Former campaigning MP Lord Frank Field has been awarded the freedom of the town he served for 40 years.
The 79-year-old, who revealed he has a terminal illness, was MP for Birkenhead and minister for welfare reform in Tony Blair ’s Labour government.
Wirral council awarded him the town’s freedom on Wednesday at an extraordinary meeting. Leader Janette Williamson said Lord Field “always had the love and respect of Birkenhead residents”.
Independent councillor Moira McLaughlin, who proposed and endorsed the honour, added: “He worked tirelessly to eliminate the causes of poverty.”
She was not able to attend the honour meeting as she was in London with the peer.
In 1969, Lord Field became the director of the Child Poverty Action Group and led the Low Pay Unit from 1974-1980. A long time campaigner for pensions change, he served as an MP from 1979 to 2019, first for Labour and then as an independent.
He quit Labour in 2018 over disagreements with Jeremy Corbyn ’s leadership.
During a Lords debate on the assisted dying bill last October, Lord Field revealed in a statement read out on his behalf that he was not well enough to attend as he had “just spent a period in a hospice” and was terminally ill.
