Jewish Labour Peer Lord Barnett dies at 91

Former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Barnett died this week, aged 91.

The Jewish peer was the Treasury Chief Secretary in the 1970s who devised the system for allocating public spending to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that came to be known as the Barnett formula.

Lord Barnett had argued the formula was a temporary fix and should be reformed as it now produces unfair results.

Labour leader in the Lords Baroness Royall said: “Joel was an extraordinary individual.” His daughter Erica said he died peacefully at home on Saturday after a short illness.