John Wentworth Pardoe (born 27 July 1934) is a retired
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, ...
businessman and
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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politician. He was Chairman of Sight and Sound Education Ltd from 1979 to 1989.
Early life and education
Pardoe was the son of Cuthbert B. Pardoe and Marjorie E. W. (''née'' Taylor). He attended
King's College School, Cambridge, and was a chorister in the
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Col ...
. He then went to
Sherborne School
(God and My Right)
, established = 705 by Aldhelm,
re-founded by King Edward VI 1550
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent, boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, chair_label = Chairman of the governors
...
, a boarding
independent school for boys in the
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
of
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, followed by
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was active in the famous
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
History
Footlights' inaugural ...
drama club; one critic of their 1955 revue panned future comedian
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...
, whilst predicting a bold comedic future for Pardoe. He gained an
MA at Cambridge.
Early career
Pardoe worked for Television Audience Measurement Ltd from 1958 to 1960, Osborne Peacock Co. Ltd from 1960 to 1961 and ''Liberal News'' from 1961 to 1966.
Political career
In the
1964 general election, Pardoe unsuccessfully stood as the Liberal candidate against
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 from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
in
Finchley. In the
1966 election, the Liberal Party increased its number of MPs from nine to twelve: one of them was Pardoe, who captured the
North Cornwall
North Cornwall ( kw, An Tiredh Uhel) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also the name of a former local government district, which was administered from Bodmin and Wadebridge . Other towns in the area are Launceston, Bude, P ...
seat from 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 ...
's
James Scott-Hopkins
Sir James Sidney Rawdon Scott-Hopkins (29 November 1921 – 11 March 1995) was a British Conservative politician.
Born in Croydon, Scott-Hopkins was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford. He joined the British Army in 1939. He w ...
. He rapidly became the party's Economic Affairs spokesman in parliament and was respected for the intellect of his views, if not for the often partisan nature of his comments. Pardoe was Treasurer of the Liberal Party from 1968 to 1969.
In the 1960s, Pardoe was a member of
Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and s ...
as well as the Liberal Party.
In 1976, after the resignation of
Jeremy Thorpe
John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...
, Pardoe was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party. He lost to
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...
, who received 12,541 votes to Pardoe's 7,032.
Pardoe played the fairy-tale Liberal prime minister in
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's Christmas
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
, ''
Black Cinderella Two Goes East'' in 1978, on the basis that Liberal prime ministers exist only in fairy tales.
At the
1979 general election, he lost his seat, possibly because of his outspoken support for neighbouring MP
Jeremy Thorpe
John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...
, who was then about to stand trial at the
Old Bailey for conspiracy and incitement to murder.
At the
general election of 1987, Pardoe served as campaign manager of the
SDP-Liberal Alliance.
Outside politics
From 1967 to 1973, Pardoe was a consultant to the
National Association of Schoolmasters. He was a director at William Schlackman Ltd from 1968 to 1971, Gerald Metals (1972–83) and a Member of the
London Metal Exchange
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange with the world's largest market in standarised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ferrous metals and precious ...
from 1973 to 1983.
Pardoe was a presenter of
LWT
London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
's ''Look Here'' television programme from 1979 to 1981. In the same period, he was also a Senior Research Fellow at the
Policy Studies Institute. From 1985 to 1989, he was a member of the Youth Training Board.
Personal life
In 1958, Pardoe married Joyce R. Peerman; the couple have two sons and a daughter. Pardoe lives in
Hampstead, north west London.
His recreations are walking, reading, music and carpentry.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardoe, John
1934 births
Living people
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Politicians from Cornwall
Presidents of the Liberal Party (UK)
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for North Cornwall
Choristers of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge
People educated at Sherborne School
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge