Doug Hoyle, the former Labour MP and distinguished parliamentarian, has died at the age of 98. He was MP for Nelson and Colne from 1974 to 1979, and later represented the constituency of Warrington from 1981 until 1997, when he was made a life peer and became Lord Hoyle. His son, the current Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, led the tributes to his father, describing him as “an inspiration”, “a dedicated parliamentarian”, and “a truly great rugby league fan”. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute, describing Hoyle as “a tenacious campaigner”, “a trade unionist”, and one of the founders of Labour Friends of Israel.
Hoyle first contested the Lancashire constituency of Clitheroe in 1964, but was defeated by Conservative Sir Francis Pearson. He was then narrowly defeated by Conservative Lord David Waddington in Nelson and Colne in the election of February 1974, but won the seat at the second general election eight months later. After being unseated in the 1979 election, he returned to Parliament as the MP for Warrington for 16 years, and chaired its rugby league side, Warrington Wolves, from 1999 to 2009. He retired from the House of Lords in 2023.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle said that his father had “loved his sport” and had held his position as Wolves chairman “with great passion and honour”. He added that his father was “a family man” who had also been “an animal lover”, and who would be missed dearly. The Rugby Football League also paid tribute, calling Lord Hoyle a “great and valued supporter of the sport”. Warrington Wolves said that he had been a “much-loved figure in the town
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