William Bradshaw, Baron Bradshaw

William Peter Bradshaw, Baron Bradshaw (born 9 Sept 1936), commonly known as Bill Bradshaw, is a British academic and politician. A Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, where he is currently his party's spokesperson on transport, he was formerly also a County Councillor in Oxfordshire from 1993 until his resignation in January 2008.

Biography

The son of Leonard and Ivy Bradshaw, he was educated at Slough Grammar School and the University of Reading. He married Jill Hayward in 1957, by whom he has two offspring. After Jill's death in 2002, he married Diana Ayris in 2003.

After National Service from 1957 to 1959, he worked for British Rail from 1959 to 1985, starting as a management trainee in the Western Region and rising to the post of Director Policy Unit in 1980, and General Manager of British Rail Western Region 1983.

After leaving British Rail, he was Professor of Transport Management in the University of Salford from 1986–92, a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and Chairman of Ulsterbus and Citybus Ltd in Belfast from 1987-93. He was a special adviser to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee from 1992-97.

He was created a Life peer as Baron Bradshaw, of Wallingford in the County of Oxfordshire in 1999.