Diana Violet Constance Edith Spearman (22 February 1905 – 31 May 1991) was a British writer and conservative activist.

Early life

She was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to Sir Arthur Havelock James Doyle, Bt and Joyce Ethelreda Howard, who was a granddaughter of the 4th Marquess of Townshend'Diana Spearman', ''The Times'' (8 June 1991), p. 14. and the 17th Earl of Suffolk. She studied at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

from 1925 to 1931, where she was awarded the Social Science Certificate with distinction (1927) and the Academic Diploma in Psychology (1931). She also completed one year of the B Sc (Economics) degree in 1927–28.Stéphane Porion, 'Diana Spearman's role within the post-war Conservative Party and in the ‘battle of ideas’ (1945–1965)', p. 259.

Politics

Spearman was appointed to the

Conservative Research Department The Conservative Research Department (CRD) is part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It operates alongside other departments of Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster. The CRD has been describ ...

as their first female researcher, a post she held from 1934 until 1939 and again from 1949 until 1965. She stood for

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 ...

twice, both times as the

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 ...

candidate. The first was for Poplar South in the 1935 general election, where she 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 ...

's David Morgan Adams. However, she polled more than twice as many votes as the previous Conservative candidate. She contested Kingston upon Hull Central in the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

but lost to Labour's

Mark Hewitson Captain Mark Hewitson (15 December 1897 – 27 February 1973) was a British trade union official and Labour Party politician. He was chosen at the last minute to stand for Parliament, and eventually served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for nine ...

.'Hull Central Held By Labour', ''The Times'' (10 August 1945), p. 4. In 1948, Spearman accepted

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...

's invitation to join the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the E ...

and she was also an active member of the

Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further t ...

. In 1965, she founded the short-lived Longbow Group. With

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 t ...

and

Michael Oakeshott Michael Joseph Oakeshott FBA (; 11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of law.F ...

, Spearman organised the Salisbury Group in the late 1970s, and in 1982 she co-founded ''

The Salisbury Review ''The Salisbury Review'' is a quarterly British magazine of conservative thought. It was founded in 1982 by the Salisbury Group, who sought to articulate and further traditional intellectual conservative ideas. The ''Review'' was named after Robe ...

'' with Scruton.

Personal life

She married

Alexander Spearman Sir Alexander Cadwallader Mainwaring Spearman (2 March 1901 – 5 April 1982) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). His father, who was a Commander in the Royal Navy and commanded a battalion of a Royal Naval Brigade in the First ...

in 1928. The marriage was dissolved in 1951.

Works

*''Modern Dictatorship'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1939). *''Democracy in England'' (London: Rockliff, 1957). *''The Novel and Society'' (London: Routledge & Kegan, 1966). *''The Animal Anthology'' (London: Baker, 1966). *''A Time You Remember'' (Braunton: Merlin, 1989).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spearman, Diana 1905 births 1991 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates