Sir Ronald McMillan Bell
QC (14 April 1914 – 27 February 1982) was a
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
and
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 ...
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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, representing
South Buckinghamshire
South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Bea ...
from 1950 to 1974 and
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
from 1974 to 1982. He also briefly represented the
Newport constituency from a by-election in May 1945 until the general election two months later.
He was appointed a
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1966 and 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 1980.
Family and education
Born in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, the younger son of John Bell, the young Bell was educated at
Cardiff High School
)
, established = 1895 (Creation of earliest of predecessor schools)
, closed =
, type = Public (magnet) secondary
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Stephen Jones
, r ...
and
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...
,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, graduating BA in 1936 and MA in 1941.
[ In 1935, he was first Secretary and later Treasurer of the ]Oxford Union Society
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
, and was also President of the Oxford University Conservative Association
The Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) is a student Conservative association founded in 1924, whose members are drawn from the University of Oxford. Since October 2009, OUCA has been affiliated to Conservative Future and its su ...
. In 1954 he married Elizabeth Audrey, eldest daughter of Kenneth Gossell MC, of Burwash, Sussex, and by her had two sons, Andrew and Robert, and two daughters, Fiona and Lucinda. Lady Bell died on 13 May 2014, aged 86.
Military and civilian life
In 1938, Bell was called to the Bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
from Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
, London, and then served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...
from 1939 to 1946, during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.[ On 14 August 1940 he was promoted from Sub-Lieutenant to Lieutenant. After demobilisation he returned to practise as a ]barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
in London and on the South-Eastern Circuit. He took silk
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
(became a Queen's Counsel) in 1966. In 1975, he was appointed as a member of Court of the University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
.[
]
Political career
Bell had unsuccessfully contested the Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...
Division of Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
at a by-election in 1938, but was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Newport at a by-election in May 1945. He lost that seat just two months later, at the general election in July 1945.[Stephen Parker, 'Sir Ronald McMillan Bell' (obituary) in ''The ]Primrose League
The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883.
At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...
Gazette'', vol. 86, no. 2, April 1982
He was a member of Paddington Borough Council in London from 1947 to 1949, and was elected as Conservative MP for South Buckinghamshire
South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Bea ...
at the 1950 general election. When that constituency was abolished, with effect from the February 1974 general election, he was elected for the new Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
from 1974. That year, he became a member of the Parliamentary Select committee on European Legislation
A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. Directives first have to be enacted into national law by member states before thei ...
.[
]
Monday Club and rebellion against Edward Heath
Bell was an early (1962) and very active senior member of the Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) is a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also has links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unioni ...
, and led the rebels 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. ...
against the Race Relations Act 1965
The Race Relations Act 1965 was the first legislation in the United Kingdom to address racial discrimination.
The Act outlawed discrimination on the "grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins" in public places in Great Britain.
It ...
and the subsequent extension by the Race Relations Act 1968
The Race Relations Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom making it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins in Great Britain (although n ...
. He argued against the importing of a new law affecting freedom of speech, and freedom to employ whoever one wishes, and, supported by Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...
, said the Bill made "very deep and damaging encroachments into the proper sphere of personal decision". He also felt that the Bill was an effort to achieve unwarranted equality, and that it was "concerned solely and exclusively with the intention to achieve social equality".
In a vote on 22 December 1964, Bell was one of the 91 Tory MPs to vote in favour of the abolition of the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.[
On ]May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...
1970, he was one of the principal politicians to speak at the Monday Club's "Law and Liberty" rally in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
, London, in opposition to the "Stop the Seventy Tour" campaign aimed at stopping that year's South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n cricket tour.
Bell was still a member of the Monday Club's Executive Council in 1971 and 1972; and in September 1972 he was a principal speaker at the club's "Halt Immigration Now!" rally in Westminster Central Hall
The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue in the City of Westminster, London, serving primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre. The building, which is a tourist attraction, also ho ...
, following which a resolution was passed calling upon the government to halt all immigration, repeal the Race Relations Act, and start a full repatriation scheme. That was delivered to Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
, then 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 is not ...
, who said that the government had no intention of repealing the Act.
In 1972, Bell and Powell were the leaders of an open rebellion against the leadership of Edward Heath, who retaliated against Bell by attempting to have him replaced as the Tory candidate for Beaconsfield by Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served a ...
, whose own seat at Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...
was due for abolition in the current round of boundary changes and agreed to seek the nomination. A struggle within the local Conservative association ensued in which Bell's campaign was successfully masterminded by Hugh Simmonds, chairman of the Young Conservatives.
Bell was opposed to the entry of Ugandan Asians
In early August 1972, the President of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country. At the time of the expulsion, there were about 80,000 individuals of Indian descent in Ugand ...
into Britain, stating that "They (Ugandan Asians) were either born in India or retain a close connection with India, they have no connection to Britain by either blood or residence."
In January 1973, Bell and Powell were opponents of Heath's Counter-Inflation Bill, with Bell arguing that prices and incomes policies were incompatible with the British way of life and were not Conservative measures. At the same time, Nicholas Ridley complained that what was needed was a "proper economic policy", and Richard Body
Sir Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body (18 May 1927 – 26 February 2018) was an English politician. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Billericay from 1955 to 1959, for Holland with Boston from 1966 to 1997, and for Boston and Ske ...
stated that the real cause of inflation was too much government spending.
In 1975, Bell supported 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 ...
's successful bid to lead the party, having firstly voted for Sir Hugh Fraser against Edward Heath.
Death
Ronald Bell died of a heart attack in his office in the House of Commons on 27 February 1982. Earlier that day he had taken the chair at an anti-Common Market rally in London.
Honours
*Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
, 20 April 1966['Bell, Sir Ronald McMillan QC MP' in '' Who Was Who 1981-1990'' (vol. VIII) (London: A. & C. Black, 1991, )]
*Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
, 19 February 1980[''The London Gazette'' dated 18 April 1980]
p. 5,815
/ref>
Publications
* Bell, Ronald, ''Crown Proceedings'', London, 1948
References
Further reading
* Robert Copping, ''The Story of the Monday Club - The First Decade'' (Current Affairs Information Service, Ilford, Essex, April 1972)
* Robert Copping, ''The Monday Club - Crisis and After'' (CAIS, Ilford, Essex, May 1975), pp. 6 and 16
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Ronald
1914 births
1982 deaths
20th-century English lawyers
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
Conservative Party (UK) councillors
English barristers
Knights Bachelor
Members of Gray's Inn
Members of Paddington Metropolitan Borough Council
Politicians awarded knighthoods
Politics of Newport, Wales
Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
UK MPs 1935–1945
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs 1964–1966
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
Welsh King's Counsel