Jeremy Hugh Beecham, Baron Beecham (born 14 November 1944) is a British Labour politician and a senior figure in English local government. He was leader of

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. ...

and the first Chairman of the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local government in England, local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the ...

. He was the elected Chairman of 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 ...

(October 2005 – September 2006). Beecham was educated at the Royal Grammar School,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

(1962–1965), where he obtained a first class honours degree in law. He became a solicitor. He joined the Labour Party in 1959, and was elected a councillor for Benwell, Newcastle, in the Newcastle City Council elections of 11 May 1967. He stood for Parliament without success in

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

in 1970. He chaired the Social Services Committee on the council from 1973 to 1977 and was Leader of Newcastle from 1977 to 1994, chairing the Finance Committee from 1979 to 1984. In 1991, Beecham became Chairman of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities (AMA). When the AMA merged with the Association of District Councils and the Association of County Councils on 1 April 1997 to form the

, he became the first chairman of the LGA. He is, , the LGA vice-chairman and continues to chair the LGA Labour Group.He was the President of the British Urban Regeneration Association (now folded). Beecham belongs to

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 ...

. Beecham has been a member of many boards and committees in Newcastle and

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

, and advising government. He has been a member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee since 1998 and was its chairman. He became a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1994 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday. Publication dates vary from year to year. Most are published in supplements to the ''London Gazette'' and many are formally conferred by the monarch (o ...

having the honour conferred by HM The Queen on 22 November 1994. He was made a Freeman of the City of Newcastle in 1995. He is Deputy Lieutenant for the County of

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

and continues to represent Benwell and Scotswood on the City Council. He has been a council member at charity

Common Purpose The doctrine of common purpose, common design, joint enterprise, joint criminal enterprise or parasitic accessory liability is a common law legal doctrine that imputes criminal liability to the participants in a criminal enterprise for all reas ...

since 1989. He is Jewish, and a board member of the

New Israel Fund The New Israel Fund (NIF; ; ) is a United States–based NGO established in 1979. It describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis. The New Israel Fund says it has provided $300 million to over 900 Israeli civil society ...

in the UK. On 20 July 2010, Beecham 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 Beecham, ''of Benwell and

in the County of Tyne and Wear'', 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 ...

on 28 July 2010.House of Lords Minute of Proceedings
28 July 2010. He sat on the Labour benches until his retirement in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beecham, Jeremy 1944 births Living people Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Councillors in Newcastle upon Tyne Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of University College, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Tyne and Wear Labour Friends of Israel Knights Bachelor Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Jewish British politicians Leaders of local authorities of England Chairs of the Local Government Association Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014