Baroness Doreen Massey, 1938-2024

It is with gratitude for a life well lived as well as with great sadness that Humanists UK has learned of the death on 20 April of Baroness Doreen Massey of Darwen, Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Humanist Group (APPHG) until the start of this year, Secretary from 2010-22, member of Humanists UK for over forty years, and a valued patron.

A former teacher and education advisor educated at the University of Birmingham and the University of London, Baroness Massey’s notable career included serving as Director of the Young People’s Programme at the Health and Education Council and as the Director of the Family Planning Association. She entered the House of Lords as a Labour peer in 1999 and for the last 25 years had been a tireless advocate for the causes that inspired her, from equitable treatment of the north of England to many humanist causes. She served as secretary of the APPHG for 12 years and more recently as Vice-Chair until shortly before her death.

As a committed humanist, she championed the campaigns of Humanists UK and made unique contributions to ethical questions in public life on a range of issues including inclusive education, marriage equality, LGBT rights, HIV/AIDs, sexual health, and drug and alcohol misuse. She also led humanist amendments to the Equality Acts of 2006 and 2010 that expanded equality on grounds of non-religious belief and sexual orientation in the face of religious discrimination.

Among the many humanist campaigns she worked on, Doreen had a particular commitment to education, advocating for statutory Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education and Relationships and Sex Education. She was also a vocal advocate of phasing out discriminatory religious schools, and the replacement of compulsory Christian worship in schools with inclusive assemblies. Speaking in favour of the Education (Assemblies) Bill in 2021, which sought to do just that, Baroness Massey noted that these assemblies ‘could make a real contribution to children’s lives’ by involving them in issues that concern them ‘such as mental health, relationships, the environment…’ This was typical of her strong moral concerns and support for human development.

She was also instrumental in moving the amendment that caused to the creation of the new legal category for humanist marriages in the 2013 Marriage Act, helping to lead the opposition to the UK Government in the House of Lords. With the reform promised by the Act still unrealised, in 2022 Doreen signed a joint letter calling on the Government to legally recognise humanist marriages in England and Wales, championing freedom of choice for people to marry in line with their beliefs.

Writing about her own beliefs for Humanists UK in 2014, she said that she had been a humanist since the late 1950s. She had ‘formed [her] beliefs from a variety of sources, particularly during adolescence. I read widely and it made sense to me to rely on human creativity and support rather than on religious faith.’ It was when she read A Passage to India by E M Forster and his essay on humanism, What I Believe, in which she said she had found an ‘exact reflection of [her] thinking’, that she realised she was a humanist:

‘The values and morals which guide my life are based on the belief that humans are responsible for their own destinies and have a responsibility to self and others for developing supportive and trusting relationships.

‘These beliefs originated in being brought up in a working class family in the north of England where sympathetic teachers encouraged me to go to University. I read widely and it made sense to me to rely on human creativity and support rather than on religious faith.

‘I hope that I behave according to these principles. I realise that humans are not perfect and we sometimes let each other down. This is all the more reason to try to be trustworthy. I believe that, in political life, this is of fundamental importance.

‘I made a decision when I first went into the House of Lords, to be active in fighting against Section 28 – the homophobic legislation which confused teachers and pupils. I felt that this was discriminatory, impractical and caused distress.

‘My beliefs have been challenged many times privately and publicly. In the Chamber of the House of Lords, Humanism has been belittled. I am proud to be a humanist. We are a growing number, and a more vocal group. We have a valid and important contribution to make to society. We should be consulted, locally and nationally, on issues which affect society.’

Away from the campaigning work of Humanists UK that her role as a parliamentarian inevitably involved, Doreen retained a wide interest in the full range of Humanists UK’s work. She broadcasted poems to prisoners during the Covid lockdowns as part of Humanists UK’s broadcasting on prison radio and was a committed advocate of humanist pastoral care in hospitals and prisons. She was also a patron of Labour Humanists.

Honouring her life and legacy, Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson said:

‘Doreen has been something of a fixture of my humanist life, from my first days as a parliamentary researcher to now and I owe her an enormous debt of gratitude, as does every humanist who cares about having our concerns represented in public life.

‘A committed humanist in word and deed, every single act of her public life was directed towards human development, the improvement of individual lives, and social progress. She was a champion for freedom, for equality, and for good and healthy human relationships in every respect.

‘Being with Doreen inspired you to try to be as determined as she was but it also made you happier. Her disposition was optimistic and cheerful, full of confidence that the better life we imagine really can be achieved.’