View source for Barbara Castle

{{Short description|British politician (1910–2002)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                =  The Baroness Castle of Blackburn
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|list|PC|size=100%}}
| image               = 1657543218962 NP0238 Barbara CASTLE 001 MOBILE (cropped).jpg
| office              = [[Secretary of State for Social Services]]
| primeminister       = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start          = 5 March 1974
| term_end            = 8 April 1976
| predecessor         = [[Keith Joseph]]
| successor           = [[David Ennals]]
| office2             = [[First Secretary of State]]
| primeminister2      = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start2         = 6 April 1968
| term_end2           = 19 June 1970
| predecessor2        = [[Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham|Michael Stewart]]
| successor2          = [[Michael Heseltine]]{{efn|Office vacant from 19 June 1970 to 5 July 1995.}}
| office3             = [[Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity]]
| primeminister3      = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start3         = 6 April 1968
| term_end3           = 19 June 1970
| predecessor3        = [[Ray Gunter]]
| successor3          = [[Robert Carr]]
| office5             = [[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister for Transport]]
| primeminister5      = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start5         = 23 December 1965
| term_end5           = 6 April 1968
| predecessor5        = [[Tom Fraser]]
| successor5          = [[Richard Marsh, Baron Marsh|Richard Marsh]]
| office6             = [[Minister for Overseas Development]]
| primeminister6      = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start6         = 18 October 1964
| term_end6           = 23 December 1965
| predecessor6        = [[Minister of State for Development|Office Created]]
| successor6          = [[Anthony Greenwood]]
| office8             = [[Member of the European Parliament]]<br />for [[Greater Manchester West (European Parliament constituency)|Greater Manchester West]]<br />{{nobold|[[Greater Manchester North (European Parliament constituency)|Greater Manchester North]] (1979–1984)}}
| term_start8         = 17 July 1979
| term_end8           = 21 July 1989
| predecessor8        = [[European Parliament|Constituency established]]
| successor8          = [[Gary Titley]]
| office9             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackburn]]<br />{{nobold|[[Blackburn East]] (1950–1955)}}
| term_start9         = 5 July 1945
| term_end9           = 7 April 1979
| predecessor9        = [[George Sampson Elliston]]
| successor9          = [[Jack Straw]]
| alongside10         = [[John Edwards (English politician)|John Edwards]] (1945–50)
| office7             = Member of the [[House of Lords]]
| status7             = [[Lord Temporal]]
| term_label7         = [[Life peer]]age
| term_start7         = 15 June 1990
| term_end7           = 3 May 2002
| birth_name          = Barbara Anne Betts
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1910|10|6|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire]], England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2002|5|3|1910|10|6|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Ibstone]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| party               = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Edward Castle, Baron Castle]]|1944|1979|end=d.}}
| alma_mater          = [[St Hugh's College, Oxford]]
| caption             = 
}}
'''Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn''', '''Baroness Castle''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|PC|size=100%}} (''née'' '''Betts'''; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a [[British Labour Party]] politician who was a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] from [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945]] to [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979]], making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in British history. Regarded as one of the most significant Labour Party politicians, Castle developed a close political partnership with Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]] and held several roles in the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]. She is the first and, to date, the only woman to have held the office of [[First Secretary of State]].

A graduate of the [[University of Oxford]], Castle worked as a journalist for both ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'' and the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', before being elected to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] as MP for [[Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackburn]] at the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 election]]. During the [[Attlee government]], she was [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to [[Stafford Cripps]], and later to Harold Wilson, marking the beginning of their partnership. She was a strong supporter of Wilson during his [[1963 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|campaign]] to become Leader of the Labour Party, and following his victory at the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 election]], Wilson appointed Castle to the Cabinet as [[Minister for Overseas Development]], and later as [[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister of Transport]]. In the latter role, she proved an effective reformer, overseeing the introduction of permanent speed limits for the first time [[Roads in the United Kingdom|on British roads]], as well as legislating for breathalyser tests and compulsory seat belts.

In 1968, Wilson promoted Castle to become [[First Secretary of State]], the second-most senior member of the Cabinet, as well as [[Secretary of State for Employment]]. In the latter role, Castle fiercely advocated the passage of the ''[[In Place of Strife]]'' legislation which would have greatly overhauled the operating framework for [[Trade unions in the United Kingdom|British trade unions]]. The proposal split the Cabinet, and was eventually withdrawn. Castle was also notable for her successful intervention over the strike by [[Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968|Ford sewing machinists]] against gender pay discrimination, speaking out in support of the strikers, and overseeing the passage of the [[Equal Pay Act 1970|Equal Pay Act]]. After Labour unexpectedly lost the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 election]], some blamed Castle's role in the debate over trade unions for the defeat, a charge she resisted.

Upon Labour's return to power after the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|1974 election]], Wilson appointed Castle [[Secretary of State for Social Services]], during which time she was responsible for the creation of [[Carer's Allowance]] and the passage of the [[Child benefits in the United Kingdom|Child Benefit Act]]. She was also a prominent opponent of Britain's continued membership of the [[European Economic Community]] during the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 referendum]]. When Castle's bitter political rival, [[James Callaghan]], replaced Wilson as prime minister in 1976, he sacked her immediately from the Cabinet; the two would remain bitter towards each other for the rest of their lives. Opting to retire from Parliament at the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 election]], Castle quickly sought election to the [[European Parliament]], representing [[Greater Manchester]] from [[1979 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|1979]] to [[1989 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|1989]]; during this time, she was the [[European Parliamentary Labour Party|Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party]] from 1979 to 1985, and publicly reversed her previous stance of [[Euroscepticism]]. She became a member of the [[House of Lords]], having been granted a [[life peer]]age, in 1990, and remained active in politics until her death in 2002 at the age of 91.

==Early life==
Barbara Anne Betts was born on 6 October 1910 at 64 Derby Road, [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]], the youngest of three children to Frank Betts and his wife Annie Rebecca (''née'' Ferrand).{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=3}} Raised in [[Pontefract]], [[Bradford]], and [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], Castle grew up in a politically active home and was introduced to socialism from a young age.<ref name = ODNB>{{cite ODNB|title = Castle [née Betts], Barbara Anne, Baroness Castle of Blackburn (1910–2002), politician|last = Howard|first = Anthony|date = 2006|doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/76877}}</ref> Her older sister, [[Marjorie McIntosh (politician)|Marjorie]], later became a pioneer of the [[Inner London Education Authority]], while their brother Tristram (almost always called Jimmie) engaged in field work with [[Oxfam]] in Nigeria. She joined the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] as a teenager.

Her father was a tax inspector, exempt from military service in the [[First World War]] due to his high rank in a [[reserved occupation]]. It was because of the nature of the tax-collecting profession, and the promotions he received, that the family frequently moved around the country. Having moved to [[Bradford]] in 1922, the Betts family swiftly became involved with the [[Independent Labour Party]].<ref name = ODNB/> Although her father was prohibited from formal political activity because of his role as a civil servant, he became editor of the ''[[Bradford Pioneer]]'', the city's socialist newspaper, after [[William Leach (politician)|William Leach]] was elected to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] in [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935]].<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|author=Anne Perkins|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/may/04/guardianobituaries.obituaries|title=Obituary: Baroness Castle of Blackburn|date=4 May 2002|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104151735/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicsobituaries/story/0,,709885,00.html|archive-date=4 November 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/castle/2561817 |title=Barbara Castle |publisher=Lasting Tribute |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070726094629/http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/castle/2561817 |archive-date=26 July 2007 }}</ref> Castle's mother ran the family home while also operating a soup kitchen for the town's coalminers. After Barbara had left home Annie was elected as a Labour councillor in Bradford.

==Education==
Castle attended Love Lane Elementary School, then [[Pontefract and District Girls High School]]. After moving to Bradford at the age of twelve, she attended [[Bradford Girls' Grammar School]]. She became involved in acting at the school and developed oratorical skills. She excelled academically, winning numerous awards from the school. She also organised mock elections at the school, in which she stood as the Labour candidate. There were some aspects of the school that she did not like, notably the presence of many girls from rich families. In her last year she was appointed [[head girl]].

Her education continued at [[St Hugh's College, Oxford]], from which she graduated with a [[third-class degree|third-class]] BA in [[Philosophy, politics and economics]] in 1932.<ref>''Oxford University Calendar 1932'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932, p.217</ref> She began serious political activity at Oxford, serving as the Treasurer of the [[Oxford University Labour Club]], the highest position a woman could hold in the club at the time. She struggled to accept the atmosphere of a university that had only recently begun to question its traditionally sexist attitudes. She was scornful of the elitist nature of some elements of the institution, branding the [[Oxford Union]] "that cadet class of the establishment".

==Early career==
Castle was elected to [[St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council]] in 1937 (where she remained until 1945), and in 1943 she spoke at the annual Labour Party Conference for the first time.<ref name = ODNB/> Throughout the [[Second World War]] she worked as a senior administrative officer at the [[Minister of Food (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Food]] and she was an [[Air Raid Precautions]] (ARP) warden during [[the Blitz]].<ref name="Derby">{{cite web|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/non-driver-derbyshire-born-mp-1866069|title=Non-Driver Derbyshire-Born MP Who Put Her Foot Down When It Came to Road Safety|first=Jim|last=Pickard|date=6 August 2018|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[Derby Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825120635/https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/non-driver-derbyshire-born-mp-1866069|archive-date=25 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

She became a reporter on the left-wing magazine ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'', where she had a romantic relationship with [[William Mellor (journalist)|William Mellor]], who was to become its editor, until his death in 1942.<ref name="tribune-20140724">{{cite news |url=http://www.tribunemagazine.org/2014/07/how-cyril-smith-outwitted-barbara-castle-in-the-strange-case-of-the-paedophiles-at-the-home-office/ |title=How Cyril Smith Outwitted Barbara Castle in the Strange Case of the Paedophiles at the Home Office |author=Andrew Rosthorn |newspaper=Tribune |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=2 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914151259/http://www.tribunemagazine.org/2014/07/how-cyril-smith-outwitted-barbara-castle-in-the-strange-case-of-the-paedophiles-at-the-home-office/ |archive-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following her marriage to [[Edward Castle, Baron Castle|Ted Castle]] in 1944, she became the housing correspondent at the ''[[Daily Mirror]]''.<ref name="tribune-20140724"/>

==Member of Parliament (1945–1979)==
In the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]], which Labour won by a landslide, Castle was elected as the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Blackburn]].<ref name = ODNB/> As Blackburn was then a [[Multi-member constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom|two-member constituency]],<ref name="DailyTelegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3576224/Sacred-monster.html|title=Sacred monster – Barbara Castle: 1910–2002|first=Gerald|last=Kaufman|date=5 May 2002|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828035855/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3576224/Sacred-monster.html|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> she was elected alongside fellow Labour candidate [[John Edwards (Labour politician)|John Edwards]]. Castle had secured her place as a parliamentary candidate through the women of the Blackburn Labour Party, who had threatened to quit unless she was added to the otherwise all-male shortlist.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1393098/Lady-Castle-of-Blackburn.html|title=Lady Castle of Blackburn|date=4 May 2002|access-date=28 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072306/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1393098/Lady-Castle-of-Blackburn.html|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Castle was the youngest of the handful of women elected.<ref name="StatueBBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-43325442|title=Barbara Castle: Statue Plan to Honour Former Blackburn MP|date=8 March 2018|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[BBC]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124054237/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-43325442|archive-date=24 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Throughout Castle's parliamentary career (1945–1979), women Members of Parliament consistently represented less than 5% of all MPs.<ref name= women>{{cite web|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01250/|title= Women in Parliament and Government|date= 20 July 2018|publisher= House of Commons Library|access-date= 1 October 2024}}</ref>}} Although she had grown up in similar northern industrial towns, she had no prior connection to Blackburn.<ref name="Derby"/> Eager not to appear as a [[parachute candidate]], she studied [[weaving]] and [[Spinning (textiles)|spinning]], and spent time living with a local family.<ref name="Derby"/> In her [[maiden speech]] she highlighted the problems facing servicemen then going through [[demobilization]].<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/>

Immediately upon her entering the House of Commons Castle was appointed [[Parliamentary private secretary]] (PPS) to [[Stafford Cripps]], [[President of the Board of Trade]],<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/> who had known her as a member of the pre-war [[Socialist League (UK, 1932)|Socialist League]]. [[Harold Wilson]] succeeded Cripps in 1947 and retained Castle as his PPS, marking the beginning of the pair's lengthy political relationship.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/> She gained further experience as the UK's alternate delegate to the [[United Nations General Assembly]] for 1949–1950, when she displayed particular concern for social and humanitarian issues.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/> She soon achieved a reputation as a left-winger and a rousing speaker. She was an early advocate for [[equal pay]] and supported the [[Equal Pay Campaign Committee]] in their cross-party efforts. In 1954 she joined [[Patricia Ford (politician)|Patricia Ford]], [[Irene Ward]] and [[Edith Summerskill]] to submit the 'Equal Pay in the public services' petition, with over 80,000 signatures, to Parliament. The four politicians arrived together in a horse drawn carriage decorated in suffragette colours.<ref name="uk1002">{{Cite web |last=ukvote100 |date=2017-11-09 |title=Women Demand Equal Pay! |url=https://ukvote100.org/2017/11/09/women-demand-equal-pay/ |access-date=2021-01-17 |website=UK Vote 100: Looking forward to the centenary of Equal Franchise in 2028 in the UK Parliament |language=en}}</ref>  During the 1950s she was a high-profile [[Bevanite]], and made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of [[decolonisation]] and the [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]].

===Cabinet minister===
====Minister for Overseas Development, 1964–1965====
[[File:Mr John Tembo, Malawian Minister of Finance and Mrs Barbara Castle, British Minister of Overseas Development.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Castle as Minister for Overseas Development meeting [[John Tembo]], [[Malawi]] Minister of Finance, 1965]]
Labour returned to government under [[Harold Wilson]] in October 1964 following a [[1964 United Kingdom general election|general election]], defeating [[Alec Douglas-Home]]'s Conservative government by winning a slim majority of four seats, thus ending 13 years of successive Conservative governments. Wilson had selected his core Cabinet four months prior to the election;{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=161}} Castle knew Wilson intended to place her within his Cabinet, which would make her the fourth woman in British history ever to hold position in a Cabinet, after [[Margaret Bondfield]], [[Ellen Wilkinson]] and [[Florence Horsbrugh]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m04c.pdf|title=Women in the House of Commons House of Commons: Information Office Factsheet M4|chapter=Appendix C: Women MPs who have held Ministerial office|access-date=30 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108070346/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m04c.pdf|archive-date=8 November 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Castle entered the Cabinet as the first [[Minister for Overseas Development]], a newly created ministry for which she, alongside the [[Fabian Society]], had drawn up the plans.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=161}} For the previous year she had acted as the opposition spokeswoman on overseas development.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=161}} Castle's plans were extensive, though the ministry's budget was modest.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=163}} She set about trying to divert powers from other departments related to overseas aid, including the [[Foreign Office]] and [[HM Treasury|the Treasury]]. She was only partially successful in her aims and provoked an internal Whitehall dispute in the process.{{sfnp|Mitchell|Wienir|1997|p=87}}

In June 1965 Castle announced interest-free aid loans would be available to certain (not exclusively [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]) countries.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=197}} She had previously criticised the Conservative government for granting loans that only waived interest for up to the first seven years, which she considered to be counter-productive.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=175}}

In August, Castle published the government [[white paper]] ''Overseas Development: The Work of a New Ministry''.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=178}} The financial commitments of the ministry were omitted from the report, after a protracted clash between Castle and her cabinet colleagues [[James Callaghan]] ([[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]) and [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] ([[Secretary of State for Economic Affairs]]). Labour had made a [[manifesto]] promise to increase aid spending to 1% of [[gross national product]], almost double Conservative spending.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|pp=197–198}} However, the national economy was unstable, public resentment towards the Commonwealth was growing due to immigration, and within Cabinet aid was viewed with either indifference or contempt.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=175}} Castle grappled with Callaghan and Brown over the department's budgetary allocation; they reached a compromise following Wilson's intervention,{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=177}} but the sum only amounted to a small increase in spending.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|pp=199}}

====Minister of Transport, 1965–1968====
Initially reluctant to head up the department, Castle accepted the role of [[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister of Transport]] (23 December 1965 – 6 April 1968) in a [[Cabinet reshuffle]] after Wilson proved persuasive.<ref name="NewStatesman">{{cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/node/150817|title=The New Statesman Interview – Barbara Castle|first=Steve|last=Richards|date=28 February 2000|access-date=28 August 2018|work=[[New Statesman]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072149/https://www.newstatesman.com/node/150817|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 1966, Castle addressed Parliament, calling for "a profound change in public attitudes" to curtail increasing road fatality figures, stating: "[[Hitler]] did not manage to kill as many civilians in Britain as have been killed on our roads since the war".<ref name="Hansard1">{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/feb/10/road-safety-bill|title=ROAD SAFETY BILL|date=10 February 1966|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[Hansard]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153329/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/feb/10/road-safety-bill|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The statistics bore out; between 1945 and the mid-1960s approximately 150,000 people were killed and several million injured on Britain's roads.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/history/postgraduate/road-safety|title=Science, Technology and Road Safety in the Motor Age|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[University of Leicester]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417120710/http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/history/postgraduate/road-safety|archive-date=17 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

She introduced the [[breathalyser]] to combat the then recently acknowledged crisis of [[drink-driving]]. Castle said she was "ready to risk unpopularity" by introducing the measures if it meant saving lives.<ref name="FT">{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/470a8d67-8f94-3361-a223-30c3bfa37e65|title=BBC to Barbara Castle: "You're only a woman... what do you know about it?"|first=Jim|last=Pickard|date=1 March 2010|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[Financial Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075559/https://www.ft.com/content/470a8d67-8f94-3361-a223-30c3bfa37e65|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> She was challenged by a [[BBC]] journalist on ''[[The World This Weekend]]'', who described the policy as a "rotten idea" and asked her: "You're only a woman, you don't drive, what do you know about it?"<ref name="FT"/> In the 12 months following the introduction of the breathalyser, Government figures revealed road deaths had dropped by 16.5%.<ref name="NYT2">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/05/archives/breath-tests-cut-british-auto-deaths-breath-tests-cut-british-auto.html|title=Breath Tests Cut British Auto Deaths|first=John|last=Lee|date=5 October 1968|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153232/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/05/archives/breath-tests-cut-british-auto-deaths-breath-tests-cut-british-auto.html|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Castle also made permanent the [[Road speed limits in the United Kingdom|national speed limit]] (70&nbsp;mph). Having been introduced as a four-month trial by outgoing Transport Minister [[Tom Fraser]] in December 1965, Castle first extended the limit period in 1966 and in 1967 made the limit permanent, following a controversial report from the [[Road Research Laboratory]] concluding that motorway casualties had fallen 20% since its introduction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://moneyweek.com/419950/22-december-1965-70mph-speed-limit-introduced/|title=22 December 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced|first=Ben|last=Judge|date=22 December 2015|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[MoneyWeek]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075555/https://moneyweek.com/419950/22-december-1965-70mph-speed-limit-introduced/|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jun/09/archive-casualties-70mph-speed-limit|title=From the archive, 9 June 1967: Casualties down 20 p.c. under 70 m.p.h. speed limit|date=9 June 2012|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827110408/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jun/09/archive-casualties-70mph-speed-limit|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

During a tour of New York City in October 1966, where Castle was examining the impact of traffic problems in American cities, she vocalised plans to introduce a [[London congestion charge]], which was to be introduced as soon as the technical details of fee collection were solved.<ref name="NYT1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/16/archives/london-to-set-fees-on-cars-entering-city-in-rush-hours.html|title=London to Set Fees on Cars Entering City in Rush Hours|first=Murray|last=Schumach|date=16 October 1966|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153239/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/16/archives/london-to-set-fees-on-cars-entering-city-in-rush-hours.html|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Castle urged New York's [[New York City Department of Transportation|Transport Commissioner]] to adopt the same policy, describing plans for more roadways as "self-defeating", stating the solution was "more and better mass transit systems".<ref name="NYT1"/>

[[File:Humber Bridge under construction - geograph.org.uk - 1599900.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Castle authorised the construction of the [[Humber Bridge]] (pictured in 1980, prior to completion)]]

Castle also sanctioned the construction of the [[Humber Bridge]],<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> which was the world's longest suspension bridge upon its opening in 1981.<ref name="HumberBridge">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/sep/17/strachan-stockwell-humber-bridge|title=How we made the Humber Bridge|first=Dave|last=Simpson|date=17 September 2012|access-date=28 August 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828071137/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/sep/17/strachan-stockwell-humber-bridge|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In late 1965, the Labour MP for nearby [[Kingston upon Hull North]] died, [[1966 Kingston upon Hull North by-election|triggering a by-election]]. The marginal seat was of critical importance to the government and its loss would have reduced Labour's majority in the House of Commons to just one.<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> Harold Wilson invoked Castle to find the necessary funding and promise the bridge's construction as an 'election sweetener'.<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> The move paid off, with Labour holding the seat.

She presided over the closure of approximately 2,050 miles of railways as she enacted her part of the [[Beeching cuts]]—a betrayal of pre-election commitments by the Labour party to halt the proposals. Nevertheless, she refused closure of several lines, one example being the [[Looe Valley Line]] in Cornwall, and introduced the first Government [[rail subsidies]] for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in the [[Transport Act 1968]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pelling |first1=Henry |title=A Short History of the Labour Party |date=1993 |isbn=0-333-59476-2|publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=147}}</ref>

One of her most memorable achievements as Transport minister was to pass legislation decreeing that all new cars had to be fitted with [[seat belt]]s. Despite being appointed to the Ministry of Transport, a role which she was originally unenthusiastic about, Castle could not actually drive herself, and was chauffeured to functions. (The Labour politician [[Hazel Blears]] recalled driving Castle at one time as a young Labour Party activist in the 1980s.<ref>[http://www.labourhistory.org.uk/?p=63 Hazel Blears' memories of Barbara Castle] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319125818/http://www.labourhistory.org.uk/?p=63 |date=19 March 2008 }}, The Labour History Group, 20 June 2007</ref>) Despite her lack of a driving licence,<ref name = ODNB/> she attracted controversy when she told local government leaders to give added emphasis to motor vehicle access in urban areas, as "most pedestrians are walking to or from their cars."{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

Castle and her husband, Edward Castle, bought a new flat in [[John Spencer Square]] in late 1967<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.roads.org.uk/ringways/ringway1/north-cross-route|title=North Cross Route|website=Roads.org.uk|language=en|access-date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117105010/http://www.roads.org.uk/ringways/ringway1/north-cross-route|archive-date=17 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> while she was the Minister of Transport.

====First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment, 1968–1970====
As [[Secretary of State for Employment]], Castle was also appointed [[First Secretary of State]] by Wilson, bringing her firmly into the heart of government. She was never far from controversy which reached a fever pitch when the trade unions rebelled against her proposals to reduce their powers in her 1969 [[white paper]], '[[In Place of Strife]]'. This also involved a major cabinet split, with threatened resignations, hot tempers and her future nemesis [[James Callaghan]] breaking ranks to publicly try to undermine the bill. The whole episode alienated her from many of her friends on the left, with the ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'' newspaper railing very hard against the bill, which they held to be attacking the workers without attacking the bosses. The split is often said to have been partly responsible for Labour's defeat at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]]. The eventual deal with the unions dropped most of the contentious clauses.

Castle also helped make history when she intervened in the [[Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968|Ford sewing machinists' strike of 1968]], in which the women of the [[Dagenham Ford Plant]] demanded to be paid the same as their male counterparts. She helped resolve the strike, which resulted in a pay rise for Ford's female workers bringing them to 92 per cent of what the men received. Most significantly, as a consequence of this strike, Castle put through the [[Equal Pay Act 1970]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unionhistory.info/timeline/Tl_Display.php?Where=Dc1Title+contains+'Ford+sewing+machinists,+1968'|title=TUC {{!}} History Online|website=www.unionhistory.info|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114184346/http://www.unionhistory.info/timeline/Tl_Display.php?Where=Dc1Title+contains+%27Ford+sewing+machinists%2C+1968%27|archive-date=14 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2010 British film, ''[[Made in Dagenham]]'', was based on the Ford strike. She was portrayed by [[Miranda Richardson]].

In April 1970, Castle's husband, Ted, lost his position as an alderman of the [[Greater London Council]]. He was devastated and although he was supportive of his wife's achievements, he considered himself a failure compared to her.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=339}} Upset and concerned by her husband's distress, Barbara persuaded Wilson to grant Ted a peerage.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/>

===Opposition===
In May 1970, Wilson [[1970 United Kingdom general election|called a general election]], held on 18 June. The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], led by [[Edward Heath]], enjoyed a surprise victory, despite opinion polling indicating a steady lead for Labour in the run-up.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=344}} Castle privately blamed complacency within Labour for their loss and had expressed scepticism about their poll lead, writing in her diaries: "I have a haunting feeling there is a silent majority sitting behind its lace curtains waiting to come out and vote Tory."{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=344}}

In the immediate aftermath of the government's defeat, Castle found she was out of favour with Wilson. The day following the general election, Wilson held a final inner Cabinet meeting at [[Downing Street]], to which Castle was not invited.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=345}} Eager to make contact, she later called him at [[Chequers]], where Wilson engaged in a brusque telephone conversation with her.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=345}}

Refusing to acknowledge her career had been curtailed, Castle proposed to run for deputy leadership of the [[Parliamentary Labour Party]].{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=347}} When she informed Wilson of her plans he was furious; Castle's reputation within the party had been damaged by the failure of ''[[In Place of Strife]]'' and Wilson censured her, claiming her plan would split the party.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=347}} In an act of retribution for her challenge to the deputy leadership, Wilson impeded Ted Castle's peerage, which he had all but promised prior to the general election.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=348}}

Despite not being elected to the Shadow Cabinet, Castle remained as the Labour shadow spokesperson on Employment. The new Government introduced many of her policy suggestions as part of their Industrial Relations Act. When she was attacking the Conservative bill, the government simply pointed to her own white paper, following which Wilson reshuffled her first to the health portfolio and then out of the shadow cabinet.

===Return to Cabinet===
====Secretary of State for Social Services, 1974–1976====
Despite having been on the Labour back benches since 1972 and not part of the shadow cabinet, in 1974, following [[Harold Wilson]]'s defeat of [[Edward Heath]], Castle became [[Secretary of State for Social Services]]. While serving in this position, Castle started the [[Invalid Care Allowance]] as part of a wide range of innovative welfare reforms.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Seldon |first1=Anthony |author-link1=Anthony Seldon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gmy8wS1bBZwC |title=New Labour, Old Labour: The Wilson and Callaghan Governments, 1974-79 |last2=Hickson |first2=Kevin |date=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-31281-3 |page=111 |language=en}}</ref> She sought to remove private "pay beds" from the [[National Health Service]] (NHS), in conflict with the [[British Medical Association]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Health Service (Private Practice) – Monday 8 July 1974 – Hansard – UK Parliament|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1974-07-08/debates/8c957739-b545-405b-990f-0d6393a2a3e6/NationalHealthService(PrivatePractice)|access-date=2021-04-18|website=hansard.parliament.uk|language=en}}</ref>

In the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 referendum debate]] Castle took a [[Eurosceptic]] stance. During a debate with Liberal leader [[Jeremy Thorpe]] he asked her whether, if the vote would be yes, she would stay on as a minister. To this she replied: "If the vote is yes my country will need me to save it."<ref>{{YouTube|Nj0u_pnAw_s|Barbara Castle Labour's Greatest Woman, video}}</ref> Despite her views she later became a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (1979–1989). Her public support of leaving the EEC infuriated Wilson. Castle recorded in her diary and in her subsequent autobiography that Wilson summoned her to Downing Street where he angrily accused her of disloyalty and that, as he had brought her back into the cabinet against others' wishes and advice, he deserved better from her. Castle claimed she offered to resign, but Wilson calmed down and she continued to campaign for leaving in the referendum.<ref name="Castle, Barbara 1976">Castle, Barbara. The Castle Diaries 1964–1976. Macmillan (Abridged version 11 Jun. 1993). {{ISBN|978-0333499498}}</ref><ref name="Castle, Barbara 1994">Castle, Barbara. Fighting All The Way. Pan; Main Market Edition (9 Sept. 1994). {{ISBN|978-0330328869}}</ref>

[[File:James Callaghan.JPG|thumb|right|200px|James Callaghan removed Castle from his Cabinet]]In 1975, Castle introduced the Child Benefit Act, superseding the [[Family Allowances Act 1945]].<ref name="BBCchildbenefit">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11465116|title=Q&A: Child benefit changes|date=13 January 2012|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023071617/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11465116|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The act provided new support for families' first child, unlike the previous system in place, which provided benefit for second and subsequent children.<ref name="BBCchildbenefit"/> Castle also ensured [[Child benefits in the United Kingdom|child benefit]] would be paid directly to mothers, not fathers, unlike Family Allowance, the previous system in place.<ref name="RedQueenPink">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/sep/25/1|title=Red queen in the pink|first=Anne|last=Perkins|date=25 September 1999|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903082119/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/sep/25/1|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The legislation faced opposition from unions whose male members would receive less take-home pay with the loss of Family Allowance.<ref name="RedQueenPink"/>

Castle remained in cabinet until Wilson's resignation in March 1976. The head of the [[Downing Street policy unit]], [[Bernard Donoughue]], records in his diary that he warned Wilson that Castle's dogged pursuit of personal policy stances on public health would "wreck the NHS". Donoughue claims that Wilson agreed, but admitted he would leave it to his successor to resolve.<ref>''Downing Street Diary: with Harold Wilson at no.10''. Jonathan Cape, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-224-04022-8}}.</ref>

Castle lost her place as a Cabinet minister when her bitter political enemy [[James Callaghan]] succeeded Wilson as prime minister following a [[1976 Labour Party leadership election|leadership election]]. Although he left Wilson's Cabinet virtually unchanged, he dismissed Castle almost immediately upon taking office, in the midst of a complex health bill that she was steering through the House of Commons at the time.<ref name="CallaghanObit">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1486556/Lord-Callaghan-of-Cardiff.html|title=Lord Callaghan of Cardiff|date=28 March 2005|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903082058/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1486556/Lord-Callaghan-of-Cardiff.html|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Although he had not yet decided on her successor at the time he fired her, Callaghan removed her under the pretext he wanted to lower the average age of his Cabinet,<ref name="WashingtonPost">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/05/06/barbara-castle-91/7ad94886-d4c5-4d59-b33c-c82257653aa0|title=Barbara Castle, 91|first=Richard|last=Pearson|date=6 May 2002|access-date=3 September 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903114826/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/05/06/barbara-castle-91/7ad94886-d4c5-4d59-b33c-c82257653aa0/|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> which she regarded as a "phoney reason".<ref name="BBC2000">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/946997.stm|title=Barbara Castle: Scaling the ramparts|first=Chris|last=Jones|date=29 September 2000|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[BBC]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031101163008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/946997.stm|archive-date=1 November 2003|url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview years later, she remarked that perhaps the most restrained thing she had ever achieved in her life was not to reply with "Then why not start with yourself, Jim?" (Callaghan was four years older than Wilson, the man he was replacing, and less than 18 months younger than Castle). Castle was angry to discover that Wilson had broken a private confidence in informing Callaghan that she had intended to retire from the cabinet before the next election.<ref name="Castle, Barbara 1976"/><ref name="Castle, Barbara 1994"/>

==European Parliament (1979–1989)==
[[File:1649910309255 NP0434 Barbara CASTLE 002 MOBILE.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Barbara Castle in 1984]]
Less than a month after she left Westminster in 1979 she stood for and was elected to the [[European Parliament]], writing in the ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'' that "politics is not just about policies: it is about fighting for them in every available forum and at every opportunity." In 1982 she wrote in the ''[[New Statesman]]'' that Labour should abandon its opposition to British membership of the EEC and that the UK should fight its corner inside it.<ref>Barbara Castle, 'Let them throw us out', ''New Statesman'' (17 September 1982), pp. 10–11.</ref> This led her former ally [[Ian Mikardo]] to say to her: "Your name is mud".<ref>''The Times'' (10 June 1993), p. 37.</ref>

She represented [[Greater Manchester North (European Parliament constituency)|Greater Manchester North]] from 1979 to 1984, and was then elected to represent [[Greater Manchester West (European Parliament constituency)|Greater Manchester West]] from 1984 to 1989. She was at that time the only British MEP to have held a cabinet position.

Castle led Labour's delegation in the European Parliament. She also served as vice-chair of the Socialist Group, a member of the [[Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development|Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development]], and a member of the Delegation for Relations with [[Malta]].

''The Castle Diaries'' were published in two volumes in 1980 and 1984, chronicling her time in office from 1964 to 1976 and providing insights into the workings of cabinet government. [[Edmund Dell]], reviewing the diaries that cover the years 1974–76 in the ''[[London Review of Books]]'', wrote that the volume "shows more about the nature of cabinet government – even though it deals with only one Cabinet – than any previous publication, academic, political or biographical. It is, I think, better than [[Richard Crossman|Crossman]]".<ref>Edmund Dell, '[https://www.lrb.co.uk/v02/n19/edmund-dell/keeping-left Keeping Left] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026202155/https://www.lrb.co.uk/v02/n19/edmund-dell/keeping-left |date=26 October 2019 }}', ''London Review of Books'', Vol. 2 No. 19 (2 October 1980), pp. 13–14.</ref> [[Michael Foot]] in the ''Listener'' claimed that the book, "whatever else it is or not, is a human document, hopelessly absorbing".<ref name="Times">''The Times'' (16 October 1980), p. 7.</ref> [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]] wrote in the ''Sunday Telegraph'' that it was "a contribution of first-rate importance to our knowledge of modern politics".<ref name="Times"/>

==Life peer==
In 1974 [[Edward Castle, Baron Castle|Ted Castle]] was made a life peer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JcastleT.htm |title=Ted Castle |publisher=Spartacus Educational |date=16 December 1979 |access-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004174228/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JcastleT.htm |archive-date=4 October 2008}}</ref> This meant that Barbara was now formally Lady Castle, though she chose not to use this courtesy title. Ted Castle died in 1979. On 16 July 1990 she was created a [[life peer]] in her own right, as Baroness Castle of Blackburn, of [[Ibstone]] in the [[Buckinghamshire|County of Buckingham]]shire.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=52215 |date=19 July 1990 |page=12091}}</ref> She remained active in politics up until her death, attacking the then [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[Gordon Brown]], at the Labour party conference in 2001 for his refusal to link pensions to earnings.

Castle was a critic of [[Blairism]] and "[[New Labour]]", in particular on economic policy, which she perceived as involving acceptance of "[[market economics]], unchallenged [[globalisation]] and the dominance of the [[Multinational corporation|multinationals]]".<ref name="NewStatesman"/> She also accused Blairites of distorting and dismissing the Labour Party's past, stating in an interview published in the ''New Statesman'' in 2000, the year of the party's centenary:
{{blockquote|They do not seem to have realised that all governments, whatever their complexion, end in apparent failure. [[Harold Macmillan|Macmillan]] was triumphant in 1959 and was biting the dust shortly afterwards. [[Edward Heath|Heath]] won in 1970, and spent three and half years doing U-turns, looking for the perfect answer. [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]] was a remarkable woman, but her premiership ended in ignominy. But the current leadership seems preoccupied by the failing of Labour in power and in opposition."<ref name="NewStatesman"/>}}

==Death==
Barbara Castle died of pneumonia and chronic lung disease at Hell Corner Farm, her home in [[Ibstone]], Buckinghamshire, on 3 May 2002.<ref name = ODNB/>

==Legacy==
[[File:Artist Sam Holland and her Barbara Castle bronze statue in Blackburn.jpg|thumb|upright|Artist [[Sam Holland (sculptor)|Sam Holland]] with her bronze statue of Castle in Jubilee Square, [[Blackburn]]]]
Castle has been acknowledged as the most important female Labour politician of the 20th century.<ref name="Obit"/> An adept and gripping orator,<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/><ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/>{{sfnp|Crines|Hayton|2015|pp=62–63}} Castle gained a reputation as a strong-willed,<ref name="Hattersley"/> sometimes single-minded crusader.<ref name="Kavanagh">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3597104/She-craved-the-limelight.html|title=She craved the limelight|first=Dennis|last=Kavanagh|date=23 June 2003|access-date=30 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830073905/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3597104/She-craved-the-limelight.html|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Political commentator [[Andrew Marr]] wrote of Castle in 1993: "Performance has been at the centre of her career. She makes excellent television and was a good Commons speaker. But she was really made for the platform, either at Labour conferences or during election campaigns. There, her wit, self-confidence and theatricality were displayed. A good Castle speech is unforgettable."<ref name="AndrewMarr">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/book-review-the-lady-of-hell-corner-farm-andrew-marr-on-barbara-castles-memoirs-full-of-rough-and-1484011.html|title=BOOK REVIEW / The lady of Hell Corner Farm: Andrew Marr on Barbara Castle's memoirs|first=Andrew|last=Marr|date=10 July 1993|access-date=29 August 2018|work=[[The Independent]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830044424/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/book-review-the-lady-of-hell-corner-farm-andrew-marr-on-barbara-castles-memoirs-full-of-rough-and-1484011.html|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

She was admired by [[Bill Deedes]], Conservative politician and editor of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', for "her astonishing tenacity, her capacity for getting her own way in Cabinet and nearly everywhere else,"<ref name="Deedes">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/wfdeedes/1560750/Deedes-on-Barbara-Castle.html|title=Deedes on Barbara Castle|first=Bill|last=Deedes|date=20 August 2007|access-date=29 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830073954/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/wfdeedes/1560750/Deedes-on-Barbara-Castle.html|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> though he derided her politics.<ref name="Deedes"/> To her allies, Castle was loyal and would fiercely defend them.<ref name="Deedes"/> Colleague [[Roy Hattersley]] credited her with saving his career by insisting he remain her junior Minister when Harold Wilson attempted to sack him.<ref name="Hattersley">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/may/05/labour.politicalcolumnists|title=Barbara the brave – a women[sic] to reckon with|first=Roy|last=Hattersley|date=5 May 2002|access-date=29 August 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830073735/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/may/05/labour.politicalcolumnists|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, she remained unforgiving of her enemies; when questioned on [[James Callaghan]] in a 2000 interview in the ''[[New Statesman]]'', Castle said: "I think it is safest all round if I don't comment on him."<ref name="NewStatesman"/>

Referred to disparagingly by fellow Labour MP [[Gerald Kaufman]] as "the [[Norma Desmond]] of politics [...] always ready for her close-up",<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> she was noted for always paying particular attention to her appearance.<ref name="Kinnock">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-neil-kinnock-and-barbara-castle-1490065.html|title=How we met: Neil Kinnock and Barbara Castle|first=Louise|last=Baring|date=6 June 1993|access-date=30 August 2018|work=[[The Independent]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830044419/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-neil-kinnock-and-barbara-castle-1490065.html|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Variously described as sophisticated, stylish and glamorous,<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/><ref name="Kinnock"/><ref name="Observer">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1995/jan/22/uk.comment|title=The red Baroness|first=Linda|last=Grant|date=22 January 1995|access-date=31 August 2018|work=[[The Observer]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831035712/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1995/jan/22/uk.comment|archive-date=31 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Castle was also characterised as vain,<ref name="Obit"/> while her critics called her egocentric.<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/><ref name="Harris">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3579217/One-final-thought-Our-Barbara-had-many-faults.html|title=One final thought: 'Our Barbara' had many faults|first=Robert|last=Harris|date=16 July 2002|access-date=31 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831040921/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3579217/One-final-thought-Our-Barbara-had-many-faults.html|archive-date=31 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Former Labour leader [[Neil Kinnock]] recalled she was distraught when her hairdresser cancelled before a television appearance;<ref name="Kinnock"/> in response, Castle said: "If you're a woman in the public eye, getting your hair nice is a constant preoccupation."<ref name="Kinnock"/> Her weekly appointments with her hairdresser were "an essential Friday engagement" according to Hattersley,<ref name="Hattersley"/> although she occasionally wore a wig – which she nicknamed Lucy – for public appearances without the benefit of her hairdresser to hand.<ref name="Deedes"/>
 
In 2008, Castle was named by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as one of four of "Labour's greatest heroes"<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/sep/19/labourconference.labour "Labour's greatest hero: Barbara Castle"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221101649/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/sep/19/labourconference.labour |date=21 December 2016 }}, ''The Guardian'', 19 September 2008.</ref> and in 2016 she was named on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Woman's Hour]]'' Power List as one of seven women judged to have had the biggest impact on women's lives over the past 70 years, alongside [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Helen Brook]], [[Germaine Greer]], [[Jayaben Desai]], [[Bridget Jones]], and [[Beyoncé]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38303886 "Margaret Thatcher tops Woman's Hour Power List"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404063443/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38303886 |date=4 April 2018 }}, BBC News (Arts & Entertainment), 14 December 2016.</ref> Several women politicians have cited Castle as an inspiration for embarking on their careers, including Shadow Foreign Secretary [[Emily Thornberry]],<ref name="Thornberry">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43925289|title=Political heroes: Emily Thornberry on Barbara Castle|first=Elizabeth|last=Glinka|date=27 April 2018|access-date=30 August 2018|work=[[The Independent]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102052800/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43925289|archive-date=2 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tulip Siddiq]], and former Conservative MP [[Edwina Currie]].<ref name="Observer"/>

Since Castle's death there had been several plans mooted to memorialise her with a statue in her constituency town of Blackburn.<ref name="StatueBBC"/><ref name="StatueGuardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/jun/04/uk.labour|title=Statue keeps Castle's flame burning|first=Anne|last=Perkins|date=4 June 2004|access-date=29 August 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830041450/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/jun/04/uk.labour|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LT">{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1711030.Baroness_Castle_statue_plan_shelved/|title=Baroness Castle statue plan shelved|first=Pete|last=Magill|date=24 September 2007|access-date=29 August 2018|work=[[Lancashire Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830073851/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1711030.Baroness_Castle_statue_plan_shelved/|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2021 a bronze statue of her was unveiled in Blackburn. The sculptor was [[Sam Holland (sculptor)|Sam Holland]]. Castle is caught in mid-stride as she carries a copy of the Equal Pay Act 1970.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-09|title=Statue of pioneering MP Barbara Castle joins recent memorials to prominent British women|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/oct/09/statue-of-pioneering-mp-barbara-castle-joins-recent-memorials-to-prominent-british-women|access-date=2021-10-09|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> In the town a dual carriageway that constitutes part of the ring road is named Barbara Castle Way.<ref name="StatueGuardian"/>

She was commemorated on a postage stamp issued as part of the [[Royal Mail]]'s Women of Distinction series in 2008 for piloting the [[Equal Pay Act 1970|Equal Pay Act]] through parliament. She appears on the 81p denomination.<ref name="Salter 2008">{{cite news |last1=Salter |first1=Jessica |title=New stamps mark women of distinction like Millicent Garrett Fawcett |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2602221/New-stamps-mark-women-of-distinction-Marie-Stopes.html |access-date=2 May 2019 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=22 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502171127/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2602221/New-stamps-mark-women-of-distinction-Marie-Stopes.html |archive-date=2 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Castle was portrayed by British actress [[Miranda Richardson]] in the 2010 film ''[[Made in Dagenham]]'', dealing with the [[Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968|1968 strike]] at the [[Ford Dagenham assembly plant]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Singh|first=Anita|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/5335785/Sally-Hawkins-to-star-in-strike-film-We-Want-Sex.html|title=Sally Hawkins to star in strike film We Want Sex|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=16 May 2009|access-date=24 June 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090523100007/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/5335785/Sally-Hawkins-to-star-in-strike-film-We-Want-Sex.html| archive-date= 23 May 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> She was later portrayed by stage actress [[Sophie-Louise Dann]] in the 2014 West End [[Made in Dagenham (musical)|musical adaptation of the film]].<ref name="MID">{{cite news|last=Cavendish|first=Domenic|title=Made in Dagenham, Adelphi Theatre, review: 'larger than life'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/11207367/made-in-dagenham-review-gemma-arterton.html|access-date=12 November 2019|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=4 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112231856/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/11207367/made-in-dagenham-review-gemma-arterton.html|archive-date=12 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In the third series of [[Netflix]] drama ''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]'', Castle is portrayed by [[Lorraine Ashbourne]].<ref name="RadioTimes">{{cite news|last=Bley Griffiths|first=Eleanor|title=Meet the cast of The Crown season 3|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2019-11-12/meet-the-cast-of-the-crown-season-3/3/|access-date=12 November 2019|work=[[Radio Times]]|date=12 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112231858/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2019-11-12/meet-the-cast-of-the-crown-season-3/3/|archive-date=12 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[BBC One]] drama ''[[The Trial of Christine Keeler]]'' (2019–2020) Castle is portrayed by Buffy Davis.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-01-13 |title=How Blackburn's Barbara helped bring down Tory government |url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/18155566.blackburns-barbara-helped-bring-tory-government/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
Barbara Castle was a recipient of the [[Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo]] in Silver, a South African award to foreign nationals for friendship with that country. In a statement the South African government recognised Castle's "outstanding contribution to the struggle against apartheid, and the establishment of a non-sexist, non-racial and democratic South Africa".<ref name="thepresidency.gov.za">{{cite web|url=http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders_list.asp?show=214 |title=The Order of the Companions of OR Tambo in Silver – Profile of Barbara Castle |publisher=The Presidency – Republic of South Africa |access-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719021558/http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders_list.asp?show=214 |archive-date=19 July 2010 }}</ref> Castle was an active supporter of the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) in Britain from the very start of its existence.<ref name="thepresidency.gov.za"/>

In 1990 Castle received a [[Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] for "services to European democracy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qub.ac.uk/cawp/UK%20bios/UK_bios_40s.htm#bcastle|work=Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics|publisher=Queen's University|title=WOMEN MPs ELECTED 1940s|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624114605/http://www.qub.ac.uk/cawp/UK%20bios/UK_bios_40s.htm#bcastle|archive-date=24 June 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002 Castle was posthumously awarded an honorary doctorate by the [[Open University]] for public service in areas of special educational concern to the university.<ref>[http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=441 "OU honours Barbara Castle"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403154435/http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=441 |date=3 April 2015 }}, ''The Open University'', 1 July 2002. Retrieved 8 June 2013.</ref>

In September 2008 Northern Rail, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and the PTEG ([[Passenger Transport Executive]] Group) named a train after her. The plaque was unveiled by Castle's niece, Sonya Hinton, and [[Ruth Kelly]] MP, then Secretary of State for Transport. A commemorative brochure was produced by the PTEG for the event.

==Books by Barbara Castle==
* ''The Castle Diaries, 1974–1976'', [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]], 1980. {{ISBN|9780297774204}}
* ''The Castle Diaries, 1964–1970'', [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]], 1984. {{ISBN|9780297783749}}
* ''Sylvia and Christabel Pankhurst'', [[Penguin Books]], 1987. {{ISBN|9780140087611}}
* ''Fighting All the Way'', [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]], 1993. {{ISBN|9780333590317}}

== See also ==
* [[List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom (1979–1984)]]
* [[List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom (1984–1989)]]
* [[Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968]]
* ''[[In Place of Strife]]''
* [[Rail subsidies]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
'''Footnotes'''
{{Reflist|30em}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Crines|editor-first=Andrew|editor-last2= Hayton|editor-first2=Richard|year=2015|title=Labour Orators from Bevan to Miliband|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719089800}}
*{{cite book|last=Martineau|first=Lisa|title=Barbara Castle: Power & Politics |publisher=André Deutsch|year=2000|isbn=9780233994802}}
*{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Austin|last2=Wienir|first2=David|year=1997|title=Last Time: Labour's Lessons from the Sixties|publisher=Bellew|isbn=9781857251203}}
*{{cite book|last=Perkins|first=Anne|title=Red Queen: The Authorized Biography of Barbara Castle |publisher=Macmillan|year=2003|isbn=9780333905111}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mrs-barbara-castle | Barbara Castle }}
* {{NPG name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101225090333/http://blackburnlabour.org/history/barbara-castle/ Barbara Castle] – Blackburn Labour Party
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/blackburnlabour/tags/barbaracastle/ Photos of Barbara Castle] – Blackburn Labour Party
* [http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb532cas The Barbara Castle Cabinet Diaries] – held at Bradford University Library
* {{Librivox author |id=3624}}
* [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/yourcountry/collections/collections-second-world-war/parliamentarians-and-people/baroness-castle-of-blackburn/ Bronze bust of Barbara Castle in the UK Parliamentary Collections]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}

{{s-bef | before = Sir [[George Elliston (politician)|George Elliston]]<br /> and Sir [[Walter Smiles]] }}
{{s-ttl
 | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackburn]]
 | with = [[John Edwards (Labour politician)|John Edwards]]
 | years  = [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945]]–[[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]]
}}
{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished<br /><small>(split into [[Blackburn East (UK Parliament constituency)|east]] and [[Blackburn West (UK Parliament constituency)|west divisions]])</small>
}}

{{s-new | constituency}}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Blackburn East]]
  | years  = [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]]–[[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955]]
}}
{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }}

{{s-new | constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament for]] [[Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackburn]]|years=[[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955]]–[[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jack Straw]]}}
|-
{{s-par|eu}}
{{s-new | constituency }} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of the European Parliament]] for [[Greater Manchester]]|years=1979–1989}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gary Titley]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-new| post}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Overseas Development]]|years=1964–1965}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Anthony Greenwood]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Tom Fraser]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister for Transport]]|years=1965–1968}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Richard Marsh, Baron Marsh|Richard Marsh]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Ray Gunter]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Employment]]|years=1968–1970}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Robert Carr]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham|Michael Stewart]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[First Secretary of State]]|years=1968–1970}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Michael Heseltine]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Keith Joseph]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Social Services]]|years=1974–1976}}
{{s-aft|after=[[David Ennals]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Tom Driberg]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[National Executive Committee of the Labour Party|Chair of the Labour Party]]|years=1958–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Brinham]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[European Parliamentary Labour Party|Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party]]|years=1979–1985|before=[[John Prescott]]|after=[[Alf Lomas]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{First Secretary of State}}
{{Secretary of State for Health}}
{{Secretary of State for International Development}}
{{Secretary of State for Work and Pensions}}
{{Second Wilson Ministry}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Barbara}}
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