Veteran Lancashire politician Baroness Ruth Henig dies, aged 80

Baroness Ruth Henig passed away late last week at the age of 80. She was a Labour member of County Hall for more than two decades, from 1981 until 2005, representing the Lancaster East division - and she also spent a year as chairwoman of the authority.

Lady Henig was a child of Jewish refugees who came to the UK from the Netherlands in 1940. She went on to become a history lecturer at Lancaster University, eventually serving as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

She stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully attempting to become the MP for Lancaster in 1992.

The well-known politician served as chairwoman of the Lancashire Policy Authority from 1995 to 2005 and chairwoman of the Association of Police Authorities from 1997 to 2005, when she became the association’s president.

She was awarded a CBE in 2000 for services to policy and in 2002 was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire.

The mother-of- two was made a Labour peer in 2004 and served on various committees, eventually being named deputy chairman of committees in 2015. She has been serving as one of the upper chamber’s Deputy Speakers since 2018.

Lady Henig also served as chairwoman of the private security regulator, the Security Industry Authority, from 2007 to 2013.

Lady Henig’s son David Henig said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “With @SimonHenig, we’re sad to announce the passing of our mother, Baroness Ruth Henig, Deputy Speaker, daughter of refugees, a life well lived as an academic, author, football fan, walker, beer drinking, bridge player, grandmother, chair in the security industry, music lover.”