Thomas Edwin Utley (1 February 1921 – 21 June 1988), known as Peter Utley, was a British
High Tory journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
and writer.
Early life
He was adopted by Miss Ann Utley and christened Thomas Edwin, although he was always known as Peter.
["T. E. Utley" in ''The Annual Obituary'' (1988), p. 304] At the age of nine, he was struck with
blindness
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...
. He developed a meticulous memory, after being forced to rely on having books read aloud to him, and learnt how to dictate logical arguments in clear prose.
['Obituary: Mr T. E. Utley. Defender of traditional values in politics and religion', ''The Times'' (23 June 1988), p. 16.][Who was Who: A Companion to Who's Who, A. & C. Black, 1981, pg 773] In 1939, Utley was living with his adoptive mother and her younger sister Ruth, a schoolmistress, at
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...
in
Westmorland
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 ...
. Educated privately as a child, Utley went on to read History under
Kenneth Pickthorn and
Charles Smyth at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th centur ...
, graduating with a First with distinction.
Ann Utley died in September 1940.
Journalism
Leaving Cambridge 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 opposi ...
, Utley initially joined the staff of the
Royal Institute of International Affairs
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
at
Chatham House
Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...
, then went into journalism, and by 1944 was a leader writer for ''
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'' ( ...
''. He composed its leader in response to the
20 July plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...
to kill Hitler and welcomed it as evidence of anti-totalitarian forces in Germany which might help end the war if encouraged. However, he rewrote the article after the Foreign Office objected to any hint of willingness to negotiate with a post-Nazi German government. Utley's revised leader omitted any mention of support for German resistance to Hitler.
After the war, he also became leader-writer for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' 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, whi ...
''. His greatest influence over the next decade, however, lay in his role as the in-house philosopher of the
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 ...
, producing pamphlets and delivering lectures on Toryism. In ''The Conservatives and the Critics'' (1956) and ''Not Guilty: The Conservative Reply'' (1957), Utley defended
Butskellism as a genuine
Burkean
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS ...
alternative to "both Socialist doctrinaires and middle-class militants".
In 1964 he supported
R. A. Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary ...
for the Conservative leadership.
In 1964 he became leader writer for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' and, together with the deputy editor
Colin Welch
James Colin Ross Welch (23 April 1924 – 28 January 1997) was an English political journalist. According to Richard West in his obituary of Welch, he was a "strong and eloquent advocate of individual liberty against the power of government".
We ...
, he recruited young Conservative journalists to the paper. He later became, according to ''The Times'', the "spiritual father of the “
Young Fogeys”".
In his 1968 study of
Enoch Powell's political philosophy, he interpreted
Powellism
Powellism is the name given to the political views of Conservative and Ulster Unionist politician Enoch Powell. They derive from his High Tory and libertarian outlook.
According to the '' Oxford English Dictionary'', the word ''Powellism'' was ...
as an attempt to convert the Conservative Party to radical economic liberalism that would replace its paternalistic statism. Utley supported
Edward Heath's moves in this direction but he was dismayed when Heath, as Prime Minister, moved back towards corporatism.
After the beginning of
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
during the late 1960s, Utley began to focus on Northern Ireland. In the
general election of February 1974, Utley stood unsuccessfully as the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
candidate for
North Antrim, gaining 21.01% of the vote but losing to
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...
of the
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
.
His 1975 work, ''Lessons of Ulster'', was described by ''The Times'' as "less a study of Irish politics than a brilliant dissection of the inadequacies of liberal statecraft faced with the intransigent passions of nationalism".
The editor of ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' called Utley "the ghost of the ''
Morning Post'' rattling his chains in the corridors of ''The Daily Telegraph''".
Utley was an early supporter 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 ...
and under her leadership he became a consultant to
Conservative Central Office
The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...
. He was also one of her speech writers and had an input in her
Sermon on the Mound.
Utley argued that
Thatcherism
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...
, rather than being a radical deviation from traditional conservatism, was a necessary application of Conservative principles to the problems of an over-powerful state and trade union militancy.
In 1980 Utley was appointed deputy editor at the ''Daily Telegraph'' and in 1985 he began a weekly political column for the paper.
In 1987 he moved back to ''The Times'', working as the Obituary Editor and as a columnist. This latter move was occasioned by a falling-out with
Max Hastings, the then editor of ''The Telegraph'', who disagreed with Utley's views on matters relating to Northern Ireland.
He was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in 1980.
Personal life
In 1951 Utley married Brigid Viola Mary (1927–2012), daughter of
Dermot Morrah, a ''
Times'' journalist, Fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...
, and later
Arundel Herald Extraordinary
Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a supernumerary Officer of Arms in England. Though a royal herald, Arundel is not a member of the College of Arms, and was originally a private herald in the household of Thomas Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel. ...
at the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...
.
Utley and his wife had two sons and two daughters. One son,
Tom, is a columnist for the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
''.
A chain smoker and heavy drinker, Utley's financial situation was often precarious.
He died in London on 21 June 1988.
[
]
Assessment
After Utley's death, ''The Times'' acclaimed him as "the most distinguished Conservative journalist of his generation. He was an important influence on the thinking of the Tory Party, an intellectual precursor of Thatcherism, and throughout his life a mentor – revered, consulted and endlessly quoted – to the young". Margaret Thatcher also paid tribute to Utley:
Few people have possessed such a complete understanding of the central tenets and principles of Toryism as Peter Utley. Certainly no one has articulated them with more eloquence. He stood in the tradition of the great Tory philosophers— Hooker, Burke
Burke is an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman Monarchy of Ireland, Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had ...
and Lord Salisbury. Drawing on that tradition, he delivered powerful and incisive judgments on leading political, social and moral issues over a period of more than forty years. Though his range was remarkable, questions affecting the Anglican Church and the unity of the nation always had pride of place in his work. He was, quite simply, the most distinguished Tory thinker of our time.[Margaret Thatcher,]
Preface
(17 July 1989), Charles Moore and Simon Heffer (eds.), ''A Tory Seer: The Selected Journalism of T. E. Utley'' (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1989), p. ix.
Works
*''Essays in Conservatism'' (1949).
*''Modern Political Thought'' (1952).
*''The Conservatives and the Critics'' (1956).
*''Documents of Modern Political Thought'' (Joint editor, 1957).
*''Not Guilty: The Conservative Reply'' (1957).
*''Edmund Burke'' (1957).
*''Occasion for Ombudsmen'' (1963).
*''Your Money and Your Life'' (1964).
*''Enoch Powell: The Man and his Thinking'' (1968).
*''What Laws May Cure'' (1968).
*''Ulster - A Short Background Analysis'' (1972).
*''Lessons of Ulster'' (first edition: 1975, second edition: 1997).
* Charles Moore and Simon Heffer
Simon James Heffer (born 18 July 1960) is an English historian, journalist, author and political commentator. He has published several biographies and a series of books on the social history of Great Britain from the mid-nineteenth century unti ...
(editors), ''A Tory Seer: The Selected Journalism of T. E. Utley'' (1989).
References
External links
Written Statement by Mrs. Thatcher on the death of T.E. Utley (22 June 1988)
Mrs. Thatcher's preface to ''A Tory Seer'' (17 July 1989)
T. E. Uttley appearance on BBC TV, 1974
{{DEFAULTSORT:Utley, T. E.
1921 births
1988 deaths
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
English blind people
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English male journalists
The Times people
Ulster Unionist Party politicians
The Daily Telegraph people
20th-century English businesspeople