Dianne Hayter, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (born 7 September 1949) is a British politician serving as a

Member of the House of Lords This is a list of current members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual Twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops ...

since 2010. A member of the

Labour and Co-operative Party Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

, she was Shadow Deputy

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...

from 2017 to 2021. Hayter represented

Socialist Societies A socialist society is a membership organisation that is affiliated with the Labour Party in the UK. The best-known and oldest socialist society is the Fabian Society, founded in 1884, some years before the creation of the Labour Party itself ( ...

on the

National Executive Committee of the Labour Party The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the governing body of the UK Labour Party, setting the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affil ...

from 1998 to 2010, chairing the committee from 2007 to 2008. She served in numerous opposition front bench roles in the Lords from 2011 until 2021, when she became Chair of the International Agreements Committee.

Early life

She is the daughter of Flt Lt Alec Bristow Hayter (died 1972), and Nancy Evans (died 1959). Educated at

Trevelyan College Trevelyan College (known colloquially as Trevs) is a Colleges of the University of Durham, college of Durham University, England. Founded in 1966, the college takes its name from social historian George Macaulay Trevelyan (pronounced "Trevillia ...

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, where she studied Social and Public Administration (BA), she gained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in 2004.

Professional career

Hayter was a Director of Alcohol Concern from 1984 to 1990, and Director of Corporate Affairs for the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

from 1996 to 1999. She served as a board member of a number of organisations, including the

Financial Reporting Council The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and ...

's Board of Actuarial Standards, the Determinations Panel of

The Pensions Regulator The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is a non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive ...

, the Surveying Ombudsman Service, and the Insolvency Practices Council. Hayter chaired the Legal Services Consumer Panel, and was formerly vice chairman of the

Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

Consumer Panel and chair of the Consumer Panel of the Bar Standards Board. She was a JP from 1976 to 1990.

Political career

Hayter was the General Secretary of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

between 1976 and 1982 and Chief Executive of the

European Parliamentary Labour Party The European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) was the parliamentary party of the British Labour Party in the European Parliament. The EPLP was part of the pan-European Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), (with MEPs from sister parties such a ...

during 1990 to 1996. She sat on Labour's National Executive Committee from 1998 to 2010 and chaired it in 2007–08. Th
Labour History Archive and Study Centre
at the

People's History Museum The People's History Museum (the National Museum of Labour History until 2001) in Manchester, England, is the United Kingdom's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of wor ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

holds the personal papers of Dianne Hayter in their collection, spanning the period from the late 1970s to 2010.

House of Lords

On 22 June 2010, she 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 Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, of

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

, and was introduced in 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 ...

the same day. She was an Opposition Whip from October 2011 to September 2015. Between 2012 and 2021, Hayter discontinuously served as a Shadow Spokesperson for the following departments: * Business, Innovation and Skills, later Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy *

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

* Digital, Culture, Media and Sport * Exiting the European Union *

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

* Women and Equalities She was elected Deputy leader of Labour in the Lords in June 2017. She is a member of

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...

. In July 2019,

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

sacked her as Shadow Brexit Spokesperson for making what the party called "deeply offensive" remarks at a

Labour First Labour First is a British political organisation associated with the Labour Party. It was originally founded in 1980 but refounded in 1988. Born out of the political right wing of the Labour Party's struggles with its left wing, it sees itself as ...

meeting. Hayter asserted that the party's leadership was not open to external views and suggested those around Corbyn were "in a bunker" like the "last days of Hitler". Despite this, she remained deputy leader in the Lords, as that was an elected position.

Personal life

Dianne Hayter lives in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

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 ...

with her husband, Professor (Anthony) David Caplin, whom she married in 1994.

Publications

Hayter has written ''Fabian Tract no. 451—The Labour Party: Crisis and Prospects'' (September 1977), ''Fightback—Labour's traditional right in the 1970s and 1980s'' (2005), and ''Men Who Made Labour—Celebrating the Centenary of the Parliamentary Labour Party'' (2006) (with Lord Haworth). *
The Labour Party: crisis and prospects
' (Fabian Soc.), 1977; *(contrib.) ''Labour in the Eighties'', 1980; *(contrib.) ''Prime Minister Portillo and Other Things that Never Happened'', 2003; *''Fightback!: Labour's Traditional Right in the 1970s and 1980s'', 2005; *(ed jtly with Lord Haworth) ''Men Who Made Labour'', 2006; *(contrib.) ''From the Workhouse to Welfare'', 2009.

References

External links

Labour Party profileNational Consumer Council profileFightback!: Labour's Traditional Right in the 1970s and 1980s
Dianne Hayter, 2005, {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayter, Dianne 1949 births Living people Alumni of Trevelyan College, Durham Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Politicians from the London Borough of Islington British socialist feminists Labour Co-operative life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People from Kentish Town Place of birth missing (living people) Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) General secretaries of the Fabian Society Chairs of the Fabian Society Labour Friends of Israel Politicians from the London Borough of Camden