Cecil Simon Franks (1 July 1935 – 2 February 2014) was a British solicitor and politician from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. He was the
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 ...
for
Barrow and Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
from the
1983 General Election until the
1992 General Election.
Franks was born in
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
and was the son of George Franks, an estate agent and Labour councillor. After
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
he took an LL.B. at
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, and was admitted as a solicitor in 1958. He went into property, and during the 1960s acted as legal adviser and promoter to a number of pop groups. Franks joined the Labour Party at 17, and in 1959 was its election agent at
Knutsford
Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census wa ...
. The next year he was elected to Salford council, sitting alongside his father; but in 1964 he was dropped as a candidate, alleging a plot against him by Left-wing members of the engineering union. He appealed to Transport House, and won. Franks joined the Conservatives the following year and was elected as a Tory councillor in 1966, and became leader of the council's Conservative group. After reorganisation in 1974 he sat on Manchester City Council, again leading the Tory group.
His election as Barrow's MP was somewhat of a surprise, given that he was a
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
candidate in a traditional
Labour Party heartland. In being elected, Franks defeated former cabinet minister
Albert Booth
Albert Edward Booth (28 May 1928 – 6 February 2010) was a British left-wing Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and cabinet minister.
Early life
Booth was educated at Marine School, South Shields and Northumbria University, Rutherford ...
.
The explanation for this was popular national support of the Conservative party for its support for military actions in the Falklands war.
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
, the constituency's biggest town, is largely dependent on its Royal Navy contracts, and in particular,
nuclear submarines
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
(at
VSEL, the area's major employer, even today) which played a leading part in the Falklands conflict. At the 1987 election, the Labour party was still wanting to cancel Trident, this Labour policy was locally unpopular and Franks was able to hold on to this Labour 'safe-seat' for the next 4 years until 1992.
By 1992 the Labour Party was still planning to cancel the last Trident Submarine that was yet to be built, the Conservatives were still pro Trident. However, the electorate were not convinced enough that the loss of employment was sufficient to merit a vote for another Conservative MP. After losing his seat in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, he did not stand for election again, and from 1995, involved himself working with various charities in opposing the processing of
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
wood in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
Franks, aged 78, died at his home near
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
on 2 February 2014. His first marriage, to Marlene Glick, was dissolved, and an adopted son predeceased him. He is survived by his partner of 24 years, Anne.
Former Tory MP Cecil Franks dies
References
*Times Guide to the House of Commons
''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom.
Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. The ...
1992
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Cecil
1935 births
2014 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
People from Salford
People educated at Manchester Grammar School
Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester
Politicians from Manchester
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Conservative Party (UK) councillors
Councillors in Manchester