sir Keir called him a “giant of the Labour movement, and one of the most significant and influential British politicians of the last 50 years”. He added: “His incredible energy and disarming sense of humour are both legendary and an inspiration to all in the Labour movement.”
Born in 1944, Lord Beecham was educated at Newcastle’s Royal Grammar School and at University College, Oxford, where he obtained a first class honours degree in law before becoming a solicitor. He unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in Tynemouth in 1970 and then chaired the city council’s social services committee from 1973 to 1977, after which he became the council’s longest serving leader.
The highly-respected Labour stalwart became the chair of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities in 1991 and led the foundation of the Local Government Association in 1997, also serving as its first chairman. Outgoing city council leader Nick Forbes called Lord Beecham an “inspiration for successive generations of Newcastle politicians” and praised his “tireless work on behalf of the community”.
Coun Forbes added: “His local and national legacy – whether the hugely successful Quids for Kids campaign in Newcastle, tackling poverty through innovative Priority Area Teams in the city, persuading Gordon Brown to introduce free concessionary travel for pensioners, or successfully campaigning for Educational Maintenance Grants to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds stay in education – have transformed the lives of thousands. His personal modesty means his achievements have often been under-recognised, but there’s no doubt he’s been one of the great transforming politicians of modern times.”
He was last elected in the Benwell and Scotswood ward in 2019 and his term was due to run until 2023, but he is retiring a year early. A by-election will be held to coincide with the local elections on May 5.
His ward colleagues, Hazel Stephenson and Rob Higgins, said: “His dedication to serving our community is legendary; there isn’t a family he hasn’t helped, or a local community group he hasn’t supported.”
