Bill Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton
Kenneth William Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton, QC, FBA (13 April 1927 – 9 March 2012) was a British politician and member of the House of Lords, affiliated with the Labour Party. He briefly became a crossbench member, citing his dislike of Blairism and 'the smell' of cash for questions.[1] He re-took the Labour Party whip in 2007.[2][3] He worked at the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics, where he was the Cassel Professor of Commercial Law from 1964 until his retirement in 1992.[4]
The Lord Wedderburn of Charlton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 20 July 1977 – 9 March 2012 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 April 1927 London, United Kingdom |
| Died | 9 March 2012 (aged 84) London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Nina Salaman (div.) Dorothy Cole (div.) Frances Knight |
| Children | Sarah David Lucy Jonathan |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge, London School of Economics |
Education and career
After graduating in law from Queens' College, Cambridge, Wedderburn served in the RAF for two years. He had a long career in labour law, and on 20 July 1977 was created a life peer with the title Baron Wedderburn of Charlton, of Highgate in Greater London[5] (Wedderburn chose this title as a tribute to his favourite football team Charlton Athletic F.C.[6][7]).
He was an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. Wedderburn also served as a key member of the 1977 Bullock Committee.[4]
Personal life
In 1951 he married Nina Salaman, a medical researcher from a family of scientists and named after a grandmother. They had three children, Sarah, David and Lucy. The marriage ended in divorce.[8]
His second marriage in 1962 was to Dorothy Cole, a social scientist and university administrator. It also ended in divorce. His third marriage in 1969 was to Frances Knight with whom he had a son, Jonathan.[9] He was a direct descendant of Jamaican-born radical leader and anti-slavery advocate Robert Wedderburn[10] and thus also of the Jacobite rebel Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet of Blackness.
Bibliography
- Articles
- 'Shareholders' rights and the rule in Foss v Harbottle' [1957] 16 CLJ 194
- 'Freedom of Association and Philosophies of Labour Law' [1989] 18 Industrial Law Journal
- 'Employees, Partnership and Company Law' [2002] Industrial Law Journal
- Books
- The Worker and the Law, Penguin Books Ltd; 3rd Revised edition (25 September 1986), ISBN 0140226591
See also
References
- "Still fighting for freedom". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022.
- DoD Online Biography Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Death of Bill Wedderburn - Labour lawyer worked for the workers Archived 13 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- "Bill Wedderburn". The Modern Law Review. 76: 1–5. 2013. doi:10.1111/1468-2230.12008.
- "No. 47282". The London Gazette. 22 July 1977. p. 9543.
- Employment Law lectures at LSE passim
- Labour lawyer who fought for the rights of workers
- Wedderburn, Lucy (23 September 2020). "Nina Wedderburn obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- The Guardian - Obituary 12 March 2012, accessed 20 September 2012
- "Obituaries-Lord Wedderburn of Charlton: Labour lawyer who fought for the rights of workers". The Independent. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2017.