LORD VARLEYFormer Labour MP for Chesterfield, Cabinet minister and peer in the House of Lords, Eric Varley, Baron Varley, died on July 29, 2008, at the age of 75.He entered politics via the National Union of Mineworkers and was closely associated with industry throughout his career, though his position on the economic right wing of the party frequently caused controversy, such as his long-standing opposition to the Common Market and his attempt to closethe Chrysler car factory in 1976.Nevertheless Eric Varley was an adept parliamentarian who was loathed by the Tories and treated with suspicion by Labour's left but generally respected all round. His relations with unions were dramatically changeable - he was often photographed on picket lines but was the subject of many an inflammatory placard slogan himself - and his loyalty to the party leadership was dependent solely on their adherence to his principles.Eric Graham Varley was born on 11 August, 1932, in the historical town of Chesterfield in North Derbyshire. He left school at 15 to take up an apprenticeship at Staveley Iron and Chemical Company and by his mid-twenties he was a prominent activist, becoming secretary of his branch of the NUM in 1955, the same year he joined the Labour Party.He resumed his education around this time, studying part-time at Chesterfield Technical College, Sheffield University and finally Ruskin College, Oxford. Now armed with a formidable array of credentials, he was sponsored by the NUM to run for Parliament in the safe Chesterfield seat in 1964.Despite entering the House of Commons at the relatively young age (particularly for the 1960s) of 32, he was not one to toe the party line and voted against the government on issues of nuclear weaponry and application for Common Market membership in 1967. His strength of mind impressed the party leaders and earned him promotions, first as a Government whip and then to Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1968.In Wilson's second government he ascended further and sat in the cabinet in the new role of Secretary of State for Energy where his ties with the NUM helped rebuild bridges between the state and striking miners.He was often used as a counterweight to his left-wing rival Tony Benn and in 1975 Mr Wilson astutely swapped their roles, with Tony Benn taking over Energy and Mr Varley being promoted to Secretary of State for Industry.Tony Benn would appeal to the miners' socialist aspirations while Mr Varley would slow down the rate of nationalisation.The task was a difficult one and he faced the prospect of a country's industry in steep decline. He had the power to grant subsidies but was determined not to bail out already-sunk ships. This was not always straightforward - in November 1976 he was overruled by the cabinet when he tried to shut down Chrysler, a perennial headache for the government, and forced to increase its subsidy; and the following year he was falsely accused by a corrupt British Leyland executive of turning a blind eye to bribes after the appointment of chairman Sir Michael Edwardes, the man credited with saving the ailing firm.After defeat in the 1979 general election, Mr Varley led Denis Healey's unsuccessful bid for the party leadership. Four years later, when Neil Kinnock took over the party helm, he vowed to resign in protest. He left the House of Commons in January 1984 for the chairmanship of Coalite. The move did little for his popularity anywhere in the political sphere - the miners had no love for the smokeless fuel manufacturer and his resignation allowed Tony Benn to re-enter the House in the Chesterfield by-election to the chagrin of Labour moderates.Having made himself something of pariah to the party, his nomination to the House of Lords was overdue by the time he was given the barony of Chesterfield in 1990 and he took little interest in the activities of his fellow peers, despite being a relative spring chicken at 58. He sat on the odd committee and the board of a few Derbyshire firms, but after such an eventful political career he seemed determined to enjoy his retirement.Lord Varleydied peacefully with his family by his side. He was survived by his wife Marjorie and their son.
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