[Deathwatch] Lady Barbara Castle, British politician, 91

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Lady Barbara Castle Dies at Age 91 
Fri May 3, 5:48 PM ET 
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer 

LONDON (AP) - Barbara Castle, a fiery former Cabinet minister and
legislator widely regarded as a pioneer for women in British politics,
died at her home Friday. She was 91.

Castle — who was made Baroness Castle of Blackburn in 1990 — died in
her sleep, her relatives said in a statement. The cause of death was
not given.

Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) said Castle was "one of
the dominating figures of the Labor movement of the last 50 years ...
courageous, determined, tireless and principled.

"Britain has lost one of its great political figures, and the Labor
movement a great heroine."

Castle was once expected to become Britain's first female prime
minister, a landmark achieved by Conservative Margaret Thatcher in
1979. However, Castle feuded with party officials over how to handle
labor unions and her party was voted out of office.

She was committed to the Labor Party's traditional left-wing
philosophy, favoring a welfare state that fought for the interests of
pensioners and the disabled.

Castle was the architect of legislation promoting equal pay for women
and fighting drunken driving.

Lady Castle also criticized the Labor government, especially when
Blair's policies began moving the party from the left of the political
spectrum to the center.

Castle was a parliamentarian for 31 years until 1974. She also served
as a Cabinet minister for nearly nine years, becoming the first woman
in some posts.

However, she failed to rein in Britain's powerful unions in an effort
to stop their unofficial strikes, which often undermined the British
economy and Labor governments.

In 1979, she began a 10-year career as a European Union (news - web
sites) lawmaker.

Her husband, Ted, a Labor activist and former Daily Mirror journalist,
died in 1979. The couple had no children.

Her funeral service will be private.