Richard Reader Harris (4 June 1913 – 7 July 2009) was a British

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 ...

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 Heston and Isleworth from 1950 until 1970. Reader Harris was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

,Births England and Wales 1837–1915
/ref> the son of Richard Reader Harris and Elsie (née Tagen). He was Chairman of

Rolls Razor Rolls Razor Limited was a British company known first for its manufacture of a sophisticated safety-razor and later, under new ownership, an "affordable" twin-tub washing machine. Origins: razor The eponymous product was a sophisticated safety- ...

, which made washing machines. In July 1964 the company went bankrupt, and a subsequent investigation revealed irregularities in the company's accounts. In 1969, Harris was charged with carrying on company business with intent to defraud the company's creditors, falsifying the balance sheet, and deceiving investors as to the company's financial state."Seven men excused at MP's trial", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 8 April 1970, p. 2. With his trial ongoing as the 1970 general election was called, and despite the judge dismissing two charges, the Heston and Isleworth Conservative Association voted to reject Reader Harris and selected instead

Barney Hayhoe Bernard John Hayhoe, Baron Hayhoe, (8 August 1925 – 7 September 2013) was a British Conservative politician. Early life He was born in Surrey and attended Stanley Technical School, South Norwood. He left school at 16 to take up an apprenti ...

. On 29 May, Reader Harris was acquitted on the remaining charge; although time remained for his readoption, the Association stuck to its previous choice. Reader Harris was married to Pamela Stephens from 1940 until their divorce in 1963; their three daughters survive him. He is also survived by his second wife Una. His son from his second marriage died in 2007. Harris died on 7 July 2009, aged 96 years.

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Richard Reader Harris
– Daily Telegraph obituary 1913 births 2009 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1910s-stub

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