[4] Fearn served from 1974 until 2016 as a Sefton Metropolitan Borough councillor, having been a member of its predecessor body, Merseyside County Council.

[6] In 1982, Fearn was elected as a Liberal-SDP candidate for the Norwood ward, again topping the poll.

[7][6] He received a life peerage and joined the House of Lords as Baron Fearn, of Southport in the County of Merseyside, in 2001.

[9] In the 1985 Birthday Honours, Fearn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Outside of politics, Fearn listed his recreations as badminton, amateur dramatics and athletics.