Paul Rose

Labour politician and campaigner

Paul Bernard Rose was born in 1935. He was educated at Bury Grammar School and Manchester University. He was chairman of the Manchester Federation of Young Socialists and became a barrister, called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1958.

He became Chairman of the Manchester Left Club and edited a youth page for 'labour's Northern Voice' and led the Suez Demonstrations in Manchester in 1956. His main interests were Industrial Safety, Northern Ireland and civil liberties and he was active in the field of Human Rights not least in relation to Greece under the rule of the Colonels.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Manchester Blackley in 1964, then the youngest member of the House of Commons. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Barbara Castle at the Ministry of Transport and after 1970 was frontbench spokesman on industrial relations. He stepped down in 1979, and subsequently joined the Social Democratic Party in the 1980s.

He held posts as Chairman of Campaign for Democracy in Ulster, Chairman of the North West Sports Council, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party Home Office Group. He served on the Council of Europe and was Vice Chairman of Labour Campaign for Europe. He was also founder and Chairman of the anti-cult organization Family Action Information and Rescue. He was a Deputy Circuit Judge and a Part Time Immigration and Political Asylum Adjudicator. He is the editor of six books on law, politics, and history including Backbencher's Dilemma, A History of the Fenians In England and The Moonies Unmasked after publishing The Manchester Martyrs. He has contributed many articles to newspapers and magazines on history, law and politics.