Colin Mackenzie Low, Baron Low of Dalston, (born 23 September 1942) is a British politician,

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

scholar and member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Early life

Low was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and has been blind since the age of three. He was educated at what is now

New College Worcester New College Worcester (or NCW; formerly RNIB New College) is an independent boarding and day school for students, aged 11–19, who are blind or partially sighted. It caters for around 80 students. It is located in the city of Worcester, Engl ...

, at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

( BA) and at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(Diploma in Criminology).

Career

Low was a

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in the Faculty of Law at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

from 1968 until 1984 and later held a research post at

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

until 2000. He is a vice-president of the

RNIB RNIB (formally, the Royal National Institute of Blind People and previously the Royal National Institute for the Blind) is a British charity, founded in 1868, that serves people living with visual impairments. It is regarded as a leader in th ...

and former chairman. He was also President of the European Blind Union (EBU) for 8 years from 2003. He is a board member of the Snowdon Trust, founded by the

Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017) was a British photographer. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in '' Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...

, which provides grants and scholarships for students with disabilities. Low is the Immediate Past President of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment.

Honours

Low was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

for services to the

and disabled peoples' rights. On 13 June 2006, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Low of Dalston, of

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

in the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

and he sits as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

. In 2014 he was awarded the ''Liberty'' Human Rights 'Campaign of the Year Award'. The citation reads: "for leading the campaign to ensure the protection of the Human Rights Act would apply to all residential care provided or arranged by local authorities. His victory forced the Government to accept the importance of guaranteeing human rights protections by demonstrating just how relevant those rights are for all." The award was presented to Lord Low at the annual Human Rights Awards ceremony at

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

, London, on 1 December 2014.

References

House of Lords minutes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Colin Baron Low of Dalston 1942 births Living people Blind royalty and nobility British royalty and nobility with disabilities Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission Blind politicians Academics of the University of Leeds Crossbench life peers People from Dalston Life peers created by Elizabeth II British blind people British politicians with disabilities