Bill Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank

Rodgers was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was general secretary of the Fabian Society 1953–1960 and a councillor on St. Marylebone Borough Council 1958–62. He also fought a by-election at Bristol West in 1957.

Rodgers first entered the British House of Commons at a by-election in 1962, and served in Labour Governments under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, becoming Secretary of State for Transport in Callaghan's Cabinet in 1976. Within the Labour Party he was known for being a highly effective organiser around centrist causes such as multilateral nuclear disarmament and Britain's membership of the EEC. He held the post until Labour's defeat in the 1979 general election. From 1979 to 1981 he was Shadow Defence Secretary. With Labour drifting to the left, Rodgers joined Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins and David Owen in forming the Social Democratic Party in 1981. In September 1982, Rodgers stood to become President of the SDP, but took only 19.4% of the vote, and a distant second place behind Williams.[1]

Rodgers married in 1955 Silvia Szulman (1928–2006), a Berlin-born artist and writer, who became a political hostess.[5] The couple had three daughters, Rachel, Lucy and Juliet.[6]

• John Campbell (2014). Roy Jenkins, a Well-Rounded Life. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-08750-6.

• Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
• Recent Speeches in the Lords
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Rodgers