Williams, Shirley Vivien Teresa Brittain, Baroness Williams of Crosby, British And Irish History, Biographies

Related Category: British And Irish History, Biographies

Williams, Shirley Vivien Teresa Brittain, Baroness Williams of Crosby 1930–, British politician. Daughter of political scientist and philosopher Sir George Catlin and novelist Vera Brittain, she entered Parliament in 1964 as a member of the Labour party. She served (1976–79) as education minister in the Labour government, but in 1981 she left the party and became a founder and president (1982–88) of the Social Democratic party (SDP). In Nov., 1981, she was the first SDP member to win election to Parliament; she lost her seat in 1983. Williams was created a life peer in 1993.