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Sir Edward Dillon Lott du Cann (28 May 1924 – 31 August 2017) was a British politician and businessman. He was a
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) from 1956 to 1987 and served as
Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the off ...
from 1965 to 1967 and as chairman of the party's 1922 Committee from 1972 to 1984.


Early life

Du Cann was educated at
Colet Court St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court) is an independent preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Juniors pupils progress at the age of 13. The School w ...
,
Woodbridge School Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since September 1974. Histor ...
and
St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
, where he was a friend of
Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...
. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he was commissioned as an officer in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. Serving as a lieutenant in motor torpedo boats based in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
patrolling the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, he served alongside both Owen Aisher (later a yachtsman and entrepreneur) and
David Wickins David Allen Wickins (15 February 1920 – 28 January 2007) was an English accountant-turned-entrepreneur, best known for founding the vehicle remarketing business British Car Auctions, and saving Lotus Cars. Early life David Allen Wickins wa ...
(the founder of
British Car Auctions BCA Marketplace, formerly British Car Auctions, is a used vehicle marketplace. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by TDR Capital in November 2019. History In 1946 Royal Navy officer David Wickins decided to sell h ...
and an entrepreneur). At the end of the war, he became a company director.


Political career

In 1951, du Cann contested Walthamstow West and, in 1955,
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 ...
, on both occasions without success. He was elected as MP for
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
in a 1956 by-election. Du Cann served as the
Economic Secretary to the Treasury The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the sixth-most senior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the ...
from 1962 and as a
Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
at the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
1963–64. He was then the chairman of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1967, and chairman of the 1922 Committee from 1972 to 1984. He was sworn of the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1964. In 1974, du Cann played a part in the events surrounding the elevation of
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
to the leadership of the
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 ...
. Following two narrow defeats for the Conservatives at the polls, in the
February February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...
and
October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...
general elections, significant disquiet in the party had developed over 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 ...
, who had lost three elections as leader. On 14 October, the executive of the 1922 Committee met at du Cann's home, amidst a good deal of press attention. That was soon followed by a more public meeting of the executive at du Cann's offices at
Keyser Ullman Keyser Ullman was a British merchant bank, based in London and founded in 1868. History Foundation Samuel Montagu (1832–1911) and his two original partners in the bank Samuel Montagu & Co., Ellis Abraham Franklin (1822–1909) and Edwin Louis ...
, on Milk Street, where it was decided that the committee would press Heath to hold a leadership election. The location of this meeting led to Fleet Street nicknaming the attendees the "Milk Street Mafia". As
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 ...
, at Heath's request, considered the procedures for a leadership election, there was some speculation that du Cann would himself stand as a representative of the party's right wing against Heath. By the time Douglas-Home reported in December 1974, however, events had intervened. The devastating collapse of the banking boom had swept up du Cann's firm, Keyser Ullman, in its path. He was criticized as "incompetent" by a 1974 Department of Trade and Industry report regarding the bankrupt Keyser Ullman bank, of which he was a director. Du Cann did not put himself forward as a candidate in the leadership contest. This released key support for Margaret Thatcher, especially as another potential right-wing candidate, Keith Joseph, withdrew from any leadership attempt following a series of controversial speeches on social policy. Consequently, after defeating Heath in the first round, Thatcher emerged triumphant in the second round in early 1975, defeating a number of other candidates who would play significant roles in her subsequent premiership. In the last week of the 1975 referendum on British membership of the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, du Cann came out against British membership. He was chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1974 to 1979.


Post-political retirement

Du Cann retired from 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. ...
in 1987, selling his home
Cothay Manor Cothay Manor is a grade one listed medieval house and gardens, in Stawley, near Wellington, Somerset. The manor grounds consist of almost 40 acres and include cottages, outbuildings, stables, and 12 acres of gardens. The manor is Grade I listed ...
in 1993 and returning to live in London. He was instrumental in creating a scholarship programme for
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
players at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. Du Cann succeeded
Duncan Sandys Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (; 24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987), was a British politician and minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a key ro ...
as chairman of
Lonrho Lonrho is a London-based conglomerate that was established in 1998 as Lonrho Africa plc. It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness, infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services. History Lonrho ...
, a position from which he was forced to resign due to his role as deputy chairman of Homes Assured, a finance company which crashed. His resignation came two days before the company collapsed, owing £10 million to creditors. Du Cann was involved in several legal disputes over debts; his Somerset estate was repossessed in 1992 and his London flat was repossessed in 1993. He later had a bankruptcy order served against him. He was a board member of
E-Clear E-Clear was a British payment processor that provided merchant accounts for companies, allowing them to accept credit cards. E-Clear specialised in the travel industry in the United Kingdom. Members of the company's board included Elias Elia (bu ...
, a British payment processing company, which went into
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
in January 2010.


Personal life

He married three times; first, in 1962, to Sally (a cousin), whom he divorced in 1987, then to Jennifer (the widow of Robert Cooke, former MP for Bristol West), whom he married in 1990 and was with until her death in 1995. He was declared bankrupt in 1993 and lived for several years in
Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest ...
. As of 2013 he was a resident of Lemona in Cyprus. He died in 2017 and is survived by his third wife, Maureen Hope-Wynne.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Du Cann, Edward 1924 births 2017 deaths Chairmen of the 1922 Committee Chairmen of the Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 People educated at Woodbridge School Royal Navy officers of World War II UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987