Peter Snape, the Labour MP for West Bromwich East from 1974 to 2001 who later became Lord Snape, has died aged 84. In his maiden speech in March 1974, he described his constituents as a “special brand” of people—forthright, honest, and with a down-to-earth sense of humour—a description that proved equally apt for Snape himself over the ensuing 50 years of parliamentary service.
A former rail worker and regular soldier, Snape brought the authentic voice of lived experience to political life. He understood what mattered to working people in West Bromwich and across urban industrial Britain. Though sometimes labelled as being on Labour’s rightwing, his was a rooted socialism founded on a belief in fairness and equality, and he had little patience for what he saw as the showmanship of the party’s left.
A career in the whips’ office and frontbench
Snape served as a whip during the Wilson and Callaghan governments, and later as a junior defence spokesman (1979-82) and home affairs spokesman. Neil Kinnock appointed him as transport spokesman, a role he held from 1983 until 1992. He stood unsuccessfully for chief whip in 1983, 1985, and 1990, and for deputy chief whip in 1988.
He also served as a member of the Council of Europe and the Western European Union in 1975. After standing down from the Commons in 2001, he was elevated to the Lords in 2004, where he was an assiduous participant in debates.
Stockport roots and later life
Born in Stockport in 1942, Snape was the only child of Kathleen and Thomas Snape. He left school at 15 to follow his father into the railways, first as a trainee signalman. After four years, he joined the army, serving with the Royal Engineers and the Royal Corps of Transport from 1961 to 1967, before returning to the railways as a goods guard.
He was a lifelong supporter of Stockport County FC and served as a board member from 2010 to 2013. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, called him “a proud son of Stockport” and “a good friend to me.”
Snape married Winifred Grimshaw in 1963; they had two daughters and divorced in 1980. He married Janet Manley in 2004; they separated, and she died in 2024. He later found happiness with Lynda Waltho, the former MP for Stourbridge, whom he married earlier this year. She survives him, along with his daughters, Angela and Katie.
