Birkenhead pays tribute to 'visionary' Frank Field

Frank Field, later Lord Field of Birkenhead, has died aged 81

Tributes to Frank Field from people in his former Birkenhead constituency have highlighted his "tireless", "visionary" fight against poverty.

The politician, who represented the Wirral town for 40 years, died yesterday aged 81.

He was a key figure in establishing the Feeding Birkenhead scheme, which was later rolled out nationally.

Local councillor Pat Cleary said Lord Field was committed to local people.

Lord Field represented the Birkenhead constituency for 40 years

"Frank's commitment to the people of Birkenhead was clear for all to see," the councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere and co-leader of the Green Group at Wirral Council said in a post on X.

"He worked tirelessly for their benefit and leaves a significant legacy."

The Frank Field Education Trust said the politician's "unwavering commitment to social justice not only defined his decades of public service, but is also the foundation stone for so many causes and organisations he is involved with".

"Frank's focus on ensuring that all young people have access to the same educational opportunities is at the heart of everything we do," a representative said.

Lord Field was described as a "tireless" champion of his community

Lord Field was elected to the safe Labour seat of Birkenhead in 1979 and held it for the next 40 years.

He served as an MP from 1979 to 2019, first for Labour and then, towards the end of his career, as an independent.

A long-time campaigner for pensioners' rights and against child poverty, he served from 1997 to 1998 as welfare reform minister in Tony Blair's government.

In 2022 he became a Companion of Honour, a title shared by a maximum of 65 people at one time.

He was awarded the Freedom of Wirral in the same year.

Frank Field helped to set up Number Seven supermarket and cafe

"Frank was a national treasure who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of many people," Frank Field Education Trust CEO Tom Quinn said.

"One of his legacies will be our commitment to improving children's life chances by ensuring social justice is achieved through excellence in education."

He added Lord Field's "sharp and insightful intellect" and his "warmth, kindness and compassion" would be "sorely missed".

In 2014, Lord Field established Feeding Birkenhead, a coalition of churches, food banks, community groups, and other organisations working together to eliminate hunger in the town.

It went on to inspire the creation of Feeding Britain.

In 2018, Number Seven Community cafe and social supermarket in Birkenhead was launched to help people stretch their budgets and avoid having to rely on food banks.

Moira McAdam, of the Number Seven Cafe, said Lord Field was a "visionary" who "was loved by everybody who knew him".

Wirral youth project Hive also paid tribute, describing him as a "champion for those experiencing severe poverty both here in Birkenhead and far beyond".

"Frank was a longstanding voice on the issues facing so many of the young people we serve," Hive CEO Jayne Wilson said.

She added that he worked "to bring the impact of the rising cost of living and policy decisions affecting families to national attention.

'Ideas'

Posting on X, Dame Angela Eagle, MP for neighbouring constituency Wallasey, said it was "very sad news".

She added he was "always supportive of me as his Parliamentary neighbour, brimming with ideas to make society better - a great champion of his Birkenhead constituents".

Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios also paid tribute, describing Lord Field as "fiercely independent".

"He was a great supporter of the Club and recognised its importance to the community, describing it as 'one of the heartbeats of the Wirral'," he added.

Ema Wilkes, founder and CEO of Neo, a food assistance and support service, described how the veteran MP would regularly visit the centre's café.

"He made politics have a face," she said.

"He'd sit here, he'd listen and he'd care.

"Stories he would share in parliament were never given to him as case studies, they were given to him as Frank.

"To me, and many of us, more importantly than being an MP, he became a friend."