Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Newcastle, PC (21 March 1887 – 3 April 1958), styled Lord Eustace Percy between 1899 and 1953, was a British diplomat,

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 and public servant. He most notably served as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

under

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

between 1924 and 1929.

Background and education

Percy was born into a noble family: he was the seventh son of

Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland, (29 May 1846 – 14 May 1918), styled Lord Warkworth between 1865 and 1867 and Earl Percy between 1867 and 1899, was a British Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household und ...

, and Lady Edith, daughter of

George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll George John Douglas Campbell, 8th and 1st Duke of Argyll (30 April 1823 – 24 April 1900; styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847), was a Scottish polymath and Liberal statesman. He made a significant geological discovery in the 1850s when his ten ...

Henry Percy, Earl Percy Henry Algernon George Percy, Earl Percy (21 January 1871 – 30 December 1909), sometimes styled as Lord Percy or, until 1899, Lord Warkworth, was a British Conservative politician. He held political office under Arthur Balfour as Under-Secreta ...

, and

Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland, (17 April 1880 – 23 August 1930) was a British peer, army officer, and newspaper proprietor. Military career Percy was a second lieutenant of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion the Queen's (Royal West S ...

, were his elder brothers. His uncle, the ninth Duke of Argyll, was married to Princess Louise, daughter of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. A niece later married the sixth Duke of Sutherland. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

Political career

Percy served in the Diplomatic Service between 1911 and 1919. From 1919 to 1922 he represented

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

on the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

as a

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945 ...

councillor. In 1921 he 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 of ...

(MP) for

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, a seat he held until 1937. In March 1923 he was appointed

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government. The Board of Education Act 1899 abolished the Committee of the Privy Council which had been responsible for education matters an ...

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law ( ; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a ...

. When

became Prime Minister in May of the same year, Percy was moved to the post of

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government. The Ministry of Health was created in 1919 as a reconstruction of the Local Government Board. Local government functions were ev ...

, which he remained until the fall of the government in January 1924. When the Conservatives returned to power in November 1924, he was appointed

by Baldwin, with a seat in the cabinet, and 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 ...

. He continued as head of the Board of Education until the government fell in June 1929. Percy did not serve in the National Government of

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

between 1931 and 1935, but when Baldwin returned as Prime Minister in June 1935 he again became a member of the cabinet as

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

, a post he held until 1936. Given charge of policy direction for the government in the latter role, he was often dubbed the "Minister for Thought" by the Press. In the 1930s he called for regional government for the North East of England, specifically wishing to be the minister for the region. In his 1944 Riddell Lecture, Percy made a call for the law to be changed radically to recognise companies as associations of productive employees, rather than as associations of shareholders. These were his words: "Here is the most important challenge to political invention ever offered to the jurist or the statesman. The human association which in fact produces and distributes wealth, the association of workmen, managers, technicians and directors is not an association recognised by law. The association which the law does recognise - the association of shareholders, creditors and directors - is incapable of producing and distributing and is not expected to perform these functions. We have to give law to the real association and withdraw meaningless privilege from the imaginary one." In 1945, Percy chaired the committee on Higher Technological Education that resulted in the Percy Report. He also chaired a Royal Commission that reviewed mental health legislation in the 1950s and was Rector of King's College, Durham (now

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

) between 1937 and 1951, in which role he also alternated in the post of Vice-Chancellor of Durham University. In 1953 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Percy of Newcastle, of Etchingham in the County of Sussex.

Family

Percy married Stella Katherine, daughter of Major-General Laurence George Drummond, in 1918. They had two daughters. He died in April 1958, aged 71. As he had no sons the barony became extinct on his death.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Eustace Sutherland Campbell, 1st Baron Percy Of Newcastle 1887 births 1958 deaths 1 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages British Secretaries of State British Secretaries of State for Education Younger sons of dukes Eustace Percy, 01st Baron Percy of Newcastle Members of London County Council Municipal Reform Party politicians James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients People educated at Eton College Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II