Maurice Peston was an outstanding exception, as a stream of his more notable former pupils will testify, not least David (“Danny”) Blanchflower, a sometime member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, and now a professor at Dartmouth College in the US, and Gerard Lyons, currently enjoying the challenging role of being economic adviser to the mayor of London. He returned to Britain for national service and – because of his research in the US into game theory – he was promoted to senior scientific officer in the Army Operational Research Group. The ITV political editor and host of Peston On Sunday lost his wife to cancer five years ago, but the first and last chapters of WTF are actually a letter to his late father, Lord Peston See full list of topics voted on. Unfortunately this was the election when the Labour MP Gerald Kaufman described the Labour manifesto as “the longest suicide note in history” and the debate was hard going. He married Helen Conroy in London in 1958.[5]. Peston founded the economics department at Queen Mary College, London, and advised various government departments and Labour Secretaries of State from the 1960s through to the 1990s. Matthew spoke to friend, Lord

A selection of Lord Peston's votes. The combination of formidable intellect, irrepressible (often acerbic) sense of humour, and sheer zest for life, made his company a delight. In March 2015, Robert Peston, Lord Peston's son and acclaimed journalist, gave the annual Peston Lecture. Bernard Donoughue, in the second volume of his Downing Street Diary, recounts telling Shirley Williams that she needed someone of Maurice’s calibre to help her make sense of the interminable cabinet discussions. It was the only remedy that would restore international financial confidence. [3], Peston was created a life peer as Baron Peston, of Mile End, in Greater London, on 24 March 1987.

1 vote for, 0 votes against, 14 absences, between 2008–2011, 0 votes for, 2 votes against, 5 absences, in 2011, Member, Science and Technology Committee (Lords), Member, Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill Committee, Member, Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, Member, Library and Computers Sub Committee. He graduated from the London School of Economics and undertook postgraduate study at Princeton University. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

Education, particularly the promotion of the comprehensive principle, had always been at the heart of his political philosophy. Lord Peston is no longer a Member of the Lords, but sat in the House under this title between 25 March 1987 and 23 April 2016. second volume of his Downing Street Diary. Maurice was proud of being told that a television programme he presented for the Open University – on the dry subject of fiscal policy – was one of its most popular ever. [3], Peston was born in 1931 in London, the son of Abraham Peston and Yetta R. (née Malt) Peston. Perhaps a more important indication of Maurice’s character was the permanent secretary’s expressed fear that my department was not big enough to justify a special adviser with the rank of deputy secretary – an eminence that Maurice had enjoyed at Education. All rights reserved.

By 1983 unemployment was indeed soaring, and Maurice and I did our best to argue for a reflationary policy. Maurice Harry Peston, Baron Peston (19 March 1931 – 23 April 2016[1]) was a British economist and Labour life peer. After two weeks of raucous disagreement, the editor of the Times Educational Supplement telephoned me to say that he proposed to end the argument by consulting the only acknowledged expert on education expenditure, Professor Maurice Peston. I first met Maurice in 1965 when, together with a Tory backbencher, I debated, in front of an audience of sixth-form school students, the merits (or otherwise) of the budget. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert If an MP votes by proxy, it is effectively exactly the same as if they cast the vote in person and it shows up on their TheyWorkForYou voting record. The Chilean President Patricio Aylwin who is credited with restoring democracy after nearly 17 years of military dictatorship. And the actor Gareth Thomas best known for his leading role in the TV series Blake's Seven. The government’s economic policy was a good cause. The physicist Professor Sir David Mackay, known as 'the cleverest man in Cambridge' and a debunker of myths about climate change. Get insights on TheyWorkForYou and other mySociety sites, in our popular newsletter, Your donations keep this site and others like it running. • Maurice Harry Peston, Lord Peston, economist, born 19 March 1931; died 23 April 2016, Available for everyone, funded by readers. It continued, back in London, at Hackney Downs, where he was – together with his contemporary Harold Pinter – one of the stream of bright Jewish boys that the school produced. Shows previous posts, roles and other relevant information. According to Maurice, Rix said: “Don’t look so shocked. We will update this information if the situation changes.

From time to time Maurice would be a welcome guest columnist for the Observer In My View column, and we once combined forces in a pre-election debate in 1983 in Preston town hall. In his words, " In March 2015, I gave a lecture in honour of my dad, the annual Peston Lecture at Queen Mary College - where he founded the economics department 50 years ago. Maurice was supported and sustained for almost 60 years by Helen (nee Cohen) – a woman of distinction in her own right. He remained there for more than 20 years (retiring as emeritus professor in 1988), publishing erudite works on macroeconomics, but devoting more and more time to public affairs. The economist Lord Peston who advised the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. I first met Maurice in the late 1960s, when I was on the Financial Times and reporting on a meeting of the Society of Business Economists. Born 12 July 1930; died 7 April 2016 Aged 82. My speech was awarded a B-, a grade that I still resented even after my opponent’s contribution was classified as C. When I became the Labour party’s education spokesman in 1972 – shadowing Margaret Thatcher – I naturally turned to Maurice for advice. He served on the opposition frontbench and his speeches were so admired that his omission from the Blair government was an astonishment on all sides. He was an active member of the Parliamentary Humanist Group.