FORMER Labour MP Frank Field revealed he was terminally ill via a statement read out in the House of Lords in October 2021.
Despite being given just weeks to live, Frank sadly passed away at the age of 81 on April 24, 2024.
ReutersFormer Labour MP Frank Field’s family revealed he had passed away on April 24, 2024[/caption]
Who is ex-Labour MP Frank Field?
Frank Field was a British politician from Edmonton, north London.
He was MP for Birkenhead in the Wirral, Merseyside, from 1979 to 2019.
Among his most notable positions was that of Welfare Reform Minister in Tony Blair‘s first Cabinet from 1997.
He resigned from the position in 1998 after “differences” with the prime minister.
In 2018, he resigned the Labour whip, citing anti-Semitism within the party.
He went on to form the Birkenhead Social Justice Party, but was beaten by the Labour candidate Mick Whitley in the 2019 general election.
Feild was a strong supporter of assisted dying
Throughout his career, Field showed support for numerous causes including pensions reform, ending child poverty and modern slavery, and increasing pay for those on low incomes.
He also believed that climate change is one of the biggest threats facing our society, according to his website.
Field never married or had children, but his friends described him as having a “full life outside of politics”.
In March 2015, he collapsed during a public meeting, reportedly following a heated exchange, and was admitted to hospital.
Field revealed he was terminally ill in October 2021.
What was Frank Field’s cause of death?
Field passed away on April 24, 2024 following a long battle with terminal prostate cancer.
He briefly spent time in a hospice in 2021 after being diagnosed with the illness, but came out shortly after.
I’m just happily waiting for the end
Frank Field
In a statement issued by the Parliamentary office on the morning of Field’s passing, his loved ones said: “Frank Field (Rt Hon Lord Field of Birkenhead, CH) has died at the age of 81 following a period of illness.
“Frank was director of the Child Poverty Action Group between 1969 and 1979, and the Member of Parliament for Birkenhead between 1979 and 2019.”
It continued: “Frank is survived by two brothers.
“He will be mourned by admirers across politics but above all he will be greatly missed by those lucky enough to have enjoyed his laughter and friendship.”
Field pictured with David Cameron in January 2010, when they both spoke about child development at Demos — a left wing think tank — in London
What illness did Frank Field have?
When he broke the news that he was terminally ill back in 2021, Field did not disclose which illness he was suffering from.
Several high profile figures sent their best wishes after Field revealed he was dying.
Among them was Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who described Field as “an amazing, compassionate man”.
In a 2023 interview with the Times, Field said: “I’m just happily waiting for the end.
“As I feel you may hear, the cancer’s moved around in my neck and makes speech rather difficult.
“I hope it’s clear enough to understand. But I’m just in good spirits really. Surprising given what I am waiting for.”
It wasn’t until January 2023 that he revealed that he had been suffering from prostate cancer for a decade.
What has Frank Field said about assisted suicide?
Field revealed his support of a law that allows assisted dying.
In October 2021, peers debated whether to permit people with a short time left to live to choose when they die.
The House of Lords finally voted against making an amendment to the Health and Care Bill in March 2022 — which would have required the government to draft a bill on assisted dying within a year.
In an emotional statement read to fellow peers on behalf of Field, Baroness Meacher, who led the bill, said: “Our colleague, Lord Field, who is dying, asked me to read out a short statement.
“I have just spent a period in a hospice and I am not well enough to participate in today’s debate.
“If I had been, I would have spoken strongly in favour of a second reading.
“I changed my mind on assisted dying when an MP friend was dying of cancer and wanted to die early before the full horror effects set in but was denied this opportunity.
“I hope the House will today vote for the Assisted Dying Bill.”
He added that concerns that people might be pressured to end their lives were “unfounded”.
There have been several attempts to introduce similar laws in the past, but each has been defeated.
The debate which Field was unable to attend was the first time the issue had been debated in Parliament for more than six years.
Frank Field’s political highlights
Between the years of 1964 and 1968, Frank Field served as a Labour councillor for Turnham green in Hounslow, London.
Field became the MP for Birkenhead on May 3, 1979 — a position he held for over 40 years.
When New Labour swept into power in 1997, Field became Welfare Reform Minister in Tony Blair‘s first Cabinet, but resigned just a year later in 1998, citing “differences” with the prime minister.
In May 2009, Field announced himself as a candidate for Speaker of the House of Commons, but later withdrew his candidature because of lack of support from within his own party.
Field was the Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee from June 2015 until November 2019.
In 2018, he resigned the Labour whip citing anti-Semitism in the party.
Field announced in August 2019 that he would stand in the next general election as a candidate for the newly-formed Birkenhead Social Justice Party on a localist, pro-Brexit platform — losing out to Labour’s Mick Whitely in December of the same year.
After leaving the House of Commons in 2019, Field was awarded a life peerage in 2020 and sat in the House of Lords as a cross-bencher.