Editing Shirley Williams

{{for|other people|Sherley Anne Williams|Shirley Williams Jeffries}}
{{Short description|British politician and academic (1930–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Baroness Williams of Crosby
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CH|PC}}
| image               = Regius Professorship Lecture (15648721150).jpg
| caption             = Williams in 2014
| office              = [[Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords]]
| leader              = [[Charles Kennedy]]
| term_start          = 7 June 2001
| term_end            = 24 November 2004
| predecessor         = [[Bill Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank|The Lord Rodgers of Quarry&nbsp;Bank]]
| successor           = [[Tom McNally, Baron McNally|The Lord McNally]]
| office1             = President of the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]]
| leader1             = {{Plainlist|
* [[Roy Jenkins]]
* [[David Owen]]}}
| term_start1         = 7 July 1982
| term_end1           = 29 August 1987
| predecessor1        = ''Office established''
| successor1          = [[John Cartwright (British politician)|John Cartwright]]
| office2             = [[Secretary of State for Education and Science]]
| primeminister2      = [[James Callaghan]]
| term_start2         = 10 September 1976
| term_end2           = 4 May 1979
| predecessor2        = [[Fred Mulley]]
| successor2          = [[Mark Carlisle]]
| office3             = [[Paymaster General]]
| primeminister3      = James Callaghan
| term_start3         = 10 September 1976
| term_end3           = 4 May 1979
| predecessor3        = [[Edmund Dell]]
| successor3          = [[Angus Maude]]
| office4             = [[Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer&nbsp;Protection]]
| primeminister4      = {{Plainlist|
* [[Harold Wilson]]
* James Callaghan}}
| term_start4         = 5 March 1974
| term_end4           = 10 September 1976
| predecessor4        = [[Peter Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester|Peter Walker]] (as [[Trade and Industry Secretary]])
| successor4          = [[Roy Hattersley]]
{{collapsed infobox section begin|last=yes|Junior ministerial offices
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office8             = [[Minister of State for Home Affairs (United Kingdom)|Minister of State for Home Affairs]]
| primeminister8      = Harold Wilson
| term_start8         = 13 October 1969
| term_end8           = 23 June 1970
| predecessor8        = [[Victor Collins, Baron Stonham|The Lord Stonham]]
| successor8          = [[Richard Sharples]]
| office9             = [[Minister of State for Education and Science]]
| primeminister9      = Harold Wilson
| term_start9         = 29 August 1967
| term_end9           = 13 October 1969
| predecessor9        = [[Goronwy Roberts]]
| successor9          = [[Alice Bacon, Baroness Bacon|Alice Bacon]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin|last=yes|[[Shadow Cabinet]] offices
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office5             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer&nbsp;Protection]]
| leader5             = Harold Wilson
| term_start5         = 4 May 1973
| term_end5           = 5 March 1974
| predecessor5        = ''Office established''
| successor5          = [[Sally Oppenheim-Barnes]]
| office6             = [[Shadow Home Secretary]]
| leader6             = Harold Wilson
| term_start6         = 19 October 1971
| term_end6           = 4 May 1973
| predecessor6        = James Callaghan
| successor6          = Roy Jenkins
| office7             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services]]
| leader7             = Harold Wilson
| term_start7         = 19 June 1970
| term_end7           = 19 October 1971
| predecessor7        = [[Richard Crossman]]
| successor7          = [[Barbara Castle]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin|last=yes|Parliamentary offices
 |titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office10            = [[Member of the House of Lords]]
| status10            = [[Lord Temporal]]
| term_label10        = [[Life peer]]age
| term_start10        = 1 February 1993
| term_end10          = 11 February 2016
| parliament11        = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP11   = Crosby
| term_start11        = 26 November 1981
| term_end11          = 13 May 1983
| predecessor11       = [[Graham Page]]
| successor11         = [[Malcolm Thornton]]
| constituency_MP12   = Hertford and Stevenage
| term_start12        = 28 February 1974
| term_end12          = 7 April 1979
| predecessor12       = ''Constituency established''
| successor12         = [[Bowen Wells]]
| constituency_MP13   = Hitchin
| term_start13        = 15 October 1964
| term_end13          = 8 February 1974
| predecessor13       = [[Martin Maddan]]
| successor13         = [[Ian Stewart, Baron Stewartby|Ian Stewart]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name          = Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Catlin
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1930|7|27|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London, England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2021|04|12|1930|07|27|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Little Hadham]], [[Hertfordshire]], England
| party               = {{Plainlist|
* [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (before 1981)
* [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] (1981–1988)
* [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] (from 1988)}}
| spouse              = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Bernard Williams]]|1955|1974|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Richard Neustadt]]|1987|2003|end=died}}}}
| children            = 1
| parents             = {{Plainlist|
* [[Sir George Catlin]] (father)
* [[Vera Brittain]] (mother)}}
| module              = {{Infobox academic | child = yes
| main_interests      = [[Electoral politics]]
| alma_mater          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Somerville College, Oxford]]
* [[Columbia University]]}}
| workplaces          = [[Harvard Kennedy School]]}}
}}

'''Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby''' (''née'' '''Catlin'''; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from 1974 to 1979. She was one of the "[[Gang of Four (SDP)|Gang of Four]]" rebels who founded the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP) in 1981 and, at the time of her retirement from politics, was a [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]].<ref>The SDP later merged with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] to form the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]].</ref>

Williams was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] for [[Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)|Hitchin]] in the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]]. She served as minister for Education and Science from 1967 to 1969 and [[Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department|Minister of State for Home Affairs]] from 1969 to 1970. She served as Shadow [[Home Secretary]] from 1971 and 1973. In 1974, she became [[Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection]] in [[Harold Wilson]]'s cabinet. When Wilson was succeeded by [[James Callaghan]], she served as [[Secretary of State for Education and Science]] and [[Paymaster General]] from 1976 to 1979. She lost her seat to the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] at the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]].

In 1981, dismayed with the Labour Party's [[Left-wing politics|left-ward]] movement under [[Michael Foot]], she was one of the "Gang of Four"—centrist Labour figures who formed the SDP. Williams won the [[1981 Crosby by-election]] and became the first SDP member elected to Parliament, but she lost the seat in the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]]. She served as President of the SDP from 1982 to 1987 and supported the SDP's merger with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] that formed the Liberal Democrats.

Between 2001 and 2004, she served as [[Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords]] and, from 2007 to 2010, as Adviser on Nuclear Proliferation to Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]]. She remained an active member of the [[House of Lords]] until announcing her retirement in January 2016, and was a Professor Emerita of Electoral Politics at [[Harvard Kennedy School]] at the time of her death at age 90, having been one of the last surviving members of the Labour governments of the 1970s.

== Early life and education ==
Born at 19 Glebe Place{{cn|date=February 2022}} [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London, Williams was the daughter of the [[political scientist]] and philosopher [[Sir George Catlin]] and the [[pacifist]] writer [[Vera Brittain]]. Williams's grandmother, Brittain's mother, was born in [[Aberystwyth]], Wales.<ref>{{cite book |title=Vera Brittain: A Life |date=2016 |publisher=Little, Brown Book Group |isbn=9780349008547 |pages=15 |first1=Mark |last1=Bostridge |first2=Paul |last2=Berry |access-date=16 September 2021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hyAlCwAAQBAJ&q=Edith+Mary+(Bervon)+Brittain |via=Google Books snippets}}</ref> She was educated at various schools, including Mrs Spencer's School in Brechin Place, South Kensington; Christchurch Elementary School in Chelsea; [[Talbot Heath School]] in [[Bournemouth]]; and [[St Paul's Girls' School]] in London. During the [[Second World War]], from 1940 to 1943, she was evacuated to [[St. Paul, Minnesota]], in the United States, where she attended the all-girls' [[St. Paul Academy and Summit School|Summit School]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thecomet.net/news/shirley-williams-dies-aged-90-7892364  |title=Former Hitchin and Stevenage MP Shirley Williams dies aged 90 |first=Maya |last=Derrick |work=The Comet |location=Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock |date=12 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/12/lady-williams-of-crosby-obituary |title=Lady Williams of Crosby obituary Labour minister in the 60s and 70s who defected to form the SDP as one of the Gang of Four |first=Julia |last=Langdon |work=The Guardian |date=12 April 2021}}</ref> 

While she was an undergraduate and an Open Scholar at [[Somerville College, Oxford]], Williams was a member of the [[Oxford University Dramatic Society]] (OUDS) and toured the United States playing the role of Cordelia in an OUDS production of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[King Lear]]'' directed by a young [[Tony Richardson]]. In 1950, she became chair of the [[Oxford University Labour Club]], believing herself to be the first woman to hold the position<ref name="Guardian Obituary">{{cite news |last1=Langdon |first1=Julia |author-link = Julia Langdon |title=Lady Williams of Crosby obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/12/lady-williams-of-crosby-obituary |access-date=12 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=12 April 2021}}</ref> though it has been shown that Betty Tate had chaired a session in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/apr/01/betty-tate-obituary|title=Betty Tate obituary|date=1 April 2010|work=The Guardian|author1=Jean Tate|author2=Annie Sedley|author3=Sue Tate|access-date=8 July 2021}}</ref> After graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in [[philosophy, politics and economics]], Williams was awarded a [[Fulbright Scholarship]] and studied American trade unionism at [[Columbia University]] in New York City for a master's degree, awarded by Oxford in 1954.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0403/03142.html | title= Shirley Williams | work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]| first=Robert | last=Marquand | date=3 April 1991 | access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

On returning to Britain, she began her career as a journalist, working firstly for the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' and then for the ''[[Financial Times]]''. In 1960, she became General Secretary of the [[Fabian Society]], a role she held until 1964.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Williams of Crosby, Baroness, (Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams) (born 27 July 1930)|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-39901|access-date=2021-04-15|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|year=2007|language=en|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u39901|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4}}</ref><ref name="Guardian Obituary" />

== Parliamentary career ==
After unsuccessfully contesting the [[United Kingdom constituencies|constituency]] of [[Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Harwich]] at the [[1954 Harwich by-election|1954 by-election]] and [[1955 United Kingdom general election|the general election the following year]], as well as the constituency of [[Southampton Test]] at the [[1959 United Kingdom general election|1959 general election]], Williams was elected in the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]] as Labour MP for the constituency of [[Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)|Hitchin]] in Hertfordshire. She retained the seat, renamed [[Hertford and Stevenage]] after boundary changes in 1974, until 1979.<ref name="Guardian Obituary" /> As Minister for Education and Science (August 1967 – October 1969), Williams launched the first ''Women in Engineering Year'' in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.theiet.org/resources/library/archives/research/wes/WES_Vol_10.html|title=The Woman Engineer Vol 10|website=www2.theiet.org|access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref>

Her colleague David Owen recalled: "You'd watch her work a room at a local Labour event and she'd never start by smarming up to a regional leader or a councillor. She'd settle down next to somebody whom she'd have no political reason to talk to – a solid party worker – and you'd watch this person's face light up. This was always done spontaneously, without any ulterior motives. She just liked people and liked them to like her."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/dec/12/obituaries-2021-shirley-williams-remembered-by-david-owen?CMP=twt_gu|title = Those we lost in 2021: Shirley Williams remembered by David Owen|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 12 December 2021}}</ref>

Between 1971 and 1973, she served as Shadow [[Home Secretary]]. In 1974, she became [[Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection]] in [[Harold Wilson]]'s cabinet. When Wilson announced his resignation in 1976 and was succeeded by [[James Callaghan]], she became [[Secretary of State for Education]] and [[Paymaster General]], holding both cabinet positions at the same time. Williams [[1976 Labour Party deputy leadership election|stood for the Labour deputy leadership]] in October of that year but lost to [[Michael Foot]].<ref name="Guardian Obituary" />

=== Comprehensive schools ===
While serving as education secretary between 1976 and 1979, Williams pursued the policy introduced by [[Anthony Crosland]] in 1965 to introduce the [[Comprehensive school (England and Wales)|comprehensive school]] system in place of [[Grammar schools debate|grammar schools]].<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-10258493|title=Shirley Williams: Pioneer who tried to reshape politics|work=BBC News|date=12 April 2021}}</ref> Previously, in 1972, as her daughter Rebecca approached secondary school age, Williams had moved into the catchment area of the [[voluntary aided school]] [[Godolphin and Latymer School]] allowing her daughter to gain a place there.<ref>Shirley Williams ''Climbing The Bookshelves: Autobiography of Shirley Williams'', Virago, 2009, p.&nbsp;206.</ref> However, when [[Godolphin and Latymer School]] subsequently voted to go independent in 1977, Rebecca chose to leave that school and instead went to [[Camden School for Girls]] because it had chosen to go comprehensive.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Agar|first=Stephen|date=24 April 2021|title=Rod's Wrong|journal=The Spectator|pages=31}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2021}}

=== Europeanism ===
Always a passionately committed supporter of European integration,<ref name="HoL 26Jan2016">[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/text/160128-0002.htm#16012842000913 ''Hansard''], House of Lords, 28 January 2016, c1470-71.</ref><ref name="Guardian Kettle">{{cite news |last1=Kettle |first1=Martin|author-link = Martin Kettle |title=Britain's pro-Europeans need to find a Shirley Williams |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/17/pro-eu-campaign-shirley-williams-brexit |access-date=13 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=17 December 2015}}</ref> Williams was one of 68 Labour MPs to defy a [[three-line whip]] in the 28 October 1971 Commons vote on membership of the [[European Communities]].<ref name="Guardian Obituary" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ludlow|first=N. Piers|title=Safeguarding British identity or betraying it?: the role of British 'tradition' in the parliamentary great debate on EC membership, October 1971|journal=[[Journal of Common Market Studies]]|publisher=John Wiley & Sons on behalf of UACES|date=19 November 2014|volume=53|issue=1|pages=18–34|issn=0021-9886|doi=10.1111/jcms.12202|s2cid=145092199|url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/57686/1/Ludlow_Safeguarding%20British%20tradition.pdf}}</ref><ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1971/oct/28/european-communities ''Hansard''], European Communities, HC Deb 28 October 1971 vol 823 cc2076-217.</ref> Four years later, she was one of the leaders of the Britain in Europe campaign during the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 European Communities membership referendum]].<ref name="Guardian Kettle" /> Labour's anti-Europeanism during the Michael Foot years was one of the factors that drove her to abandon the party in 1981.<ref name="Guardian Kettle" />

In her 2016 valedictory speech to the [[House of Lords]] before that year's [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|second membership referendum]], she described the UK's [[European Union]] (EU) membership as "the most central political question that this country has to answer" and said it was the reason for her retirement. In closing, she called on her colleagues to "think very hard before allowing the United Kingdom to withdraw from ... its major duty to the world—the one it will encounter, and then deliver, through the European Union".<ref name="HoL 26Jan2016" /><ref name="Valedictory video">{{cite news |title=Shirley Williams makes her final speech to House of Lords (video) |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-35427305 |access-date=13 April 2021 |agency=BBC News |date=28 January 2016}}</ref>

=== Social issues ===
A lifelong [[Roman Catholic]], Williams was a longstanding opponent of the legalisation of abortion.<ref name="TelObit" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Moss |first=Stephen |date=2009-10-18 |title=Shirley Williams: 'I didn't think I was good enough to be leader' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/19/shirley-williams-interview |access-date=2023-06-03 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> She was one of the two female MPs to vote against the [[Abortion Act 1967]], which legalised abortion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flello |first=Rob |date=2017-10-27 |title=Labour's new intolerance of the pro-life cause |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/labour-s-new-intolerance-of-the-pro-life-cause/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=The Spectator |language=en-US}}</ref> However, [[Lord Harries of Pentregarth]] reported that Williams "refused to sign up for the [[Society for the Protection of Unborn Children]] (SPUC), and generally kept a low profile on the issue of abortion."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shirley Williams R.I.P., Christian and Catholic |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2021/23-april/comment/opinion/shirley-williams-rip-christian-and-catholic |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=www.churchtimes.co.uk}}</ref>

Thursday, 21 June, 2007 She appeared on Question Time (TV programme) to discuss [[Salman Rushdie]] being honoured. She was strongly opposed to the action'''.'''<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-06-27 |title=What you've said |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/6228278.stm |access-date=2024-11-05 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Social Democratic Party ==
Williams lost her seat (renamed [[Hertford and Stevenage]]) when the Labour Party was defeated at the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]].<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Rewind: Shirley Williams loses Hertford and Stevenage. Clip taken from Decision 79, first broadcast 4 May 1979. |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-29932215 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=12 April 2021 |date=17 November 2014}}</ref> Her defeat came two years after her appearance and arrest on the [[Grunwick dispute#Political involvement|Grunwick picket lines]], for which she had been harshly criticised in the press.<ref name="Guardian Obituary" /> When, soon afterward, she was interviewed by [[Robin Day]] for the BBC's ''Decision 79'' television coverage of the election results, both [[Norman St John-Stevas]] – the Conservative's Education Spokesman who had frequently clashed with her at the [[despatch box]] – and [[Merlyn Rees]], the outgoing Home Secretary, paid tribute to her.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thecritic.co.uk/free-speech-in-an-uncivil-society/|title=Free speech in an uncivil society |first=Simon |last=Heffer |author-link=Simon Heffer |date=7 February 2020|website=[[The Critic (21st century magazine)|The Critic Magazine]] |access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

Following the election, she hosted the BBC1 TV series ''Shirley Williams in Conversation'', interviewing, in turn, a number of political figures, including former West German chancellor [[Willy Brandt]], former Conservative prime minister [[Edward Heath]] and her recently deposed colleague James Callaghan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/13367 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017132425/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/13367 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 October 2012 |title=Bfi &#124; Film & Tv Database &#124; Shirley Williams In Conversation |publisher=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk |access-date=11 June 2010}}</ref> She later appeared on many television and radio discussion programmes in Britain – in particular, the BBC's ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'', where her 58 appearances earned her a "Most Frequent Panellist" award.<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="Guardian Obituary" /> During this period, Williams remained a member of the National Executive of the Labour Party.<ref>{{cite web |title=MPs and Lords: Baroness Williams of Crosby |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/740/career |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=13 April 2021 |quote="Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee, 1 July 1970 – 1 March 1981"}}</ref> From 1980 to 1981, she was Chairman of the Fabian Society.<ref name=":0" />

In 1981, unhappy with the influence of the more left-wing members of the Labour Party, she resigned her membership to form – along with fellow Labour resignees [[Roy Jenkins]], [[David Owen]] and [[Bill Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank|Bill Rodgers]] – the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP). They were joined by 28 other Labour MPs and one Conservative. Later that year, following the death of the Conservative MP Sir [[Graham Page]], she won the [[1981 Crosby by-election|Crosby by-election]] and became the first SDP member elected to Parliament. Two years later, however, having become the SDP's President, she lost the seat at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]]. At the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]], Williams stood for the SDP in [[Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Cambridge]], but lost to the sitting Conservative candidate [[Robert Rhodes James]]. She then supported the SDP's merger with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] that formed the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]].<ref name="Guardian Obituary" />

== Harvard University ==
[[File:Shirley Williams appearing with Peter Ustinov on After Dark.JPG|thumb|left|Sitting beside [[Peter Ustinov]] during an episode of the late-night TV discussion programme ''[[After Dark (TV programme)|After Dark]]'', 1989]]

In 1988, Williams moved to the United States to serve as a professor at [[Harvard Kennedy School]], remaining until 2001, and thereafter as Public Service Professor of Electoral Politics, Emerita.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/shirley-williams | title= Shirley Williams (In Memoriam) | work=Harvard Kennedy School| access-date=14 April 2021}}</ref> Nonetheless, she remained active in politics and public service in Britain, the United States and internationally. During these years, Williams helped draft constitutions in Russia, Ukraine, and South Africa.<ref name="Guardian Obituary" /> She also served as director of Harvard's ''Project Liberty'', an initiative designed to assist the emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe; and as a board member and acting director of Harvard's Institute of Politics (IOP). Upon her elevation to the House of Lords in 1993, she returned to the United Kingdom.<ref name="TelObit">{{cite news |title=Shirley Williams, Labour Cabinet minister who left her party to help form the SDP – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/04/12/shirley-williams-labour-education-secretary-left-party-help/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/04/12/shirley-williams-labour-education-secretary-left-party-help/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=13 April 2021 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=12 April 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Shirley Williams: One of the UK's best-loved politicians |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/obituaries/shirley-williams-dead-age-cause-b1830194.html |access-date=13 April 2021 |work=The Independent |date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

== Life peer ==
Williams was made a [[life peer]] on 1 February 1993, as '''Baroness Williams of Crosby''', of [[Stevenage]] in the [[County of Hertfordshire]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=53207 |date=4 February 1993 |page=2049}}</ref> and subsequently served as [[Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords]] from 2001 to 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shirley Williams |url=https://liberalhistory.org.uk/people/shirley-williams/ |website=Liberal History |access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

Among other non-profit boards, Williams was a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]], the EU's ''Comité des Sages'' (Reflection Group) on Social Policy,<ref>[http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/95/1032&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en "Commission Establishes a 'Comité des Sages' on Social Policy", 4 October 1995] Retrieved 11 June 2011</ref> the [[Twentieth Century Fund]], the [[Ditchley Foundation]], the [[Institute for Public Policy Research]], and the [[Nuclear Threat Initiative]]. She also served as President of the [[Royal Institute of International Affairs]], as Commissioner of the [[International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament]] and as president of the [[Cambridge University Liberal Association]]. Williams was also an attendee of the 2013 and the 2010 [[Bilderberg conference]]s in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, and Sitges, Spain, respectively.<ref>Bilderberg Meetings official website 2010 attendee list {{cite web |url=http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/meeting_2010_2.html |title=Bilderberg Meetings - Home |access-date=17 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617025004/http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/meeting_2010_2.html |archive-date=17 June 2010  }}</ref>

In June 2007, after [[Gordon Brown]] replaced [[Tony Blair]] as Prime Minister, Williams accepted a formal Government position as Advisor on [[Nuclear Proliferation]] provided she could serve as an independent advisor; she remained a Liberal Democrat. Her interest and commitment to education continued, and she served as Chair of Judges of the British Teaching Awards. Williams was a member of the [[Top Level Group]] of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation, established in October 2009.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/08/nuclear-disarmament-cross-party-group |location=London |work=The Guardian | title=Nuclear-free world ultimate aim of new cross-party pressure group | first=Julian | last=Borger | author-link = Julian Borger|date=8 September 2009}}</ref>

Williams was originally opposed to the [[Cameron–Clegg coalition]]'s [[Health and Social Care Act 2012|Health and Social Care Bill]], describing it as "stealth privatisation" during 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/mar/12/shirley-williams-nick-clegg-nhs |title=Shirley Williams urges Lib Dems to fight Andrew Lansley's NHS plan |first=Toby |last=Helm |author-link = Toby Helm |newspaper=The Guardian |location=Manchester |date=12 March 2011 |access-date=19 March 2012 }}</ref> The government made some changes to the Bill, described by Williams as "major concessions",<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/03/nhs-bill-amendments-major-concession |title=Our NHS bill amendments represent a major concession by the government |first=Shirley |last=Williams |newspaper=The Guardian |location=Manchester |date=3 February 2012 |access-date=19 March 2012 }}</ref> but dismissed as "minor" by [[The Guardian|''Guardian'']] commentator [[Polly Toynbee]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/12/sorry-shirley-williams-nail-health-bill-myths |title=Sorry, Shirley Williams, but I have to nail your health bill myths |work=The Guardian|location=Manchester, UK |first=Polly |last=Toynbee |author-link=Polly Toynbee |date=12 March 2012 |access-date=14 March 2012 }}</ref> Williams urged Liberal Democrats to support the amended Bill during the conference in March 2012,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2012/03/party-nhs-bill-lib-social |title=Could NHS reform be the Lib Dems' downfall? |first=Daniel |last=Trilling |author-link = Daniel Trilling|work=New Statesman |location=UK |date=11 March 2012 |access-date=1 April 2012 }}</ref> saying "I would not have stuck with the bill, if I believed for one moment it would undermine the [[NHS]]."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/mar/11/nick-clegg-shirley-williams-nhs-health-bill |title=How Nick Clegg and Shirley Williams lost the great NHS debate |first=Patrick |last=Wintour |author-link = Patrick Wintour|newspaper=The Guardian |location=Manchester |date=11 March 2012 |access-date=19 March 2012 }}</ref>

Williams spoke against [[Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom|same-sex marriage]] in the House of Lords, saying that "equality is not the same as sameness. That is the fundamental mistake in this Bill" and that women and men "complement one another", arguing that marriage between people of the same sex should not be called marriage but should have "different nomenclature". This was based on her belief that marriage is "a framework for procreation and the raising of children."<ref>{{cite journal | title = House of Lords 17 June 2013 | journal = Hansard |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk//Lords/2013-06-17/debates/13061712000472/Marriage(SameSexCouples)Bill#contribution-13061712000105 | date = 17 June 2013 }}</ref> In late 2015, she announced her intention to retire from the House of Lords.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Shirley Williams to retire from Lords after 50 years in politics|url = https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/dec/17/shirley-williams-retire-lords-after-50-years-politics|website = The Guardian|access-date = 18 December 2015|first = Rowena|last = Mason|date = 17 December 2015}}</ref> On 28 January 2016 she made her valedictory speech in the chamber, and on 11 February she officially retired, in pursuance of Section 1 of the [[House of Lords Reform Act 2014]].<ref name="Valedictory video" /> In the [[2017 New Year Honours]], Williams was appointed to the [[Order of the Companions of Honour]] for "services to political and public life".<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=61803 |date=31 December 2016 |page=N27 |supp=y}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Williams married twice. At Oxford she met [[Peter Parker (British businessman)|Peter Parker]] (the future head of [[British Rail]]) and they had a relationship. In her autobiography (''Climbing the Bookshelves'') Williams said that "...by the spring of 1949 I was in love with him, and he, a little, with me...". In 1955, she married the moral philosopher [[Bernard Williams]]. Bernard left Oxford to accommodate his wife's rising political ambitions, finding a post first at [[University College London]] (1959–64) and then as Professor of Philosophy at [[Bedford College, London|Bedford College]], London (1964–67), while she worked as a journalist for the ''Financial Times'' and as Secretary of the Fabian Society. The marriage was dissolved in 1974;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zo5AAAAAIBAJ&pg=1629%2C1102729 |title=Mrs Williams agrees to divorce |work=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |date=4 May 1974 |page=11 |access-date=3 January 2017}}</ref> Bernard Williams subsequently married Patricia Skinner and had two sons with her.<ref name=Jeffries>Jeffries, Stuart. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,850062,00.html "The Quest for Truth"] ''The Guardian'', 30 November 2002.</ref> Shirley said of her marriage to Bernard:

<blockquote>...&nbsp;[T]here was something of a strain that comes from two things. One is that we were both too caught up in what we were respectively doing — we didn't spend all that much time together; the other, to be completely honest, is that I'm fairly unjudgmental and I found Bernard's capacity for pretty sharp putting-down of people he thought were stupid unacceptable. Patricia has been cleverer than me in that respect. She just rides it. He can be very painful sometimes. He can eviscerate somebody. Those who are left behind are, as it were, dead personalities. Judge not that ye be not judged. I was influenced by Christian thinking, and he would say "That's frightfully pompous and it's not really the point." So we had a certain jarring over that and over Catholicism.<ref name=Jeffries /></blockquote>

Her first marriage was [[annulled]] in 1980.<ref name="TelObit"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jeffries |first1=Stuart |title=The quest for truth |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/30/academicexperts.highereducation |website=Guardian Books |access-date=12 April 2021 |date=30 November 2002 |quote="After the divorce in 1974, Bernard married Patricia, but Shirley Williams had to wait for the Catholic church to annul the marriage before she could remarry."}}</ref> In 1987 she married the Harvard professor and presidential historian [[Richard Neustadt]], who died in 2003.

She had a daughter with Bernard Williams, a stepdaughter, and two grandchildren. Her daughter, Rebecca, became a lawyer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/15/shirley-williams-my-family-values|title=Shirley Williams: My family values|first=Tony|last=Padman|date=15 May 2015|website=The Guardian}}</ref> She was a longtime resident of Hertfordshire, living in [[Furneux Pelham]] after she was elected MP for Hitchin, and moving to [[Little Hadham]], [[Hertfordshire]] in later in life.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/gang-of-four-rebel-and-east-herts-villager-shirley-williams-9195196/|title = Political pioneer and Little Hadham resident Shirley Williams dies aged 90|last = Corr|first = Sinead|date = 12 April 2021|accessdate = 29 January 2023|newspaper = Bishop's Stortford Independent}}</ref>

Williams was a [[Catholic Church in England and Wales|Roman Catholic]] and, from 2009, attended church every Sunday.<ref>{{cite book| last=Williams | first=Shirley | year=2009 | title=Climbing the bookshelves | edition=1st |page=294| publisher=Virago | isbn=978-1-84408-476-0}}</ref> In [[Who's Who (UK)|''Who's Who'']], she listed her recreations as "music, poetry, hill walking".<ref name=":0" />

She died at her home in the early hours of 12 April 2021, at the age of 90.<ref name="LibDemsAnnounceDeath">{{cite web |author1=Liberal Democrats |title=In Memory of Shirley Williams |url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/in-memory-of-shirley-williams |website=LibDems.org.uk |access-date=1 June 2022 |date=12 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="BBCDeath">{{Cite news|date=12 April 2021|title=Baroness Shirley Williams: Former cabinet minister dies aged 90|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-56720985|access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/world/europe/shirley-williams-dead.html|title = Shirley Williams, 90, Force Who Altered British Politics And Inspired Lawmakers|date = 23 April 2021|accessdate = 29 January 2023|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|page = B11|url-access = limited|last = Kwai|first = Isabella}}</ref> Liberal Democrat leader [[Ed Davey]] called Williams a "Liberal lion and a true trailblazer" and stated that "political life will be poorer without her intellect, her wisdom and her generosity".<ref name="BBCDeath" />

== Honours ==
Williams was made an Honorary Fellow of her alma mater, Somerville College, Oxford, in 1970, and of [[Newnham College, Cambridge]], in 1977. Williams received a number of honorary doctorates:
* Honorary DEd (Doctor of Education), [[Council for National Academic Awards]], 1969
* Honorary DLitt (Doctor of Letters), [[Heriot-Watt University]],1980<ref>{{Cite web|last=|title=Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates|url=http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm|access-date=5 April 2016|website=www1.hw.ac.uk}}</ref>
* Hon. LLD (Doctor of Laws), [[University of Sheffield]], 1980; [[University of Southampton]], 1981; [[University of Liverpool]], 2008; [[University of Cambridge]], 2009
* Honorary Doctor of Politics and Economics, University of Leuven, 1976; [[Radcliffe College]], [[Harvard]], 1978; [[University of Leeds]], 1980; [[University of Bath]], 1980
* Honorary DSc (Doctor of Science), [[Aston University]], 1981
* Honorary Doctor, [[Monterey Institute]], California, 2006<ref name=":0" />

== Works by and about ==
Shirley Williams wrote several books, including:
* ''Climbing the Bookshelves: The Autobiography of Shirley Williams'', [[Virago Press]] (2009). {{ISBN|9781844084753}}.<ref>{{cite news|last=Toynbee|first=Polly|date=3 October 2009|title=Climbing the Bookshelves by Shirley Williams {{!}} Book review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/oct/03/climbing-bookshelves-autobiography-shirley-williams|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>
* ''God and Caesar: Personal Reflections on Politics and Religion'', [[University of Notre Dame Press]] (2003). {{ISBN|9780268010461}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Shirley|date=September 2003|title=God & Caesar: Personal Reflections on Politics and Religion|url=https://www.icnl.org/resources/research/ijnl/god-caesar-personal-reflections-on-politics-and-religion|journal=The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law|volume=6|issue=1|via=International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (www.icnl.org)|access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>
* ''Ambition and Beyond: Career Paths of American Politicians'', with Edward L. Lascher Jr, [[Institute of Governmental Studies]] Press, University of California, Berkeley (1993). {{ISBN|9780877723387}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Shirley|date=1 January 1993|title=Ambition and Beyond: The Career Paths of American Politicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqNGAQAAMAAJ|publisher=[[Institute of Governmental Studies]] Press, [[University of California, Berkeley]]|isbn=9780877723387|via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>
* ''New Party – The New Technology'' Social and Liberal Democrats by [[Hebden Royd]], (1988). {{ISBN|9781851870752}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Shirley|date=1 July 1988|title=The New Party – the New Technology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLbLAAAACAAJ|publisher=Liberal Democrat Publications|isbn=9781851870752|via=Google Books|access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>
* ''Politics is for People'' [[Harvard University Press]], (1981). {{ISBN|9780140058888}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674593916|title=Politics is for People — Shirley Williams|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>

Her biography was published in 2013: ''Shirley Williams: The Biography'', Mark Peel (Biteback Publishing)

For details of Williams's early life see:
* ''Vera Brittain: A Life'' by Paul Berry and [[Mark Bostridge]] (1995).<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/20146|title=Vera Brittain: A Life (review)|first=Russell|last=Gollard|date=13 April 1996|journal=Literature and Medicine|volume=15|issue=2|pages=266–270|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/lm.1996.0017|s2cid=142574197}}</ref>
* ''Testament of Experience'' by Vera Brittain (1957).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MLsEtAEACAAJ |title=Testament of Experience: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1925-50 |author=[[Vera Brittain]] |year=1979 |publisher=Virago |isbn=9780860681106 }}</ref>

There is a substantial article on Shirley Williams by [[Phillip Whitehead]] in the ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', edited by Greg Rosen, [[Politico's Publishing]], 2001, and one by [[Dick Newby]] in the ''Dictionary of Liberal Biography'', edited by Duncan Brack, Politico's Publishing, 1998.

See also:
* {{cite book|title=Roy Jenkins, a Well-Rounded Life|author=John Campbell | author-link = John Campbell (biographer) |publisher=[[Jonathan Cape]]|year=2014|isbn=978-0-224-08750-6}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/23/roy-jenkins-well-rounded-life-review-chris-mullin|title=Roy Jenkins: A Well Rounded Life review – 'a magnificent biography'|date=23 March 2014|website=The Guardian|access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>

Williams was a main character in [[Steve Waters]]' 2017 play ''[[Limehouse (play)|Limehouse]]'', which premiered at the [[Donmar Warehouse]]; she was portrayed by [[Debra Gillett]].<ref>{{cite web |title=David Tennant, Roger Allam and more at Limehouse opening night |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/photos-limehouse-opening-david-tennant-roger-allam_43079.html |website=[[WhatsOnStage.com]] |access-date=23 February 2023 |date=9 March 2017}}</ref>

== Arms ==
{{Infobox emblem wide
|image = [[File:Williams of Crosby Achievement.png|200px]]
|coronet = A [[Coronet]] of a Baroness
|escutcheon = Per chevron Azure and Or three Lions passant guardant in pale counterchanged a Bordure engrailed Ermine
|motto = Quamdiu (Until)
}}

== Notes and references==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Shirley Williams}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{UK Peer links | parliament = shirley-williams/26630 | hansard = mrs-shirley-williams | hansardcurr = 740 | guardian = | publicwhip = Baroness_Williams_of_Crosby | theywork = baroness_williams_of_crosby | record = Shirley-Williams/1786 | bbc = 26630.stm | journalisted = shirley-williams }}
* {{NPG name}}
* {{IMDb name|1613898}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* [http://www.libdems.org.uk/peers_detail.aspx?name=Baroness_Williams_of_Crosby&pPK=47cf723f-9590-4306-aa0c-f2ca6ac331e7 Baroness Williams of Crosby] at the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]
* [http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/shirley-williams Faculty profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713102558/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/shirley-williams |date=13 July 2011 }} at [[Harvard Kennedy School]]
* [http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/05/interview-system-nick The NS Interview: Shirley Williams] (''[[New Statesman]]'', 12 May 2010)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Shirley}}
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