Bill Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton
British politician
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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 | |
| Life peerage 20 July 1977 – 9 March 2012 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 April 1927 |
| Died | 9 March 2012 (aged 84) |
| Party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) |
Nina Salaman
(m. 1951; div. 1962)Frances Knight (m. 1969) |
| Children | Sarah David Lucy Jonathan |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge, London School of Economics |
Education and career
After taking a BA 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][citation needed][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
- 'Consultation and Collective Bargaining in Europe: Success or Ideology' [1997] 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