Irving Thomas Stuttaford, (4 May 1931 – 8 June 2018) was a British
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
, columnist, and politician who served as the
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 ...
for
Norwich South
Norwich South is a constituency in Norfolk represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since 2015 by Clive Lewis, of the Labour Party.
History
The constituency was created by the Representation of the Peopl ...
between 1970 and 1974. In 2002 he retired as Senior Medical Advisor for
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
.
Early life
The third child of Dr William Stuttaford, MC and his wife, Marjorie (''née'' Royden), Stuttaford was born in
Horning
Horning is an ancient village and parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of 11 km2 and had a population of 1,033 in the 2001 census. Horning parish lies on the northern bank of the River Bure south of the River Thurne ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. He was educated at
Gresham's School
Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...
[''I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School'' by S.G.G. Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002)] and
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
.
Career
Medicine
Stuttaford qualified as a doctor in 1959, working at the Hammersmith Hospital before joining his uncle's general practice in rural east Norfolk. Later he helped set up a general practice in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
where he remained until being elected as an MP in 1970. He continued practicing medicine as a consultant for
Bupa
Bupa , legally British United Provident Association Limited, is an international health insurance and healthcare group with over 38 million customers worldwide.
Bupa's origins and global headquarters are in the United Kingdom. Its main countrie ...
for most of his time in parliament. After losing his seat, Stuttaford remained with BUPA for quite a few more years, but took on other medical jobs including acting as medical adviser to a number of companies, and specializing in genitourinary medicine at the Royal London and Queen Mary's Hospitals, as well as Moorfields Eye Hospital. He also was a partner in a small private practice.
Politics
From 1970 to 1974 Stuttaford was the Conservative
MP for
Norwich South
Norwich South is a constituency in Norfolk represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since 2015 by Clive Lewis, of the Labour Party.
History
The constituency was created by the Representation of the Peopl ...
. He was a frequent dissenter from the Conservative Government's line in Parliament, including over the introduction of
value added tax
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...
(VAT) on children's shoes, the ending of
free school milk for older primary school children, and the introduction of museum charges. He also took a leading role within parliament in the campaign, led by ''The Sunday Times,'' to secure compensation for children born with birth defects arising out of their mothers' use of the drug Thalidomide during pregnancy. Stuttaford lost his Norwich South seat to
John Garrett in the
first general election of 1974.
In two subsequent elections he was selected as the Conservative candidate in the
Isle of Ely
The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county.
Etymology
Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that ...
to oppose
Clement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud (24 April 1924 – 15 April 2009) was a German-born British broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.
The son of Ernst L. Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Clement moved to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany as ...
, who had won the seat for the Liberal Party in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in 1973 after the death of Sir
Harry Legge-Bourke
Major Sir Edward Alexander Henry Legge-Bourke, (16 May 1914 – 21 May 1973), was a British politician, and a Member of Parliament for Isle of Ely from 1945 until his death in 1973.
Early life
Legge-Bourke was born as the only child of Lt. Ni ...
. Freud later increased his majority in the
first 1974 election. Stuttaford was first selected to oppose Freud for 1974's
second general election. In their first contest Freud's majority was sharply reduced. Stuttaford was then selected to challenge Freud again. In the
1979 general election Stuttaford received the highest number of Conservative votes ever recorded in the constituency, but the collapse of the Labour vote (many former Labour voters switched their support to the Liberals) ensured that Freud was again returned, this time with a slightly increased majority.
Medical journalism
In 1981, Stuttaford was recruited by the then editor of ''
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 ...
'',
Harold Evans
Sir Harold Matthew Evans (28 June 192823 September 2020) was a British-American journalist and writer. In his career in his native Britain, he was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1967 to 1981, and its sister title ''The Times'' for a year f ...
, to be the paper's medical correspondent, a role he retained until January 2009. Stuttaford had worked with Evans during the latter's campaign to secure compensation for the victims of
thalidomide
Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...
.
In later years he continued to write the regular monthly column for ''
The Oldie
''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edi ...
'' that he had begun in 1994. He filed his last piece for the magazine just a few days before his death. He was a frequent contributor to ''Healthspan'', an online retailer of vitamin supplements, and occasionally to other national newspapers and journals. He was accused by Dr
Ben Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre (born 20 May 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. He is the first Bennett Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford ...
in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' of using an article in ''The Times'' to promote energy replacement pills that appear to have nothing more than a
placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
effect. He was
parodied in the
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
magazine ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
'' as 'Dr Thomas Utterfraud'.
Personal life
Stuttaford married
Pamela Ropner on 1 June 1957; they remained married until her death on 4 July 2013. The couple had three sons: Andrew, Thomas, and Hugo; the eldest, Andrew, is an editor of ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
''.
Stuttaford died on 8 June 2018.
Books
* ''To Your Good Health!: The Wise Drinker's Guide'', Faber and Faber Ltd, 1997,
* ''The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide: UK Edition'' (Editor), Cassell reference, 2003,
* ''What's up Doc? Understanding your Common Symptoms: Health Matters'', Little Books, 2003,
* ''Stress and How to Avoid It'', Little Books, 2004,
References
External links
*
''The Times'' columnPeter Allan Sichel Memorial Lecturegiven by Stuttaford to the
Wine and Spirit Education Trust
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, often referred to as WSET, is a global organisation which arranges courses and exams in the field of wine, spirits and sake. WSET was founded in 1969, is headquartered in London and is generally regarded as one ...
Critical reviewof ''To Your Good Health!'' on the Institute of Alcohol Studies website
Somewhat disputed article regarding mental and sexual healthThe Oldie Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuttaford, Thomas
1931 births
2018 deaths
People educated at Gresham's School
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
British male journalists
Politicians from Norwich
20th-century English medical doctors
UK MPs 1970–1974
Members of Parliament for Norwich
Medical doctors from Norwich