Lord Mason of Barnsley, former Labour minister, has died

Lord Mason of Barnsley has died aged 91 after a long illness – the Yorkshire Post has reported.

Roy Mason, Lord Mason of Barnsley, was a Labour MP for Barnsley (and then Barnsley Central) from 1953 to 1987. During this time he held several ministerial positions under both Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In particular, he was Secretary of State for Defence (1974-1976) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1976-1979).

Lord Mason, who was a miner prior to becoming an MP at the age of 28. After he retired as an MP he was made a life peer taking the title Baron Mason of Barnsley in 1987. Alongside Denis Healey, he was one of the last surviving Cabinet Ministers from Harold Wilson’s government.

The Labour candidate for Barnsley Central, Dan Jarvis, has expressed his condolences on Twitter:

The thoughts of everyone at LabourList are with the Mason family.