Chair of Which? whose lobbying led to a series of laws protecting consumers
Dame Rachel Waterhouse, who has died aged 97, ensured through her work as chair of the Consumers’ Association that it was not only listened to but that its findings became part of regulatory structures. The organisation took as its brand name the title of its magazine, Which?, and in the eight years from 1982 that she headed it membership grew from 400,000 to more than 1 million.
She worked to persuade politicians from both main parties to take consumerism seriously and had close working relationships with Nigel Lawson, the chancellor of the exchequer, and the lord chancellor, Lord (James) Mackay.
