Lord Jeremy Beecham (1944-2026)
A great friend of Journey to Justice
JtoJ would like to add our profound thanks for and appreciation of the life of Lord Jeremy Beecham.
Jeremy was a lawyer and a Newcastle city councillor for Benwell then Scotswood. He became Labour Leader of Newcastle City Council after chairing the social services committee. He told me that securing funding for training and jobs in social services was the achievement he was most proud of.
“He changed the face of Newcastle and helped make it the great city it is today… He was a kind, hard-working man with a wonderful sense of humour and was respected across the political divide.” (Karen Kilgour, current head of Newcastle Council)
Jeremy gave Journey to Justice his support from the very beginning. In an interview with me in 2013, in response to being asked what he thought of our idea, he said,
“It’s necessary and timely. There is an undercurrent of anti-immigrant and incipient racism and other injustice in the country. This is the right time to be making the case for justice – social, economic and legal justice. Human rights ought to be at the core of politics.”
You can watch part of the interview here, scroll down to How It All Began https://journeytojustice.org.uk/how-it-all-began/
Jeremy donated generously to our crowdfunding in order to help create the JtoJ civil rights travelling exhibition: https://journeytojustice.org.uk/the-exhibition/
That same year he and our patron Lord Herman Ouseley co-hosted an unforgettable event for young people from George Mitchell School, Leyton at the House of Lords. The students shared outcomes of their JtoJ project, learning about taking action for social justice. See details of the project here: https://journeytojustice.org.uk/projects/leyton/
Lord Beecham gave quiet, essential support to us for years for which we will be forever grateful.
Carrie Supple, co-founder of JtoJ.
