Nicolas Guy Barnett (23 August 1928 – 24 December 1986) was a British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for

South Dorset South Dorset is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2024 by Lloyd Hatton, of th ...

from a by-election victory in 1962 until he was unseated in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and later for

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

from a 1971 by-election until his death.

Background

Barnett was born in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

in 1928. He was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...

and

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...

, where he read

politics, philosophy and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the Unive ...

. While at Oxford, he became a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, which ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said was instrumental in developing his left-wing politics. Barnett taught at

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (day school, no boarding) for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabet ...

, from 1953 to 1959 and at

Friends' School, Kamusinga Friends School Kamusinga (FSK), popularly known as Kamu/Frishka, is a Kenyan Quaker national school established in 1956 and located in Kimilili, Bungoma County, Kenya. The school is located 409.9 kilometres from Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. It ...

, in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, from 1960 to 1961. He then worked for various development charities, including

Voluntary Service Overseas VSO is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact through a blended volunteer model c ...

. He served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during his national service.

Parliamentary career

After unsuccessfully contesting Scarborough and Whitby in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, Barnett was elected as the MP for

at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in November 1962 after the sitting

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 ...

MP Victor Montagu succeeded to the peerage as the

Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montag ...

. Barnett only held the seat briefly as he was defeated at the 1964 general election. He was returned to Parliament as the MP for

at a by-election in July 1971, upon the resignation of the sitting Labour MP Richard Marsh to become chairman of British Rail, and held the seat until his death on Christmas Eve 1986. The subsequent by-election in February 1987 was won by the SDP candidate

Rosie Barnes Rosemary Susan Barnes, Order of the British Empire, OBE (''née'' Allen; born 16 May 1946) is an English charity organiser and former politician. She became nationally known when she won a by-election in 1987 for the Social Democratic Party (UK ...

Parliamentary offices

Guy Barnett was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

, under

Peter Shore Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney, (20 May 1924 – 24 September 2001) was a British Labour Party politician and Cabinet minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. H ...

, from 1976 to 1979 (when Labour lost that year's general election) and Joint Secretary of the Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development from 1984 to 1986. He was a Member of the Parliamentary Select committee on Race Relations and Immigration from 1972 to 1974 and of the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

in 1975. He was a Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 1975 to 1976, as an appointed delegate of the UK Parliament.

Other roles

He was a Member of the General Advisory Council of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 1973 to 1976, served on the board of

Christian Aid Christian Aid is a relief and development charity of 41 Christian (Protestant and Orthodox) churches in Great Britain and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster rel ...

from 1984 to 1986, a Governor of the

Institute of Development Studies An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

from 1984 to 1986 and a Trustee of the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

, Greenwich from 1974 to 1976. He was also a Justice of the Peace. In 1965, Cambridge University press published his book, ''By the Lake'', about Kenyan culture.

Personal life and death

In 1967, he married Daphne Anne Hortin. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Barnett died in

from a heart attack on Christmas Eve 1986, aged 58.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Guy 1928 births 1986 deaths Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford English Quakers English expatriates in Kenya Labour Party (UK) MEPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 People educated at Highgate School People from Dulwich People from Greenwich Royal Air Force airmen UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for South Dorset