William Michael Hardy Spicer, Baron Spicer, (22 January 1943 – 29 May 2019) was a British politician and
life peer who was 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 in ...
member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
from 2010 until 2019. He served as
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 o ...
for
West Worcestershire from 1974 to 2010 and was a minister from 1984 to 1990. He later served as chairman of the
1922 Committee
The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...
from 2001 to 2010.
Early life
He was born in
Bath, Somerset, to
Lt. Col. (later
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...
) L. Hardy Spicer and Muriel, daughter of Wallis G. Carter of Bath. Spicer was educated in Vienna, at Gaunts House Preparatory School and
Wellington College, and received a degree in economics from
Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After graduation, he worked as a financial journalist for ''
The Statist'', the ''
Daily Mail'' and ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
''. He was Director of Conservative Systems Research Centre from 1968 to 1970, and managing director of Economic Models Ltd from 1970 to 1980.
Parliamentary career
Spicer joined the
Conservative Party, and at the
1966 general election, he challenged
Manny Shinwell in the safe
Labour Easington constituency as the youngest parliamentary candidate in the country against the eldest. He stood in Easington again at the
1970 general election before he was elected at the
February 1974 general election for
South Worcestershire. He represented South Worcestershire until 1997. When boundary changes abolished the constituency; he then moved to the
West Worcestershire seat, which he represented until his retirement from the Commons.
After the
1979 general election, which swept the Conservatives to power, he became a
Parliamentary Private Secretary at the
Department of Trade. He was later made a Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. He became a
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...
at the
Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
in 1984 and served until 1987 with specific responsibility for aviation.
In 1987, he moved to the
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...
, again as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary, this time with responsibility for electricity and coal. In January 1990, he was promoted to become 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 ...
at the
Department of the Environment, but after the ousting 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 from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
in November 1990, he left the government payroll over his opposition to British participation in the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
On leaving the government, he became the chairman of the
Parliamentary and Scientific Committee
The UK Parliamentary and Scientific Committee (P&SC) is a United Kingdom parliamentary organization established in 1939. It is an all-party parliamentary group.
Overview
The P&SC provides a forum for scientific and technological issues in the UK. ...
in 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. T ...
. In 1993, he founded the
eurosceptic European Research Group within the Conservative Party.
In the
1996 New Year Honours he received a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
, with the honour conferred by Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
on 13 February 1996. After the
1997 general election he became a member of the
Treasury Select Committee
The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administr ...
.
He was an author and had a number of books published, including ''The Spicer Diaries''.
His majority declined in 1997 in keeping with the general trend across the country, but he kept his seat which had become West Worcestershire after boundary changes that year. His majority almost doubled four years later, at the
2001 general election. However, unlike most other Conservative MPs, he failed to increase his majority in
2005; instead, it was more than halved, and he held one of the Conservatives' most marginal seats against the
Liberal Democrats, who had a 'decapitation' strategy.
After the 2001 general election, Spicer was elected Chairman of the
1922 Committee
The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...
, a position that he held until he stood down in 2010.
As chairman of the 1922 Committee, he had the distinction of presiding over more
leadership elections than any of his predecessors since
Iain Duncan Smith
Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was ...
,
Michael Howard and
David Cameron were all elected during his tenure. This record has now been surpassed by
Graham Brady
Sir Graham Stuart Brady (born 20 May 1967) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 20 ...
.
In the Commons, he became known for asking short questions, usually of one-sentence questions to government ministers and at
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
and once simply asking
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
, "Will the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
confirm that he will soldier on to the bitter end?" On another occasion, he asked Brown, "Why are there always so many strikes at the end of a Labour government?"
On 26 March 2006, Spicer announced that he would not contest the Worcestershire West seat at the 2010 election and that he would retire as an MP.
Later life
He was created a
life peer on 8 July 2010 as Baron Spicer, of
Cropthorne in the
County of Worcestershire.
He was sworn of the
Privy Council on 15 May 2013 at
Buckingham Palace; as a peer, he acquired the
post-nominal letters "PC" for life.
Death
Spicer died in the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, from complications of
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
and
leukaemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
on 29 May 2019.
References
External links
Sir Michael Spicer MPofficial site
*
ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/michael_spicer/west_worcestershire TheyWorkForYou.com – Michael Spicer MP*
Ministerial PostsBBC Politics page
News items
Elected Chairman of 1922 committee in 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spicer, Michael
1943 births
2019 deaths
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
British Eurosceptics
Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Deaths from leukemia
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
Neurological disease deaths in the United Kingdom
Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
People from Bath, Somerset
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Knights Bachelor
Politicians awarded knighthoods