§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Waddington)My Lords, many of your Lordships will have heard by now of the death of Lord St. Aldwyn. I never had the privilege of serving with Michael St. Aldwyn. It was shortly after he ceased to be the Opposition Chief Whip here that I entered the Whips' Office in another place, but there is a bond between all of us who have been lucky enough to serve as Whips. We are unique in knowing more about everything in Parliament than anyone else and saying less about it. I was brought up to know him as a fine exponent of the Whipping art.
Michael St. Aldwyn served this House and my party as Chief Whip in both government and opposition for 20 years but he was also in a very special way a servant of this House. He knew and valued and never failed to uphold the customs and traditions of this place. He was the model of a Conservative Chief Whip; upright, spruce and impeccably turned out. His views were straightforward and they were straightly delivered. He matched kindness with firmness and tempered the political battles with generosity and magnanimity. He possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of this House and its ways and carried out his duties in an exemplary fashion at a time of great change here. He was, I know, a most perceptive and wise counsellor to the many Leaders of the House with whom he served. Above all, he was much loved. We mourn his passing and send a message of deepest sympathy to his widow, Lady St. Aldwyn, and the whole family.
§ Lord Cledwyn of PenrhosMy Lords, as the noble Lord the Leader of the House said, we are all very sad to hear the news about Lord St. Aldwyn. He was a colleague of great charm and friendliness. It was always a pleasure to see him, and in the latter years when he was indisposed and here in a wheelchair we always enjoyed having a chat with him. He was cheerful and continued to take a close interest in the affairs of the House which he served with distinction for so many years.
To serve as Chief Whip for an historic 20 years and to remain popular and well liked must be almost a unique achievement. I think the secret was that he genuinely liked people and he knew how to deal with the variety of characters that we produce in this place. He also served in the Ministry of Agriculture, as I did, and I know the respect and affection in which he was held in that department. He will be remembered here for a long time as a great servant of the House and of his native county, Gloucestershire. We send our deep felt sympathy to Lady St. Aldwyn and the family.
§ Baroness SeearMy Lords, we on these Benches join in the tributes to Lord St. Aldwyn and send our sympathy to his wife and family. Those of us who came into your Lordships' House while Lord St. Aldwyn was Chief Whip will remember him as a remarkable figure, a "verray parfit gentil knight"—that is no demotion—and someone who represented the very best of the tradition of the House. As a Government Chief Whip he was, of course, a faithful servant to the Government but we on the Opposition Benches—I think I probably speak for the Labour Benches as well as for those on these Benches—always knew that we would have a very fair deal and a proper consideration of our point of view. It is that ability to look above party interests and to appreciate the wider needs of the House as a whole while remaining a good party man, which he personified, which we so greatly appreciated.
The Earl of HalsburyMy Lords, on behalf of my noble friends on the Cross-Benches I rise to associate myself with the tributes that have been paid from all sides of the House on the passing of my old friend Lord St. Aldwyn. There is a very real poignancy between two approximate coevals when the younger passes on before the older. It was with a great sense of loss that I read in The Times about his passing. Only a few years separated us at school and in the dances of the London season a few years later we went to the same parties. We were friends all our lives. He was a great gentleman, a model to whom any Member of your Lordships' House might legitimately seek to conform. In that spirit I send my true sympathy to his family and friends and to the party which he graced for so long as Chief Whip.
§ The Lord Bishop of WorcesterMy Lords, living as I do in one of the three counties of the Three Counties Show and the Three Choirs Festival and being a neighbour of Gloucestershire I should like to say how much Lord St. Aldwyn was loved and respected in his native county. He was for many years a conscientious church warden of Coln St. Aldwyn. As your Lordships know, he grappled with illness over a number of years towards the end. He was Vice-Lieutenant and did much for the County Yeomanry. He was a Friend of Gloucester Cathedral and was associated with the recent 900th centenary appeal for that great building. I know how much he will be missed in both county and diocese. Therefore, I am glad to be associated with this tribute and to join in sending to his widow, Lady St. Aldwyn, and his large family our sympathy and encouragement.
§ Lord ShepherdMy Lords, perhaps I may be able to add a few words to the tributes paid to Lord St. Aldwyn. I worked with him for many years as a previous Leader of this House but perhaps more importantly as a previous Government Chief Whip and also an Opposition Chief Whip. Lord St. Aldwyn saw me through the first 18 difficult months after the 1964 election when the Labour Government was formed. I had very little experience of what were known as the usual channels. If it had not been for Lord St. Aldwyn, with his wisdom and advice, I do not 1415 think we could have had as smooth a transition as we had at that time. My grateful thanks must always be with him for that period.
He was also a man of this House well beyond the usual channels. When I was Opposition Chief Whip I remember that he phoned me in the middle of August to ask whether I could come to London because there was a major problem. I arrived to find that the bank was not prepared to extend the overdraft of the Refreshment Department. He and I wrote a letter of comfort to the bank to ensure that the wages of our staff could be paid.
Lord St. Aldwyn also understood the nature of the House. Those who were in the House at that time will remember that the Tories sat at one table, the Labour Party at another, the Liberals at another and noble and learned Lords at yet another. We appealed to all parties that we should mix around a bit, but to no avail. I remember the noble Lord coming to me and saying, "There is only one solution. We shall have just one table, and they will have to sit at it, irrespective of their party political allegiance". That in itself did a great deal towards establishing what I might call the cohesion of the House, irrespective of our divisions.
The noble Lord, as the noble Baroness, Lady Seear, said, was impeccable in his relations with all quarters of the House. He was, in my view, an example of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary approach. The House, I think, is not merely sad, but weaker. I hope that his example will never be forgotten in the procedures of the House and the relationships among all quarters of the House in the conduct of its business. Perhaps I may join in sending my sympathy to Lady St. Aldwyn. I offer my sincere sympathy to noble Lords opposite on their loss on this occasion.
Earl JellicoeMy Lords, I feel that I cannot add anything to what has been so able and eloquently expressed in your Lordships' House this afternoon. I should like to associate myself with the tributes paid to my late noble friend Michael St. Aldwyn. I should like only to say how much I, as an inexperienced Leader of your Lordships' House, owed, for three years or more, to his very sage advice. That said, I should like only to say that in my opinion my late noble friend was the wisest of wise men in the ways of your Lordships' House, but he was also the nicest of nice men, and a marvellous friend. I should like to add my sympathy to that which has already been expressed to Lady St Aldwyn and the family.
§ Lord EltonMy Lords, everyone who has so far spoken has spoken as the holder of great office. I should like merely to add a postscript to what has been said on a moving occasion: that for those of us who came under his tutelage as new boys on the Back Benches he was held in great reverence and very great affection. He was always approachable. One discovered that under the air of patrician calm which he laid over every crisis there was a keen perception of personal needs and an extremely efficient management of machinery. He will be mourned by many who have never sat on the Front Bench who have lost a friend as well as a leader.
§ Baroness Elliot of HarwoodMy Lords, perhaps I may add just one word, because it was Lord St. Aldwyn who greeted the four ladies who came into the House in 1958. No woman had ever been here before. There was a great query in many people's minds, and also in what they said, as to how we should be received. There is no doubt that Lord St. Aldwyn made the entrance for the four of us easier than anyone else could have done. I was always extremely grateful to him as, I think, were the others; but I am the only one of the originals left. I make these comments with great feeling, and I should like to send my sympathy to his family.