British Lord, Labour Figure Dies Surrounded By Family

Doug Hoyle, the father of the Commons speaker, Lindsay, who was also a prominent figure in the Labour movement during the 1990s, has reportedly died at the age of 98. He reportedly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.

Lord Hoyle chaired the parliamentary party under Tony Blair. He also co-founded the Labour Friends of Israel. The former leader reportedly died in his home on Saturday. News of his death is just now breaking.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle issued the following statement on his father’s death,

“It is with great sorrow that I have to announce that my beloved father, Lord Doug Hoyle, passed away peacefully … The whole family are devastated. There are few people who get to my age with their father still around – but I have been one of the lucky ones. His death last night has left me bereft. I have lost my dad, my inspiration and the country has lost a truly dedicated parliamentarian.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle

The Guardian reports on his death,

Eric Douglas Harvey Hoyle was born at Coppull, near Chorley, in Lancashire, on 17 February 1926 and joined Labour in 1945.

A trade unionist in the 1950s, he helped to set up LFI at Labour’s annual conference in 1957. The organisation sought to strengthen ties with the Israeli Labor party and sought a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Hoyle first stood for parliament in Clitheroe in 1964, but came second. He was later elected MP for Nelson and Colne in 1974, but narrowly lost his seat under the Thatcher landslide five years later. In 1981, he returned to the Commons as MP for Warrington North.

He chaired the parliamentary party between 1992 and 1997, and referred to himself as “the chief shop steward representing the backbenchers”.

Paying tribute to Smith in 1992 after the Labour leader’s unexpected death from a heart attack, Hoyle said: “Not only have we lost a great friend and a great leader of the parliamentary Labour party, but the country has lost a prime minister in waiting.”

The Guardian