Arthur Gordon Lishman , known as Gordon Lishman (born 1947) is a British social and elder rights activist, Liberal politician, writer and former Director General of

Age Concern Age Concern is the banner title used by several charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom. I ...

England.

Career

Lishman graduated in economics and political science from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1968. Together with Tony Greaves, Lishman moved the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

's Community Politics motion in 1970. In 1980, he co-wrote ''The Theory and Practice of Community Politics'' with Bernard Greaves. He was the Liberal Party Parliamentary Candidate for Bradford North in the February 1974 and October 1974 General Elections, and for Pendle in the 1983 and 1987 General Elections. For the Liberal Democrats, he contested

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

in the 2015 general election and Pendle in the 2017 general election. He contested Pendle again in the 2019 general election, finishing third with 3.5% of the vote, up from his third place result of 2.1% two years earlier. Lishman joined Age Concern England in 1974, becoming Director General of the charity in 2000. He left in 2009, after the charity had lost £22 million on the

Heyday Heyday may refer to: * ''Heyday'' (The Church album), 1986 * ''Heyday'' (Fairport Convention album), 1987 * Heyday (song), a 2000 song by Mic Christopher * ''Heyday'' (novel), a historical novel by Kurt Andersen * Heyday Books, an independent ...

project, having led the charity through to its merger with Help the Aged, to form a new charity, Age UK. He was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

and promoted to Commander of the same Order (CBE) in the

2006 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2006 in some Commonwealth realms were announced (on 31 December 2005) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Grenada, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Saint Christopher and Nevis to c ...

for services to older people. Lishman was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire in 2002. In 2007, he was asked by

Ivan Lewis Ivan Lewis (born 4 March 1967) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury South from 1997 to 2019, initially as a member of the Labour Party then as an independent from 2017. After serving in various ministeri ...

to chair the Department of Health's Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board.

Bibliography

*''Participation in a Competitive Economy'' – Peter McGregor and Gordon Lishman, Liberal Publication Department, *''A Redefinition of Retirement'' – Gordon Lishman, Liberal Publication Department,

References

External links

* * 1947 births Living people Elder rights activists Alumni of the University of Manchester Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors {{UK-activist-stub