Alf Dubs
Encyclopedia
Alfred Dubs, Baron Dubs (born December 1932) is a Czech
-born British
Labour Party
politician and former Member of Parliament
.
, then in Czechoslovakia
, Dubs was one of 669 Czech, mainly Jewish, children saved by English stockbroker Nicholas Winton
from the Nazis
on the 'Kindertransport
'. He only discovered that he was one of the "Winton children" a few years ago after a relative saw his name on a television programme by Esther Rantzen
. He has a clear memory of leaving Prague station at the age of six and not touching the food pack given to him by his mother for the next two days. But he had no idea who masterminded his escape. He has written and broadcast extensively on the subject, campaigning for Winton to be honoured. Winton was later knighted for his actions.
He was educated at Cheadle Hulme School
and the London School of Economics
. He then worked as a local government officer.
as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Battersea South
and in 1983
for Battersea
, before losing his seat at the 1987 election
. From 1988 to 1995 he was Director of the Refugee Council
. In 1994 was appointed a Labour Working peerage
as Baron Dubs, of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth
. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office
from May 1997 to December 1999.
Whilst Dubs was an MP, John O'Farrell
worked in his office and was a Labour activist in Battersea. O'Farrell described in his book (Things can only get better) the events leading up to Dubs' shock defeat by the Conservative
candidate John Bowis
at the 1987 general election
. Dubs stood for Battersea again at the 1992 election
, only to see the Conservative majority increase against the national trend. Subsequently, he was given a life peer
age.
Lord Dubs has served on an Area Health Authority and more recently on a Mental Health Trust. He was Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Commission until December 2003 and had previously been Deputy Chair of the Independent Television Commission
. He is a Trustee of the Open University
Foundation.
In the past, he has been a local Councillor, Chair of the Fabian Society
, Chair of Liberty
, a Trustee of Action Aid, a Trustee of the Immigration Advisory Service
and of a number of other voluntary organisations.
Lord Dubs is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
.
In 2008 Lord Dubs was an active member of the House of Lords, participating in 42 debates, well above average for a Peer. He has spoken on many varied subjects including the National Probation Service
and Road Safety. He serves on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights
.
Lord Dubs is currently the Chair of the Road Safety Foundation
.
Dubs lists his main home as a cottage in the Lake District in Cumbria which enabled him to claim over £26,000 of overnight subsistence in 2007/8 although he has lived in Notting Hill, west London, since 1964. He argued in justification in May 2009 that Lords regard the overnight allowance as a payment in lieu of salary. "We are the only legislators in the world that don’t get paid," he said. "The overnight thing is quite generous because it compensates for not having a salary. In practice that’s how it works."
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician and former Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Youth and education
Born in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, then in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Dubs was one of 669 Czech, mainly Jewish, children saved by English stockbroker Nicholas Winton
Nicholas Winton
Sir Nicholas George Winton, MBE is a British humanitarian who organised the rescue of 669 mostly Jewish children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport. Winton found homes for them and arranged for their safe...
from the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
on the 'Kindertransport
Kindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
'. He only discovered that he was one of the "Winton children" a few years ago after a relative saw his name on a television programme by Esther Rantzen
Esther Rantzen
Esther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma...
. He has a clear memory of leaving Prague station at the age of six and not touching the food pack given to him by his mother for the next two days. But he had no idea who masterminded his escape. He has written and broadcast extensively on the subject, campaigning for Winton to be honoured. Winton was later knighted for his actions.
He was educated at Cheadle Hulme School
Cheadle Hulme School
Cheadle Hulme School is an independent day school in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, England for boys and girls aged 4–18 years old. It was formed as The Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks' Orphan Schools in 1855 and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.- History :In the early...
and the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He then worked as a local government officer.
Career
Dubs was elected at 1979 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Battersea South
Battersea South (UK Parliament constituency)
Battersea South was a parliamentary constituency, originally in the County of London and later in Greater London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.It was created for the 1918...
and in 1983
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
for Battersea
Battersea (UK Parliament constituency)
Battersea is a parliamentary constituency located in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.- Boundaries :The...
, before losing his seat at the 1987 election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
. From 1988 to 1995 he was Director of the Refugee Council
Refugee Council
The Refugee Council is the United Kingdom's leading organisation working with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations...
. In 1994 was appointed a Labour Working peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
as Baron Dubs, of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
from May 1997 to December 1999.
Whilst Dubs was an MP, John O'Farrell
John O'Farrell
John O'Farrell is a British author, broadcaster and comedy scriptwriter.-Early life:O’Farrell grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire the youngest of three children, attending Courthouse Primary School and then Desborough Comprehensive...
worked in his office and was a Labour activist in Battersea. O'Farrell described in his book (Things can only get better) the events leading up to Dubs' shock defeat by the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate John Bowis
John Bowis
John Crocket Bowis OBE is a former Conservative MP and MEP.- Education :John Bowis was educated at Tonbridge School and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics....
at the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
. Dubs stood for Battersea again at the 1992 election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, only to see the Conservative majority increase against the national trend. Subsequently, he was given a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
age.
Lord Dubs has served on an Area Health Authority and more recently on a Mental Health Trust. He was Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Commission until December 2003 and had previously been Deputy Chair of the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
. He is a Trustee of the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
Foundation.
In the past, he has been a local Councillor, Chair of the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
, Chair of Liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
, a Trustee of Action Aid, a Trustee of the Immigration Advisory Service
Immigration Advisory Service
The Immigration Advisory Service is a UK organisation registered as a charity, providing direct legal assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and others needing advice and guidance around British immigration law. Founded in 1993, it was formed out of the former United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory...
and of a number of other voluntary organisations.
Lord Dubs is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
.
In 2008 Lord Dubs was an active member of the House of Lords, participating in 42 debates, well above average for a Peer. He has spoken on many varied subjects including the National Probation Service
National Probation Service
thumb|right|100px|NPS logoThe National Probation Service for England and Wales is a statutory Criminal Justice Service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal courts to assist them in their sentencing duties...
and Road Safety. He serves on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights
Joint Committee on Human Rights
The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a select committee of both the House of Commons and House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
.
Lord Dubs is currently the Chair of the Road Safety Foundation
Road Safety Foundation
The Road Safety Foundation is a UK based charity which carries out and procures research into safe road design and road safety. The Foundation is responsible for the European Road Assessment Programme in the UK and Ireland.-History:...
.
Dubs lists his main home as a cottage in the Lake District in Cumbria which enabled him to claim over £26,000 of overnight subsistence in 2007/8 although he has lived in Notting Hill, west London, since 1964. He argued in justification in May 2009 that Lords regard the overnight allowance as a payment in lieu of salary. "We are the only legislators in the world that don’t get paid," he said. "The overnight thing is quite generous because it compensates for not having a salary. In practice that’s how it works."