Sir Albert Edward Patrick Duffy (17 June 1920 – 2 January 2026) was a British economist and Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Colne Valley from the 1963 Colne Valley by-election until his defeat in 1966, and for Sheffield Attercliffe from the 1970 general election until his retirement in 1992. On 4 January 2025, he overtook Atkins's lifespan and became the longest-lived MP in British history.

Early life and career

Duffy was born in Wigan, Lancashire, on 17 June 1920, to Irish Catholic immigrant parents James and Margaret Duffy, who were both from the village of Raith, near Aghamore in County Mayo. James and his father, who was also named Patrick, moved to England as migrant agricultural workers in the late 19th and early 20th century. James worked as a miner in Wigan's Maypole pit, before moving with his family to the mining village of Rossington near Doncaster in South Yorkshire in 1925. In 2024, the younger Patrick still lived in Doncaster.

He served in the Fleet Air Arm in World War II. After his plane crashed near Scapa Flow in Orkney, Duffy, still in his early 20s, was given the last rites by a priest; however, despite being registered as 100% disabled, he was successfully treated by the pioneering surgeon Harold Gillies and left the forces in 1946 with the rank of Commander at the Naval School of Air Radar.

Duffy's interest in politics was stirred whilst he was a student at the London School of Economics (LSE); it was there and at Columbia University in the United States where he obtained his degree and Doctorate of Law. Following this, he became a lecturer at the University of Leeds. He lectured there from 1950 to 1963, and from 1967 to 1970, with a break for his initial stint in Parliament. During this period, he was also a visiting professor at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, United States. Later in his career, he was a visiting professor at the American Graduate School of International Business, from 1982 to 1993, and at Wheaton's International Business Institute in Illinois, from 1992. Despite Tiverton being a safe seat for the Conservative Party, Duffy contested it twice more, in 1951 and 1955, before moving to the more promising seat of Colne Valley, which he won at a by-election in 1963. He held Colne Valley until the 1966 general election, when he was defeated by the Liberal Richard Wainwright, despite the national swing to Labour.

He was selected to stand for Sheffield Attercliffe (which had been a safe seat for the Labour Party) at the 1970 general election following a close selection contest with George Caborn, father of future Sheffield MP Richard Caborn. He was consequently elected to represent the constituency in the House of Commons at that general election; Duffy held onto the seat with five-figure majorities at each of the subsequent contests he fought there.

Duffy was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence from 1974 to 1976, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Royal Navy) MoD in Jim Callaghan's Government from 1976 to 1979. Following Labour's defeat at the 1979 general election, Duffy was Opposition Spokesman on Defence from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1984.

He was a "moderate" on the right of the Labour Party, being a staunch pro-European and opponent of unilateral nuclear disarmament. He voted for John Silkin in the 1980 leadership election, rather than Michael Foot, the successful candidate from the party's soft left. During this period, there was an attempt to deselect Duffy, which failed by just five votes. In comments directed at Thatcher, amidst heckles from the Conservative benches (and frowns from his own side, whose official line was to support the Prime Minister's stance), he remarked:

These comments caused outrage, but led to Duffy receiving 600 letters in support from around the world. Despite this, however, Thatcher later invited Duffy for tea when he was appointed President of the NATO Assembly and the two became friends. In 2024, he published a second volume, From Wigan to Westminster: Hot Wars, Cold Wars and the Carrier Strike Groups.

A practising Catholic, Duffy completed the El Camino Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage (known as the Way of St. James in English) for six years running whilst in his 80s, which involved him walking 25 km a day for 35 days. He never married, though according to Yorkshire Live, "he says he was not short of attractive female company during his many years in office".

Duffy turned 100 on 17 June 2020, and celebrated his birthday at home in Doncaster; he also had a home in County Roscommon in Ireland, where he spent much of his time. When asked for the secret to his longevity, he said "I never smoked, I never used my ministerial car when I could walk – I never used any such transport when I could avoid doing so – and I read". In December 2020, following the death of his old Parliamentary Labour Party colleague Ronald Atkins at 104, he became the oldest living former MP. At 105, Duffy was the longest-lived MP in British history.

References

  • Azusa Pacific University's Economic Summit
  • Azusa Pacific University School of Business Hosts First Economic Summit
  • Labour Life Group – Archived page
  • Azusa Pacific University – The Need for Ethical Leadership, 2003 article by Jody Godoy