Margaret Bayne Todd (4 January 1906 – 27 July 2004) was a political and social campaigner born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

but is usually more associated with

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, settling there in the 1920s and becoming the first woman to achieve a degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. She married Thomas Spensley Simey, a

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Liverpool University The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University, it received Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1903 attaining the de ...

; he was later awarded a

life peerage 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 ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, but she did not use the title "Lady Simey". They had one son.''The Independent'' obit, Thursday 29 July 2004. She attended

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...

in London, and was involved, with

Elsie J. Oxenham Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley (25 November 1880 – 9 January 1960), was an English girls' story writer, who took the name Oxenham as her pseudonym when her first book, '' Goblin Island'', was published in 1907. Her Abbey Series of 38 titles are her ...

, in the

British Camp Fire Girls' Association The British Camp Fire Girls' Association was a youth organisation in the UK. It was founded in 1921 and was an offshoot of Camp Fire USA. The association was the focus of an article in the March 1999 issue of ''Best of British'' magazine. See ...

. Oxenham wrote the sixteen-year-old Simey into her novel ''Abbey Girls in Town'' and dedicated it to her; as a teenager, Simey had chosen "Thistle" as her

Camp Fire A campfire is a fire at a campsite. Campfire or Camp Fire may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Campfire'' (James Blundell album) (2017) * ''Campfire'' (Kasey Chambers album) (2018) * ''Campfire'' (Rend Collective album) (2012) * "Camp ...

name and later became known to herself and others as a "prickly customer". She became well known as a left-wing campaigner in

, served as a Liverpool City Councillor from 1963, was then a councillor on the now defunct Merseyside County Council from 1974, and was chair of the

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

County Police Committee at the time of the

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

riots in 1981, frequently coming into conflict with the then Chief Constable,

Kenneth Oxford Sir Kenneth Gordon Oxford (25 June 1924 – 23 November 1998) was a senior British police officer and chief constable of Merseyside Police from 1976 to 1989. Life Early life Kenneth Oxford was born in Camberwell, London, and educated at Cald ...

and gaining a reputation for being outspoken about topics in which she believed. Representing the inner-city Granby Ward, she was well aware of the local tensions which led to the Toxteth Riots; over the preceding decade, the use of police powers to stop and search had increased, and the police had recently begun to close nightclubs associated with crime. Simey had foreseen that this would cause tension and had predicted that the closure of one club in particular would lead to a riot. She was correct. She also served as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

in Liverpool, was awarded an honorary

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 ...

of the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

for her services to the community, and in 2002 was offered the honour of

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the City of Liverpool, but declined. Todd died on 27 July 2004, aged 98.

Bibliography

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References

Guardian Obituary
1906 births 2004 deaths Women councillors in England Councillors in Liverpool People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Alumni of the University of Liverpool 20th-century British women politicians {{UK-activist-stub