SHEFFIELD — Roy Hattersley, former deputy leader of the Labour Party, died at the age of 93. He served as deputy leader of the party under Neil Kinnock.

Hattersley was a Member of Parliament for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 to 1997. He became a local councillor at age 23, an MP at age 31, and a government minister at age 33. In 1975, he was appointed a privy councillor.

During the 1960s, Hattersley served as employment minister and as deputy to Denis Healey at the Ministry of Defence. From 1974 to 1976, he was minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. He then served as secretary of state for prices and consumer protection in Jim Callaghan's cabinet from 1976 to 1979.

Keir Starmer, prime minister of the U.K., stated, "Through decades of service, including as deputy leader and a minister, Roy Hattersley never lost his belief in a more equal Britain." Starmer added, "My thoughts are with his wife, Maggie, and his family." In 1993, Hattersley was made a life peer as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook. Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party, said, "Roy Hattersley was a socialist of deep conviction, a dedicated democrat who believed that liberty should be unqualified by anything but responsibility and never by background or fortune." Kinnock also stated, "He held that freedom had to be made real and secure by collective action and contribution, by accountability, and by equality."

Lucy Powell, deputy leader of the party, said, "Roy Hattersley shaped the Labour Party and British politics." She added, "He was a giant of our movement and of that generation of politicians."

Hattersley authored more than 20 books. His published works included The Edwardians, Borrowed Time: The Story of Britain between the Wars, In Search of England, and biographies of John Wesley, David Lloyd George, and the Devonshire family. He also published Buster’s Secret Diaries, which was written from the perspective of his dog and reached bestseller status, translated into multiple languages.

He studied economics at the University of Hull and was involved in student politics. After university, he worked at a Sheffield steelworks and for the Workers’ Educational Association. He chaired the housing committee of the Sheffield city council. In 1981, Hattersley founded Labour Solidarity to maintain party unity.

Hattersley held a visiting fellowship at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and another at Nuffield College, Oxford. In 2003, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Hattersley resided in Derbyshire with his wife, Maggie Pearlstine. His mother, Enid, also served as a party councillor.