Leslie Charles Curran (19 April 1903 – 16 September 1972) was a barrister and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

politician.

Background

He was the son of C. J. Curran, and educated at

Cardiff High School Cardiff High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Caerdydd) is a comprehensive school in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff, Wales. Stephen Jones has been Headteacher since 2011. It has been rated as Excellent for current performance and Excellent for prospect ...

and Stonyhurst College, a large independent school.

Career

Curran was a sub-editor of the ''Evening Express'', before becoming a barrister in 1932 of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. Curran was elected

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 o ...

(MP) for

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

for three terms: from 1959 to 1966, when he lost to

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

; he regained the seat in 1970, holding it until he died in 1972.

Michael Shersby Sir Julian Michael Shersby (17 February 1933 – 8 May 1997) was a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge from 1972 until his death. Early life Shersby was born to William and Elinor Shersby (Nora, ...

of his party was elected to succeed him in the subsequent by-election. Curran published one satirical novel, ''You Know You Can Trust Me'' (Jonathan Cape, 1938). Curran is probably most remembered for a speech he made in the House on 19 June 1964, in which he mistook deliberately nonsensical poems written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

that had been published in the United States and the UK, as a sign of Lennon being illiterate. Fellow Conservative

Norman Miscampbell Norman Alexander Miscampbell, QC (20 February 1925 – 16 February 2007) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool North for 30 years, from 1962 to 1992, making him Blackpool's longest ...

tried to downplay and make light of the misunderstanding, feeling that his words would be disastrous for the party in the upcoming elections that year.

Personal life

Curran married Mona Regan and had one son.''Dod's Parliamentary Companion'' parts 1 and 2, 1967, Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd, p. 386 He died in Nicosia,

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

on 16 September 1972.

References

External links

* 1903 births 1972 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1970–1974 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1900s-stub