George Lennox ("Len") Fyfe, Baron Fyfe of Fairfield (10 April 1941 – 1 February 2011) was a British politician and

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 ...

who sat as a

Labour and Co-operative 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 e ...

member of the House of Lords. Fyfe was born at

Sauchie Sauchie is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth and south of the Ochil Hills, within the council area of Clackmannanshire. Sauchie has a population of around 6000 and is located northeast of Alloa and ...

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

, the son of George Lennox Fyfe and Elizabeth Struthers Fyfe. He was educated at

Alloa Academy Alloa Academy is a six-year state school, state-funded school, serving the town of Alloa in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. The pupil intake comes from four "feeder" primary schools, Redwell, Sunnyside, St. Mungo's and Park, and varies from a midd ...

and

Co-operative College Co-operative College is a UK educational charity dedicated to the promotion of co-operative values, ideas and principles within co-operatives, communities and society. Origins and development The Co-operative College is an educational charity w ...

, Loughborough. Fyfe made his career in the

Co-operative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

, initially in Scotland; he was general manager of the Kirriemuir Co-operative Society from 1966 to 1968, and regional manager of the Scottish Co-operative Society from 1968 to 1972. He was group general manager of the

Co-operative Wholesale Society A cooperative wholesale society (CWS) is a form of cooperative federation (that is, a cooperative in which all the members are cooperatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. The theory, practice and history of th ...

from 1972 to 1975. He served as Chief Executive of the Leicestershire Co-operative Society from 1975 to 1995, and, following a merger, held the same position at the

Midlands Co-operative Society Midlands Co-operative Society Limited was the second largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was a registered Industrial and Provident Society, a member of the Co-operative Union, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group and a c ...

until 2000. He was a member of the East Midlands Economic Planning Council from 1976 to 1979. Fyfe served variously as director, deputy chairman or chairman of many co-operative businesses from the early 1980s onwards, including Shoefayre, Co-operative Wholesale Society,

Co-operative Insurance Society Co-op Insurance Services Limited, trading as Co-op Insurance, is a general insurance company which is part of the Co-operative Group, based in Manchester, United Kingdom. For most of its history, Co-op Insurance was also a life insurer and fu ...

The Co-operative Bank The Co-operative Bank p.l.c. is a British retail and commercial bank based in Manchester, England. Established as a bank for co-operators and co-operatives following the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers, the business evolved in the 20th ce ...

and

Unity Trust Bank Unity Trust Bank plc provides specialist business banking services to trade unions, charities and other organisations that operate in the not-for-profit sector in the United Kingdom and, since 2015, its remit has expanded to include profit-with-pu ...

. He was also a member of the central committee of the

International Co-operative Alliance The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), established in 1895, is a non-governmental organization dedicated to uniting, representing, and supporting cooperatives around the world. It is the guardian of the internationally recognized definiti ...

and served as president of the Co-operative Congress in 2001. He was created a

on 16 May 2000 as Baron Fyfe of Fairfield, of

. In the House of Lords he was a member of the European Union Committee, sitting on sub-committees on Environment, Agriculture, Public Health and Consumer Protection until 2003, and on the Internal Market from 2005 until his death. Fyfe served as a Justice of the Peace for

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

from 1972 to 1975. He was also director of Central Television from 1983 to 1992, and a member of the court of

Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...

. Lennox Fyfe married Ann Clark in 1965; she died in 1999. The couple had a son (deceased) and a daughter.

References

Sources

parliament.uk

* * https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldjournal/239/074.htm *Who's Who 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fyfe of Fairfield, Lennox Fyfe, Baron 1941 births 2011 deaths Nobility from Clackmannanshire People educated at Alloa Academy Scottish Labour politicians Labour Party (UK) life peers Labour Co-operative life peers 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Life peers created by Elizabeth II