Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury

Eric Lubbock 4th Baron Avebury
Lord Avebury on the terrace of the Palace of Westminster
Born	Eric Reginald Lubbock 29 September 1928 (1928-09-29)
Nationality	British
Education	Upper Canada College Harrow School Balliol College, Oxford
Occupation	Politician
Title	4th Baron Avebury
Predecessor	3rd Baron Avebury
Political party	Liberal Liberal Democrat
Religion	Buddhist
Spouse	Kina-Maria (née O'Kelly de Gallagh) Lindsay (née Stewart)
Children	4

Eric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, PC (born 29 September 1928) is an English politician. A Liberal Member of Parliament from 1962 to 1970, he succeeded as Baron Avebury in 1971. In 1999, when the House of Lords was reformed, he was elected as a Liberal Democrat representative peer.

Background

A descendant of William Lubbock (1701–54), he is the son of the Honourable Maurice Fox Pitt Lubbock (the sixth son of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury) and the Honourable Mary Katherine Adelaide Stanley, daughter of Arthur Lyulph Stanley, 5th Baron Sheffield and Stanley of Alderley. His cousin John Lubbock, 3rd Baron Avebury died without a male heir in 1971, and Lubbock succeeded him.

Education

He was educated at Upper Canada College, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Harrow School and he read Engineering Science at Balliol College, Oxford.

Career

He served as a Lieutenant in the Welsh Guards and joined Rolls-Royce in 1951. He was employed as a production manager (1951–1956) and as a production engineer (1956–1960).

Having joined the Liberal Party in 1960 and become a councillor the following year, Lubbock won a sensational by-election victory at Orpington on 15 March 1962, with a majority of 7,855. This was a swing of nearly 22% from the Conservatives and brought the number of Liberal MPs to seven. Following his victory, he was dubbed "Orpington Man".

Many commentators speculated that the Liberals would make a substantial breakthrough at the following general election and this by-election was widely seen as the start of a Liberal revival and a possible return to government, or at least a return to the opposition.

However, the party was hampered by organisational difficulties and progress was slow, with a loss of votes and seats under Harold Wilson’s Labour government.

As the MP for Orpington, he was appointed Chief Whip by Jo Grimond in 1963, a post he held until 1970.

When the party leader Jo Grimond resigned in 1967, Eric Lubbock was one of the three Liberal MPs who stood for the position. Jeremy Thorpe, however, won with six votes to Emlyn Hooson’s and Lubbock’s three apiece.

In the Commons, he was on the Speaker’s Commission on Electoral Law in 1964–1966, and proposed STV in multi-member constituencies, only to be voted down by 18–1. He also proposed reducing the voting age to 18, on which two Labour Members supported him.

In 1970, Orpington reverted to its Tory origins. On losing the seat Lubbock said

"In 1962 the wise, far-seeing people of Orpington elected me as their Member; in 1970 the fools threw me out".

Lubbock is a grandson of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury and the following year upon the death of his cousin he succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Avebury. He sat on the Royal Commission on Standards of Conduct in Public Life and in 1976 founded the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, which he chaired for the next 21 years.

He was a member of the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Team, speaking frequently on conflict resolution and human rights. He was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at Balliol College in 2004.

Lord Avebury is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. He frequently raises matters related to British nationality law in Parliament. He has been a strong supporter of the citizenship rights of the solely British ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, and has fought for their rights.

He is also President of the Peru Support Group, and advocates on human rights issues in Peru.

In 2009, Lord Avebury was awarded (with Dr Evan Harris MP) the National Secular Society's Secularist of the Year Award in recognition of his role in the abolition of the common law offence of Blasphemous Libel.

On 15 September 2010, Lubbock, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.

Lord Avebury is a Co-Chair of the CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts) Commission, which monitors the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord by the Bangladesh Government.

Private life

He has married twice:

1. Kina-Maria O'Kelly de Gallagh (2 September 1953–1983)
   1. The Hon. Lyulph Ambrose Jonathan Lubbock (born 15 June 1954); married Susan MacDonald 14 May 1977, with issue.
   2. The Hon. Maurice Patrick Guy Lubbock (born 5 November 1955); married Diana Tobin 1982 with issue.
   3. The Hon. Victoria Sarah Maria Lubbock (born 27 April 1959); married Alan Binnie 1983 with issue.
2. Lindsay Stewart (1985– )
   1. The Hon. John William Stewart Lubbock (born 8 August 1985)

Today Lord Avebury lives in Camberwell, London. His Liberal Democrat party profile notes that he cycles to the House of Lords from Camberwell in 17 minutes. He is a Buddhist.

External links

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Lord Avebury profile at the site of the Liberal Democrats
• Lord Avebury's personal blog
• On BN(O) minors of Nepalese origin entitled to British citizenship, 4 July 2006 letter to the South China Morning Post
• Highlighting the plight of Indian ethnic minority BN(O)s in Limbo in Hong Kong, 25 September 2006 letter to the South China Morning Post
• Criticising the delay in processing of British citizenship applications of Indian-origin ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, 23 October 2006 letter to the South China Morning Post
• On persons of Indian & Nepalese origin born in Hong Kong before 30 June 1979 and 30 June 1976 entitled to British nationality, 27 November 2006 letter to the South China Morning Post
• On difficulties facing British nationals of Nepalese origin entitled to British citizenship, 22 February 2007 letter to the South China Morning Post
• Speech at Committee Stage of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill 2009 advocating that solely British Nationals (Overseas) be given a right to register as British citizens
• Video of Committee Stage of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill 2009 advocating that solely British Nationals (Overseas) be given a right to register as British citizens
• Britain must resolve issue of stateless people, letter in the South China Morning Post 14 March 2009

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Donald Sumner	Member of Parliament for Orpington 1962–1970	Succeeded by Ivor Stanbrook
Party political offices
Preceded by Arthur Holt	Liberal Chief Whip 1963–1970	Succeeded by David Steel
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Lubbock	Baron Avebury 1971–present	Incumbent