James Anthony Stodart, Baron Stodart of Leaston PC (6 June 1916 – 31 May 2003) was a Scottish

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician. The son of a colonel in the Indian medical service, he took over the family farm at Kingston,

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, after his father died when he was just eighteen years old. Eventually, he farmed more than at Leaston, near

Humbie Humbie is a hamlet and rural parish in East Lothian, Scotland lying in south-east of the county, approximately south-west of Haddington and south-east of Edinburgh. Humbie as it is known today was formed as the result of the union between Kei ...

, East Lothian. Although he was an active Unionist in his youth, he fell out with the party and joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, standing as their candidate in Berwick and East Lothian at the 1950 general election. By the following year, Stodart had returned to the Tory fold and was Unionist candidate for Midlothian and Peebles at the 1951 snap election and for

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

in 1955. At the 1959 general election, he was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Edinburgh West, which he held until the October 1974 general election, when he was succeeded by fellow Conservative Lord James Douglas-Hamilton. Stodart served as a junior

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the e ...

Minister under Sir

Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...

from 1963 to 1964, and at the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

under the leadership of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

, from 1970 to 1974. After leaving the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, he became chairman of the

Agriculture Credit Corporation Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

from 1975 to 1987 and chaired an inquiry into

Scottish local government Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majori ...

in 1980. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Stodart of Leaston, of Humbie in the District of

on 1 June 1981. His wife Hazel died in 1995. They had no children.

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* 1916 births 2003 deaths Stodart of Leaston Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Politicians from Edinburgh People from Midlothian People from North Berwick People from the Scottish Borders Scottish Conservative Party MPs Scottish Liberal Party parliamentary candidates UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs {{Conservative-UK-MP-1910s-stub