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Last modified on Wed 12 May 2021 14.11 EDT
Trevor Smith, who has died aged 83, was an influential figure in Liberal/Liberal Democrat and academic circles for 60 years, more as a “fixer” than as a frontline player. After an early involvement in electoral politics he was appointed a politics lecturer at Hull University in 1962, and rose to become vice-chancellor of Ulster University (1991-99). Throughout he stayed with his party and from 1997 was active as a life peer.
Born in the East End of London, Trevor was the son of Vera (nee Cross) and Arthur Smith, who took his family on his wartime military postings around Britain. Eventually he joined a business making toys and dolls, successfully enough to send Trevor to a succession of indifferent private and state schools.