(Walsall South)
(Lab):...Finally, I want to mention two public servants. Glen
Barnham, a colleague of mine, has sadly died. He was a councillor
and we served on Ealing
Council together. He was a remarkable politician.
He was first elected in 1971 and retired in 1990. He was chair of
social services when I was vice-chair and the budget was always
protected. Glen had an amazing way with his constituents. When I
went round to anybody’s house in his Heathfield ward in Acton,
there was always a picture of Glen, as though he was some sort of
film star. That was apt, because he was a full-time organiser for
Equity and played his part in ensuring that people had decent
terms and conditions when they worked at the BBC. In fact, he
suggested that I become a member of Equity—not for my acting
skills, but when I had a stint on “Network East”.
Glen was a director at the Brit School, and a director of
Equity’s charitable trust, and was involved with lots of other
charities, such as the Marr-Munning Trust, which supports
overseas development in India. He was a great negotiator who was
called on by charities and the Labour party to resolve disputes.
He loved jazz and was a member of the all-party parliamentary
group on jazz. He stood for Parliament in Ealing and Acton twice,
so he could have been one of us. He was passionate about the
arts, and was an adviser and volunteer at the Questors Theatre in
Ealing. Everyone who met Glen—the many people who served
on Ealing
Council and are now MPs—always remember him with a
smile. May he rest in peace.
I was unable to be here when we paid tributes to the Clerk of the
House. He first arrived in the House in 1986, when I was first
elected to Ealing
Council In his understated way, Sir John took over
at a very challenging time. That is a mark of leadership. During
the covid pandemic, he literally had our lives in his hands. He
had to balance decisions on whether we had to come back or stay
away. You will know, Madam Deputy Speaker, because we all served
on the Commission together, that he allowed Parliament to
function. It is a mark of his leadership that when he encourages
people to do things they make changes, just as we did with the
way we vote.
