Peter Giles Thurnham (21 August 1938 – 10 May 2008) was a British politician. He was
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
Bolton North East from 1983 to 1997, originally 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 ...
before resigning to become an independent in February 1996 and then a
Liberal Democrat
Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties ...
in October 1996.
Biography
Early life
Thurnham was born in
Staines, Middlesex
Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to ...
on 21 August 1938. His father was a
tea planter
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, where he worked for
Brooke Bond
Brooke Bond is a brand of tea owned by Ekaterra, formerly an independent tea-trading and manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards.
History
Brooke Bond & Company was founded by Ar ...
, and his mother was a
physiotherapist
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
. Thurnham spent much of his early life in southern India, before being educated at Eversley Preparatory School and
Oundle School
Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...
. He won a scholarship to read engineering at
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...
, and received an advanced diploma in engineering from
Cranfield Institute of Technology
, mottoeng = After clouds light
, established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name)
, type = Public research uni ...
in 1967, and then an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
in 1969.
Career
Thurnham became a design engineer at
NEI Parsons in Newcastle until 1966, and then a director at
British Steam Specialties until 1972. He married his first wife in 1963, he moved to
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
in 1967 and succeeded Sydney Wathes as MD of Wathes ltd., an established refrigeration and air conditioning company, which he grew to become the Wathes group of companies and later WR Group Holdings.
He became a member of
South Lakeland Council in 1982, and was elected 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 of ...
in the new constituency of
Bolton North East at the
1983 general election, defeating the
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 ...
candidate
Ann Taylor Ann or Anne Taylor may refer to:
*Ann Taylor (writer, born 1757) (1757–1830), English writer
*Ann Taylor (poet) (1782–1866), English poet and children's writer, daughter of the above
*Ann Taylor (actress) (born 1936), British actress, hostess a ...
who had until the election represented
Bolton West
Bolton West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Chris Green, a Conservative.
Constituency profile
The seat is on the outskirts of Greater Manchester with fields making for separate villages ...
. He lived in
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
while he was an MP, with his wife taking charge of his company. He was noted for his very strong support for the
Abortion Act 1967
The Abortion Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom legalising abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulating the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS ...
and for embryo research, and was a founder member of the Progress campaign group which promotes
IVF
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) fr ...
. He became
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
to
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions w ...
Norman Fowler
Peter Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, (born 2 February 1938) is a British politician who served as a member of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major's ministries during the 1980s and 1990s. He held the office of Lord Speaker from 1 September 2016 ...
from 1987 to 1990, and was then PPS to both
Eric Forth
Eric Forth (9 September 1944 – 17 May 2006) was a British Conservative politician. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Birmingham North from 1979 to 1984. He then served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestershir ...
and
Robert Jackson in 1991 to 1992, and finally to
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Tra ...
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
(his contemporary at Peterhouse) from 1992 to 1993. He never secured ministerial office, but became a party whip.
Bolton North East was a highly marginal seat, which Thurnham held by a wafer thin majority of 813 at the
1987 general election, reduced even further to only 185 at the
1992 general election, and subsequent boundary changes made his position worse. He first indicated that he would stand down at the next election, but instead put his name forward for the safer seat of
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
. Thurnham was not interviewed, and
Tim Collins - formerly an aide to
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
- was selected as the Conservative candidate instead.
Thurnham resigned the Conservative party whip in February 1996, reducing
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
's majority in Parliament to two. At the time, Thurnham indicated that this was because of his dismay at the
Scott Report
The Scott Report (the ''Report of the Inquiry into the Export of Defence Equipment and Dual-Use Goods to Iraq and Related Prosecutions'') was a judicial inquiry commissioned in 1992 after reports surfaced of previously restricted arms sales to ...
and the
Nolan Report, but subsequently chose to
cross the floor
In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...
to join the
Liberal Democrats in October 1996. He did not contest the seat at the
1997 general election.
After leaving 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. ...
, he was chairman of WR Group Holdings. He also ran a farm.
Family
He had a son and three daughters with his first wife, and they also adopted a son with
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
. They were divorced in 2004. He died of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
at home in
Bentham, North Yorkshire
Bentham is a civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, with a population of 3,027 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the town of High Bentham, occasionally known as Higher Bentham or just Bentham, and the older ad ...
on 10 May 2008, aged 69, the day after he married his second wife, Carole Emery.
References
*Obituaries:
''The Bolton News'', 14 May 2008''The Times'', 28 May 2008''The Guardian'', 2 June 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurnham, Peter
1938 births
2008 deaths
Alumni of Cranfield University
Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Harvard Business School alumni
Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People educated at Oundle School
People from Staines-upon-Thames
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
20th-century British engineers