The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Honorific prefixThe Right Honourable
Office 1Principal of Somerville College, Oxford
Term start 1August 2017
Term end 1October 2025
Predecessor 1Alice Prochaska
Successor 1Catherine Royle
Office 2Leader of the Opposition in the Lords
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Leader 2Harriet Harman (Acting)
Ed Miliband
Term start 211 May 2010
Term end 227 May 2015
Predecessor 2The Lord Strathclyde
Successor 2The Baroness Smith of Basildon
Office 3Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Prime minister 3Gordon Brown
Term start 35 June 2009
Term end 311 May 2010
Predecessor 3Liam Byrne
Successor 3The Lord Strathclyde
Office 4Leader of the House of Lords
Prime minister 4Gordon Brown
Term start 43 October 2008
Term end 411 May 2010
Predecessor 4The Baroness Ashton of Upholland
Successor 4The Lord Strathclyde
Office 5Lord President of the Council
Prime minister 5Gordon Brown
Term start 52 October 2008
Term end 55 June 2009
Predecessor 5The Baroness Ashton of Upholland
Successor 5Peter Mandelson
Office 6Chief Whip of the House of Lords
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms
Prime minister 6Gordon Brown
Term start 624 January 2008
Term end 63 October 2008
Predecessor 6The Lord Grocott
Successor 6The Lord Bassam of Brighton
Office 7Baroness-in-waiting
Government Whip
Prime minister 7Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
Term start 710 May 2005
Term end 725 January 2008
Predecessor 7The Lord Triesman
Successor 7The Baroness Thornton
Office 8Member of the House of Lords
Status 8Lord Temporal
Term label 8Life peerage
Term start 825 June 2004
Birth date20 August 1955 (age 71)
Birth placeGloucester, Gloucestershire, England
PartyLabour and Co-operative
SpouseStuart Hercock
(m. 1980; ended 2010)
Alma materWestfield College, London[1] (BA) Modern Languages (French and Spanish)

Janet Anne Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (born 20 August 1955), is a British Labour Co-operative Party politician. A former secretary and adviser to Neil Kinnock, Royall was appointed to the House of Lords in 2004 after having stood unsuccessfully to be MEP for The Cotswolds, and to be MP for Ipswich and Ogmore.[2][3][4] She also stood to be a member of Gloucestershire County Council.[5]

From October 2008, she was Leader of the House of Lords for the last eighteen months of Gordon Brown's premiership.[6]

Royall was Principal of Somerville College, Oxford from August 2017 until October 2025 and was a candidate in the 2024 University of Oxford Chancellor election.[7] She was succeeded by Catherine Royle in October 2025.[8] She is the current Chair of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.[9]

Education and early political career

Royall grew up in Gloucestershire in Hucclecote and Newnham on Severn and was educated at the Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School and Westfield College, London, where she gained a 2.2 (BA) degree in Modern Languages (Spanish and French) in 1977.[1][10]

Royall's first job after graduating was importing flowers from Colombia and she also trained as a secretary.[11][12] Royall was a secretary and adviser to Neil Kinnock,[13][4] the leader of the Labour Party, in the 1980s, and she has remained a close ally of his ever since. She is reputed to have bought the infamous donkey jacket worn by former leader Michael Foot for his Rembrance Day appearance at the Cenotaph in 1982.[3]

In 1984, Royall stood to be MEP for The Cotswolds, finishing third with 20.7% of the vote. She sought selection as Labour's candidate for Ipswich in a 2001 by-election, losing to Chris Mole;[14] and for Ogmore in a 2002 by-election, losing to Huw Irranca-Davies.[15] In 2003 she became head of the European Commission office in Wales; her appointment was criticised at the time as "an inappropriate political appointment" by Hans-Gert Pöttering.[16] The head of the EU's offices in the UK, Jim Dougal, told BBC Wales that the appointment was above board and that proper procedures were followed at every stage. Royall did not respond to the demands for her resignation and turned down all requests for interviews.[16]

House of Lords

On 25 June 2004, she was created a life peer as Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, of Blaisdon in the County of Gloucestershire.[17][18] She spoke for the Labour party on Health, International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

On 24 January 2008 Royall was appointed government chief whip in the House of Lords, on the resignation of Lord Grocott. She was appointed a Privy Counsellor later in the year. On 3 October 2008, she was appointed to the cabinet by Gordon Brown, as Leader of the House of Lords[19] and Lord President of the Council. On 5 June 2009, Royall was succeeded as Lord President by Peter Mandelson, the Business Secretary, and was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

She voted for a 100% elected House, on the last occasion that the House of Lords voted on Reform of the House of Lords in March 2007.[20] She has called for a national referendum on any reforms of the chamber.

Since 2012, Royall has campaigned for tougher sentencing for people convicted of stalking offences, including the successful tabling of an amendment to increase the maximum sentence for stalking.[21][22] She has advocated for cross-agency information sharing to enable joined-up approaches to combatting stalking.[23]

In September 2012, she spoke out against the proposed badger cull.[24]

In 2013, Royall stood for election to Gloucestershire County Council, finishing fourth with 12% of the vote.[5]

She announced in May 2015 that she would not seek re-election as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords.[25]

In 2016, she chaired an investigation into allegations of antisemitism in Oxford University Labour Club and was subsequently one of two Vice-Chairs of the Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism in the UK Labour Party.[26][27] Royall's report concluded that people thrown out of the Labour Party for anti-semitic views should not be banned for life.[28][29]

Royall voted against the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 citing concerns about the bureaucracy the Bill would entail as well as her opposition to proposed fines.[30][31] Royall has spoken in the Lords about the importance of free speech in universities and her belief that existing legislation is sufficient.[32] In October 2024, the Free Speech Union commented that Royall had an "apparently lackadaisical approach to free speech."[33]

Principal of Somerville College

In February 2017, Somerville College, Oxford, announced the selection of Baroness Royall as its next principal.[34] She succeeded Alice Prochaska at the end of August 2017.[34][35] In 2019, Royall attracted media attention following her decision to remove octopus from the college menu[36][37][38][39] and supported the introduction of gender-neutral toilets.[40] As Principal, Royall implemented mandatory unconscious bias training for students, leading to criticism from Toby Young of the Free Speech Union.[41]

She also oversaw an expansion of scholarship provision at Somerville College[42] and initiated outreach to local primary schools.[43] She served as Chair of the Conference of Colleges[44] from 2020 to 2023 and for two years before that was Deputy Chair.[45] In 2021, Royall led a campaign for Somerville to become a College of Sanctuary, offering a pathway to Oxford for students displaced by war or internal unrest.[46] The University of Oxford later adopted this campaign and formed such a Community of Sanctuary.[47] In May 2024, Royall instructed Thames Valley Police, who were monitoring pro-Palestine protests, to leave the grounds of Somerville College.[48] In 2024, the UK Campaign Against Anti-Semitism wrote a formal letter of complaint after the Somerville College magazine, with a foreword by Royall, omitted any mention of Jewish victims in three articles on the Holocaust.[49][50] It was announced that she would be standing down from the role of Principal of Somerville College at the end of the 2024/25 academic year at the age of 70.[51]

Personal life

She was married to Stuart Hercock from 1980 until his death in 2010, and has three children.[52]

References

  1. ^ "Leadership - Queen Mary University of London". www.qmul.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  2. ^ White, Michael & Maguire, Kevin (2002-01-10). "Blairite picked for safe Labour seat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  3. ^ Glover, Julian (2001-10-26). "Labour to unveil Ipswich shortlist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  4. ^ "BBC NEWS | Talk about Newsnight | Reshuffle ruminations". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  5. ^ "Election results for Forest of Dean: Newent, 2 May 2013". glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk. 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  6. ^ "The Cabinet: Who's Who". 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  7. ^ "Oxford University could have its first female Chancellor". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  8. ^ "Catherine Royle to become Somerville's Next Principal". Somerville College. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  9. ^ https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/faces/labour-peer-looks-forward-to-navigating-the-challenges-as-visitor-attractions-chair
  10. ^ "Baroness Jan Royall". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  11. ^ "Baroness Royall of Blaisdon - Somerville College Oxford". www.some.ox.ac.uk. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  12. ^ "A Royall Progress - Somerville College Oxford". www.some.ox.ac.uk. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  13. ^ "Baron Kinnock makes Lords debut". 2005-01-31. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  14. ^ White, Michael (2001-11-02). "Male Labour candidate in 'safe' seat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  15. ^ "Lecturer picked to fight election". 2002-01-09. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  16. ^ "Euro appointment under fire". BBC. 16 May 2003.
  17. ^ No. 57341. 30 June 2004. p. 8139.
  18. ^ "Peerages: Letters Patent". peerages.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  19. ^ "As it happened: Brown reshuffle". 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  20. ^ "Public Whip"
  21. ^ "Hansard". Hansard. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  22. ^ Bowcott, Owen & correspondent, Owen Bowcott Legal affairs (2017-01-06). "Maximum sentence for stalking to rise to 10 years". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  23. ^ "Opinion: Protecting Women Means Seriously Tracking Stalkers And Abusers". HuffPost UK. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  24. ^ "Big Issue: Baroness Jan Royall of Blaisdon on the badger cull". This is Gloucestershire. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  25. ^ "Baroness Royall to step down as Labour leader in the Lords". Labourlist.
  26. ^ "Shami Chakrabarti Is yet to Comment on Release of Royall Report into Labour Antisemitism". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Anti-Semitism inquiry leader Shami Chakrabarti joins Labour". BBC News. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  28. ^ "Labour's Lady Royall: No life bans over anti-Semitism". BBC News. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  29. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (2016-05-17). "Antisemitism should not mean automatic life ban, Labour report says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  30. ^ Rusbridger, Alan. "'I don't think that profile equates with the ability to fulfil the role' Jan Royall on running for Oxford chancellor". www.prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  31. ^ "Lords split over free speech in Higher Education Bill". University World News. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  32. ^ "Hansard". Hansard. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  33. ^ Attenborough, Frederick (2024-10-14). "Oxford candidate runs into row over freedom of speech". The Free Speech Union. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  34. ^ Announcement of new Principal at Somerville College, Somerville College, 9 Feb 2017.
  35. ^ "THE PRINCIPAL AND FELLOWS OF SOMERVILLE COLLEGE - Charity 1139440". prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  36. ^ "Octopus 'off menu' at Oxford University's Somerville College". BBC News. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  37. ^ Turner, Camilla (2019-01-17). "Oxford college bans octopus from menu in bid to make disadvantaged students feel more 'comfortable'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  38. ^ Coren, Giles (2019-01-22). "Uni is a safe space for alphabetti spaghetti". The Times. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  39. ^ Turner, Camilla (2019-02-08). "Students at Oxford college which cut octopus from menu now vote to ban Halal and Kosher meat". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  40. ^ Webster, Eve (2018-01-26). "Somerville u-turns on gender neutral toilets". Cherwell. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  41. ^ Daniel, Charles (2021-02-13). "Letter to Baroness Royall regarding Unconscious Bias Training at Somerville College". The Free Speech Union. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  42. ^ "Scholarships" Somerville College web site, accessed 29 December 2024
  43. ^ "Partner schools and link areas", Somerville College web site, accessed 29 December 2024
  44. ^ "Reflections on becoming Chair of the Conference of Colleges"
  45. ^ "About the Conference of Colleges"
  46. ^ "Somerville recognised as University College of Sanctuary - Somerville College Oxford". www.some.ox.ac.uk. 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  47. ^ Community of Sanctuary, ox.ac.uk, accessed 29 December 2024
  48. ^ Hurst, Ruby (2024-05-23). "Somerville College responds to police launching drones". The Oxford Student. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  49. ^ UK, CAAS. "Twitter/X". Twitter
  50. ^ "The Somerville Magazine 2024 by Somerville College - Issuu". issuu.com. 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  51. ^ "Somerville College |". Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  52. ^ "Royall of Blaisdon, Baroness, (Janet Anne Royall) (born 20 Aug. 1955)". Who's Who. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U44490

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