Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge
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The Right Honourable The Baroness Lee of Asheridge PC |
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| Minister for the Arts | |
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In office 20 October 1964 – 19 June 1970 |
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| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Succeeded by | David Eccles |
| Member of Parliament for Cannock | |
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In office 5 July 1945 – 18 June 1970 |
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| Preceded by | William Murdoch Adamson |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Cormack |
| Member of Parliament for North Lanarkshire | |
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In office 21 March 1929 – 27 October 1931 |
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| Preceded by | Alexander Sprot |
| Succeeded by | William Anstruther-Gray |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Janet Lee 3 November 1904 Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 16 November 1988 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Aneurin Bevan |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Janet Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge, PC (3 November 1904 – 16 November 1988), known as Jennie Lee, was a Scottish Labour Party politician. She was a Member of Parliament from a by-election in 1929 until 1931 and then from 1945 to 1970.
She was married to the Welsh Labour politician Aneurin Bevan from 1934 until his death in 1960.
As Minister for the Arts in Harold Wilson's government of 1964-70, she played a leading role in the foundation of the Open University working directly with Harold Wilson to established the principle of open access: Enrolment as a student of the University should be open to everyone … irrespective of educational qualifications, and no formal entrance requirement should be imposed.
Born in Lochgelly, in Fife, Scotland, to James Lee, a miner (who later gave up work in the mines to run a hotel), and Euphemia Grieg, she inherited her father's socialist inclinations, and like him joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Her grandfather Michael Lee (born in 1850 to Irish Catholic parents, and a friend of Keir Hardie) had founded the Fifeshire ILP federation. She later joined the Labour Party, and served as an MP from 1929 to 1931 and from 1945 to 1970.
Lee was educated at Beath High School, she wanted to go to university but her parents were unable to afford the fees. Eventually she went to study law and education with support from the Carnegie Trust who agreed to pay half her fees, at the University of Edinburgh.
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