Hugh John Maxwell Dykes, Baron Dykes, (born 17 May 1939) is a British politician and member of 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 ...
. Initially a
Europhile
A Europhile is a person who is fond of, admires, or loves European culture, society, history, food, music etc. 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 ...
, he later defected to the
Liberal Democrats.
Family and education
Dykes was educated at
Weston-super-Mare Grammar School,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, followed by
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
.
He married Susan Margaret Smith in 1966 and they had three sons; the couple divorced in 2000. Dykes has been in a relationship with Sarah Allder since 2003.
Life and career
After unsuccessfully contesting the
safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
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 ...
seat of
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, Dykes served as a
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 ...
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 ...
for
Harrow East
Harrow East is a constituency in Greater London created in 1945 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Bob Blackman, a Conservative.
Constituency profile
The censuses of 2001 and 2011 show the overwhelming ...
from
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
until he lost his seat at the
1997 general election. He also served as a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
between 1974 and 1977. While an MP, Dykes served in the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
and the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
in
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 ...
's government.
Following the defeat of
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...
in
the Conservative leadership contest following the 1997 general election, Dykes joined the
Liberal Democrats. Within a year of joining the party, he came to serve as an adviser to
Paddy Ashdown
Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...
on
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
affairs.
He has served as chairman of the
European Movement-UK
The European Movement UK is an independent all-party pressure group in the United Kingdom which campaigns for a close relationship with European Union, and to ensure that European values, standards, and rights are upheld in British law post-Brexi ...
and as vice president of the
British-German Association
The British-German Association (BGA) is a nonprofit, membership organisation based in London, UK. Its mission is to promote understanding and forge links between Britain and Germany.
Background
Founded in 1951, the BGA is currently chaired by ...
. In 1991 he was awarded the
German Order of Merit, followed by the Luxembourg Médaille pour l'Europe in 1993.
In 2004, Dykes was raised to the peerage as Baron Dykes, of
Harrow Weald
Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of the London Boro ...
in the
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...
.
[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/57337 ] The same year he received the French
Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
References
External links
*
TheyWorkForYou page on Lord DykesLord Dykesprofile at the site of Liberal Democrats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dykes, Hugh
1939 births
Living people
Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
Conservative Party (UK) MEPs
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Life peers created by Elizabeth II