He gained a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from University College, Cardiff and worked in the electronics industry for twenty years.
[2] He served as parliamentary private secretary to Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Roy Hattersley and as opposition spokesman on Agriculture and Fisheries and Home Affairs.
During the public debate over the House of Lords Act 1999, Lord Randall opposed the removal of the vast majority of hereditary peers as proposed by the Labour Party, saying that many such peers were "terrific people who contribute massively to the British parliament" and that "to wipe them out overnight is not only unacceptable in humanitarian terms but would degrade Parliament".
As an alternative to Labour's proposals, Randall suggested that all the hereditary peers at that time could be allowed to remain in the House of Lords, but that their offspring should be disqualified from inheriting their seats in that chamber.
Randall's proposition was rejected, and the House of Lords Act 1999 was passed as devised by the Labour government.