Sadly, we must report the death of the Rt. Hon. Lord Haselhurst of Saffron Walden in the County of Essex, Chair of the West Anglia Taskforce and former Vice-Chair of the UKIC, who died last week, aged 88.
Alan Gordon Barraclough Haselhurst [Baron Haselhurst PC:] a graduate of Oriel College, Oxford, served as the MP for Middleton & Prestwich for four years and as the MP for Saffron Walden for an amazing 40 years. A gifted and popular MP, he was Knighted in 1995 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1999. He rose to be elected as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and Chairman of Ways and Means, serving in this role from 1997 – 2010. His formidable reputation in this important role was further enhanced beyond Parliament, when a recorded clip of him chairing his final adjournment debate trended on YouTube – ‘Sir Alan roars one last time.’
Considered a one nation conservative and a supporter of Britain in Europe, he worked as a director of the charity, Turning Point, which supports socially excluded young people. He was also widely published as an author of books about cricket and a member of Marylebone Cricket Club. After retiring as an MP, he was nominated for elevation to the Peerage by Prime Minister, Theresa May MP and created a Baron in 2018, where he sat on the Conservative benches becoming active on a number of Lords Committees, where his strengths on transport and railway matters, made an important contribution.
We know him best as the Chair of the West Anglia Taskforce for over ten years until his death this year on the 1st June, having been appointed jointly by the then, Secretary of State for Transport and the Mayor of London. His passion for improvements to the infrastructure and services on the West Anglia Mainline, together with other vocal advocates, bore fruit over time and saw a better comprehensive timetable introduced, the entire, aging Abellio – Greater Anglia rolling stock replaced by a £1.2 billion new fleet of state-of-the-art new trains and a new Network Rail station built at Cambridge North.
Warm tributes to Alan on the announcement of his death last week included;
Sir Lindsey Hoyle MP, Speaker of the House of Commons; described him as a “distinguished and respected parliamentarian, serving on numerous committees during his time in the House, as well as a leading role with the Parliamentary Commonwealth Association.”
Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Opposition and Sir Alan’s successor as MP for Saffron Walden said; “He was a good and kind man and will be much missed.” She also noted that, outside Parliament his greatest passion was cricket – and she reminisced about how he had tried to get her to join the parliamentary cricket team.
Sir Keir Starmer MP, opening Prime Minister’s Questions; paid tribute to Lord Haselhurst, saying, “I know he will be deeply missed, particularly on the benches opposite.”
Mark Lucas, Secretary to the West Anglia Taskforce and UKIC Adviser, who worked closely with Alan for ten years said: “He was truly honourable and a gentleman, in every sense of those words. Moreover, his energy and drive to make railway travel a rewarding experience for everyone one of us who steps onto a train each day, was a mission that never left him.”
Image Credit: Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
