Sir Cyril Osborne (19 June 1898 – 31 August 1969) was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

and a

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 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 who served 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 the Louth constituency in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

from 1945 to his death.

Background

The son of Thomas Osborne in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, Cyril Osborne was educated at University College, Nottingham, and served with the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He married in 1935 Joyce Lawrence, née Feibusch, from

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, and they had two sons and two daughters. One of them, Hazel,

Baroness Byford Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, was an Opposition Spokesman in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Political career

He was elected on his first attempt at the 1945 general election and later became an early MP member of the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) is a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also has links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unioni ...

. In the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

, he preceded

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

in arguing against immigration from the New Commonwealth countries. In 1963, Osborne penned an article for

Spectator Magazine ''Spectator Magazine'' was an American weekly newsmagazine published and distributed in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1978 until October 2005. ''The magazine'' had its historical roots in the ‘60s underground weekly, ''The Berkeley Barb' ...

in which he argued that "if unlimited immigration were allowed, we should ultimately become a chocolate-coloured, Afro-Asian mixed society. That I do not want". Osborne's views on immigration were generally regarded as somewhat extreme by the Conservative Party leadership, but in March 1965, the party's MPs supported his Bill seeking to introduce "periodic and precise limits on immigration". Although the Bill failed at its first hurdle, the fact that it received the support of the Conservative Party leadership reflected the party's gradually hardening position on immigration into Britain from the

New Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. Later in 1965, he called on the Labour government of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

to "ban all immigration except for genuine students and professional people who will return to their native countries at the end of a limited stay". From 1964 to 1967, he was Honorary Treasurer of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (British Group) and for a longer period was Chairman of the Anglo-Soviet Parliamentary Group. During the 1967 debate on the decriminalisation of homosexuality, Osborne said, "Punishment is deserved by any association that brings homos together and encourages these acts that I think are repulsive. If a club incidentally or partially operates so as to bring homos together and encourage this degrading and demoralising activity, I say that it should be punished.". After his death, the

1969 Louth by-election The 1969 Louth by-election was a by-election held on 4 December 1969 for the British House of Commons constituency of Louth in Lincolnshire. The seat had become vacant on the death on 31 August of the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Sir C ...

was won by the Conservative candidate

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...

, whose political career would be ended after he was imprisoned from 2001–2003 for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Private life

Sir Cyril Osborne was a stockbroker and company director. He was a past master of the Company of Framework Knitters and a member of the Court of Assistants and of the Bakers' Livery Company. He was also a member of the

Pilgrims Society The Pilgrims Society, founded on 16 July 1902 by Harry Brittain, Sir Harry Brittain KBE CMG, is a British-American society established, in the words of American diplomat Joseph Choate, 'to promote good-will, good-fellowship, and everlasting peace b ...

and of the English-Speaking Union.

References

* Black, Adam and Charles, ''Who was Who 1961-1970'', London, 1972: 860. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Cyril 1898 births 1969 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 English stockbrokers 20th-century English businesspeople