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Brinley Howard Davies, Baron Davies of Brixton (born 17 May 1944), known as Bryn Davies, is a British
trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
,
actuary An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require investment management, asset management, ...
and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who was Leader of the
Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...
in the early 1980s.


Early life

Davies graduated from the
University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
and qualified as an actuary. He worked in the pensions industry, becoming a Fellow of the
Institute of Actuaries The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute a ...
in 1974. He worked for the Trade Union Congress as Pensions Officer from that year, advising member unions on occupational and state pensions. With this came membership of the Occupation Pensions Board.


Local government

In
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
, Davies was elected as a Labour councillor in Waddon in the
London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...
, but lost his seat to the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
candidate in the 1974 elections. He was then elected to
Lambeth London Borough Council Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour ...
in the 1978 election, where he became Deputy Leader. At the beginning of 1980, the opportunity arose for him to go into
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-wide politics in a by-election for the
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
at
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
, which he won easily as a Labour candidate. With membership of the GLC came ''ex officio'' membership of the
Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...
. Davies aligned himself with the left under
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
. The 1981 elections brought a new left majority to London. On 9 May 1981 Davies was chosen to be the new Leader of ILEA at the Annual General Meeting of the ILEA Labour Group, ousting Sir Ashley Bramall by 21 votes to 15. Bramall, who had been Leader for the previous eleven years, would have preferred to stay. Frances Morrell became Deputy Leader, replacing Mair Garside. The Labour right thought this takeover had been brutal and several of them decided to make life difficult for the new administration. Among the first decisions taken under Davies' control was to allow GLC teachers paid leave to attend the People's March for Jobs, a protest against unemployment, but a rebellion by more moderate Labour councillors defeated the plan. ILEA continued the comprehensivisation policy and intensified it by ending 'streaming' within schools and insisting that Church schools end all selection as well. Davies' early priorities included a reduction in the price of school meals, which he eventually pressed through in spite of defeats caused by Labour rebellions and efforts to have it declared illegal. ILEA's budget increased by 14% in the first year (and its precept by 46%) while the Conservatives nationally criticised the cost of schooling under ILEA which was the highest in the country.
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
had taken against ILEA when Education Secretary in the Heath government. However Davies never had to deal with the abolition of ILEA, as his deputy Frances Morrell used her connections within the GLC Women's Group to depose him in April 1983. He remained as a backbencher long enough to prove his left-wing credentials by supporting the strategy, subsequently held to be illegal, of refusing to set a GLC rate as a protest at ratecapping.


Professional career

Davies went back into pensions in 1985 as a Director of Pensions and Investment Research Consultants. Later that year he was appointed as a Research Actuary at Bacon and Woodrow, and resigned from the GLC and ILEA. In 1989 he set up Union Pension Services, a consultancy on occupation pensions specialising in those for trade unions. He continues to work in and write about pensions.


Honours

Davies was made a Baron in the Dissolution Peerages 2019 by the Leader of the Labour Party at the time, Jeremy Corbyn. He made his maiden speech on 25 November 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Bryn 1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of Hull British actuaries Members of the Greater London Council Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) life peers Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth Life peers created by Elizabeth II