Doug Hoyle, the father of the Commons speaker, Lindsay, and a prominent Labour figure during the 1990s as the party transformed into an electoral force, has died at the age of 98.
Lord Hoyle chaired the parliamentary party under John Smith and Tony Blair, and was a co-founder of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI). He died on Saturday with his family by his side, his son said in a statement.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “It is with great sorrow that I have to announce that my beloved father, Lord Doug Hoyle, passed away peacefully … The whole family are devastated.
“There are few people who get to my age with their father still around – but I have been one of the lucky ones.
“His death last night has left me bereft. I have lost my dad, my inspiration and the country has lost a truly dedicated parliamentarian.”
Eric Douglas Harvey Hoyle was born at Coppull, near Chorley, in Lancashire, on 17 February 1926 and joined Labour in 1945.
A trade unionist in the 1950s, he helped to set up LFI at Labour’s annual conference in 1957. The organisation sought to strengthen ties with the Israeli Labor party and sought a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Hoyle first stood for parliament in Clitheroe in 1964, but came second. He was later elected MP for Nelson and Colne in 1974, but narrowly lost his seat under the Thatcher landslide five years later. In 1981, he returned to the Commons as MP for Warrington North.
He chaired the parliamentary party between 1992 and 1997, and referred to himself as “the chief shop steward representing the backbenchers”.
Paying tribute to Smith in 1994 after the Labour leader’s unexpected death from a heart attack, Hoyle said: “Not only have we lost a great friend and a great leader of the parliamentary Labour party, but the country has lost a prime minister in waiting.”
Hoyle became an outspoken critic of sleaze across parliament. In 1994, he was appointed to the parliamentary panel investigating “cash for questions” allegations against some Conservative backbenchers.
In 2007, Hoyle was caught up in a lobbying scandal after the Guardian reported he had accepted money from an arms firm lobbyist.
A formal investigation by the Lords privileges committee failed to establish whether he broke parliamentary rules by taking money for a ministerial introduction.
Hoyle said although he was on a retainer from the lobbyist Michael Wood, he was “not paid for the purpose of introducing Wood to [Lord] Drayson”, the then defence minister.
Hoyle stepped down from parliament in 1997 as Blair led Labour to a landslide. He was swiftly elevated to the House of Lords.
Standing down as a Lords’ whip in 1999, he finally retired from the upper house in 2023, aged 97.
Lindsay Hoyle said: “Doug was a force to be reckoned with, first as MP for Nelson and Colne in 1974-1979, and then Warrington 1981-1997, before he joined the House of Lords where he served until the age of 97 when he retired in 2023.
“He chaired the parliamentary Labour party and was an outspoken member of the ASTMS trade union, serving as president of both ASTMS and MSF.
“Doug loved his sport and as a massive rugby league fan, became chairman of Warrington Wolves in 1999, a position he held with great passion and honour.
“Today there is an empty armchair, an absence of ready wit, and one less animal lover in the world.
“Above all Doug was a family man and he will be greatly missed by myself, Catherine, Emma, the great-grandchildren and the whole family.”
• This article was amended on 8 April 2024 because an earlier version referred to 1992 as the year of John Smith’s death whereas it was 1994.
