Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, PC (née Viner; 26 July 1928 – 1 January 2025) was a British Conservative politician.
The Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes | |
|---|---|
 Oppenheim-Barnes in 2016 | |
| Minister of State for Consumer Affairs | |
| In office 6 May 1979 – 4 March 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Gerard Vaughan |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 9 February 1989 – 25 February 2019 | |
| Member of Parliament for Gloucester | |
| In office 18 June 1970 – 18 May 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Diamond |
| Succeeded by | Douglas French |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sarah Amelia Viner 26 July 1928 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 1 January 2025 (aged 96) |
| Nationality | British Irish |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) |
Henry Oppenheim
(m. 1949; died 1980)John Barnes (m. 1984) |
| Children | 3, including Phillip |
Early life
editBorn in Dublin on 26 July 1928,[1][2] Viner was raised and educated in Sheffield, where her father founded a steel and cutlery company. She attended Lowther College and worked as a social worker in London before entering politics.[1][3] She changed her forenames from Sarah Amelia to Sally in 1968.[4]
Career
editAt the 1970 general election, she defeated Labour candidate Jack Diamond to represent the constituency of Gloucester for the Conservative Party; Diamond was the only cabinet minister to lose his seat at that election. She continued as Member of Parliament for Gloucester until 1987 and was Minister of State for Consumer Affairs in the Department of Trade between 1979 and 1982.
She chaired the National Consumer Council from 1987-89 and was later a vice-president of the National Union of Townswomen’s Guilds and chair of the National Waterways Museum.[5]
Oppenheim-Barnes was created a life peer, as Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes of Gloucester in the County of Gloucestershire, on 9 February 1989.[6] Her son Phillip Oppenheim is a former Conservative MP for Amber Valley. Between 1983 and 1987 mother and son served simultaneously in the House of Commons. On 25 February 2019, she retired from the House of Lords under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.[7]
Personal life and death
editIn 1949, she married Henry Oppenheim, a property tycoon, with whom she had three children. Widowed in 1980, in 1984 she married her second husband, John Barnes.[5] Oppenheim-Barnes died on 1 January 2025, at the age of 96.[8][5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958" index". FamilySearch.
- See also: "BIRTHS entry for Sarah A Viner; citing Dublin South, Jul-Sep 1928, vol. 2, p. 527". General Registry, Custom House, Dublin; FHL microfilm 101230. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ "Happy 90th birthday to former Gloucester MP". Punchline Gloucester. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Oppenheim, Sally". Jewish Virtual Library. Biodata, with year of birth given correctly as 1928.
- ^ "No. 44738". The London Gazette. 19 December 1968. p. 13669.
- ^ a b c Obituaries, Telegraph. "Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, popular and effective consumer affairs minister under Mrs Thatcher". Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "No. 51646". The London Gazette. 15 February 1989. p. 1935.
- ^ "Retirement of a Member: Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes". Hansard. 25 February 2019.
- ^ "Former Gloucester MP dies". Gloucester News Centre. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
External links
edit- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sally Oppenheim-Barnes
- Women's Rights: Radical Change – video of Oppenheim appearing in a BBC debate first televised in 1974
- Portraits of Sally Oppenheim-Barnes at the National Portrait Gallery, London
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