Castle, Barbara Anne

Born: Sep 06, 1910 AD
Died: 2002 AD, at 91 years of age.

Nationality: British
Categories: Politician

1910 - She was born on the 6th of October.

1937 - She was elected to St. Pancras Borough Council.

1943 - She spoke at the annual Labour Party Conference for the first time.

1944 -Barbara became a journalist on the Daily Mirror, which by this time had become strongly pro-Labour.

1945 - In general election, which Labour won in a landslide, she became MP for Blackburn, Lancashire.

1950 - She was a high-profile Bevanite and made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of decolonisation and the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

- She entered the Cabinet as the first Minister for International Development.

1965-1968 - As Minister of Transport, she introduced the breathalyser to combat drink-driving, and presided over the closure of approximately 2050 miles of railways as she enacted her part of the Beeching cuts.

1974 - Castle became Secretary of State for Social Services.

1979-1989 - She later became a Member of the European Parliament.

2002 - She died on the 3rd of May.

Page last updated: 6:14pm, 19th Sep '07