Sir Richard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd (6 December 1942 – 19 February 2022) was a British politician who 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
Aldridge-Brownhills from 1979 to 2015. A
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
, Shepherd was one of the
Maastricht Rebels
The Maastricht Rebels were British Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of Prime Minister John Major in a series of votes in the House of Commons on the issue of t ...
that had the
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
withdrawn over opposition to Prime Minister
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 legislation on the
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 ...
. Shepherd was also a libertarian
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 ...
, and had a
three line whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...
imposed against him by
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 (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
when he introduced an amendment to loosen the
Official Secrets Act 1911
The Official Secrets Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo 5 c 28) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Official Secrets Act 1889.
The Act was introduced in response to public alarm at reports of wide-scale espionage, some of them ...
.
Early life
Shepherd was born in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, to parents who worked in the commercial aviation industry.
[ The family moved to London to be closer to ]Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
, and Shepherd was educated at Isleworth Grammar School (now Isleworth and Syon School
Isleworth & Syon School (formerly Isleworth Grammar School) is a non-denomination secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 18 years old. Girls are admitted to the school's sixth form, which is part of a consortium with other secondar ...
).[ He then went to the ]London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
where he received a BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in Economics and where he studied with and became a friend of Robert Kilroy-Silk
Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk (born Robert Michael Silk; 19 May 1942) is an English former politician and broadcaster. After a decade as a university lecturer, he served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1986. He left the H ...
. He subsequently attended the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of th ...
at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
in the United States from which he graduated with an MSc which was also in Economics.[
In the 1970s, Shepherd established the retail food businesses Partridges of ]Sloane Street
Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along.
History
Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Han ...
and Shepherd Foods in London, operating both enterprises with his family.[ He was then an ]underwriter
Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liabilit ...
at Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...
from 1974 to 1994.[
]
Parliamentary career
Shepherd contested the open Conservative candidacy in Heston and Isleworth in 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 ...
, but was not selected.[ He was chosen as the Conservative candidate for ]Nottingham East
Nottingham East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Nadia Whittome of the Labour Party.
Members of Parliament
Constituency profile
On average earners' incomes are slightly lower than the ...
at the February 1974 general election, where he was defeated by the Labour Party candidate Jack Dunnett
John Jacob Dunnett (24 June 1922 – 26 October 2019) was a British Labour Party politician, solicitor, and football club chairman. He died in London in October 2019 at the age of 97.
Early life and politics
Dunnett was educated at Whitgift ...
.[ During the 1970s he was also an assistant to ]Teddy Taylor
Sir Edward MacMillan Taylor (18 April 1937 – 20 September 2017) was a British Conservative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for forty years, from 1964 to 1979 for Glasgow Cathcart and from 1980 to 2005 for Southend Ea ...
.[
Shepherd was elected Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills in ]1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. ''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' variously cited him as 'Backbencher
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
of the Year' in 1987, 'Troublemaker of the Year' in 1989, and 'Parliamentarian of the Year' in 1995.[ He was rated as one of the ten most effective sitting MPs in 1989.][ In 2010, ]ConservativeHome
ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about bot ...
listed him as one of the most rebellious Tory MPs.
One of the most significant events in Shepherd's parliamentary career came in 1988 when he introduced his Protection of Official Information Bill, which was to replace parts of the Official Secrets Act 1911
The Official Secrets Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo 5 c 28) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Official Secrets Act 1889.
The Act was introduced in response to public alarm at reports of wide-scale espionage, some of them ...
, with intent to provide limited protection to some whistleblowers
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
. The government introduced a three line whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...
which called on its MPs to vote against the bill, even though it was introduced by a member of their own party.[ This brought considerable debate at the time both in parliament and in the media. The bill was defeated. However Shepherd successfully introduced similar provisions into law in 1998.][
Shepherd was one of the ]Maastricht Rebels
The Maastricht Rebels were British Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of Prime Minister John Major in a series of votes in the House of Commons on the issue of t ...
, and is known to have had libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
leanings.[ He developed close ties with fellow Maastricht rebels ]Nicholas Budgen
Nicholas William Budgen (3 November 1937 – 26 October 1998), often called Nick Budgen, was a British Conservative Party politician.
Early life and career
Named after St Nicholas Church in Newport, Shropshire of which his grandfather was a pr ...
and Christopher Gill
Christopher John Fred Gill RD (born 28 October 1936) is a British politician, and a former member of the National Executive Committee of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He is the president of The Freedom Association (TFA). A former Conserva ...
, and gave the eulogy at Budgen's funeral.[
Shepherd was a strong advocate of Parliament's power to hold the government to account.] Shepherd stood to be Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings.
Systems that have such a position include:
* Speaker of ...
in 2000, and won 136 votes: the third-closest to defeating Michael Martin of eleven opponents. When Martin was forced to resign, in 2009, he stood for the position again. An outsider, at 14/1, he won only 15 votes, and was eliminated on the first ballot.
He voted against the Cameron–Clegg coalition
The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the gene ...
government in 2013 on the issue of British military intervention in the Syrian civil war.
Shepherd was knighted
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 Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in the 2013 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...
for public service. He retired from Parliament at the 2015 general election.
Personal life and death
Shepherd never married. He died on 19 February 2022 at the age of 79.
References
External links
Richard Shepherd MP
Conservative Party profile
Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association
*
Richard Shepherd
at ''ConservativeHome''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Richard Charles Scrimgeour
1942 births
2022 deaths
20th-century British businesspeople
Alumni of the London School of Economics
British grocers
British libertarians
Businesspeople from London
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Insurance underwriters
Knights Bachelor
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni
People from Aberdeen
Place of death missing
Politicians awarded knighthoods
Politics of Walsall
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
UK MPs 2010–2015
British Eurosceptics