Antony Harold Newton, Baron Newton of Braintree, OBE, PC, DL (29 August 1937 – 25 March 2012) was a British

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 in ...

politician and former

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

member. He was the member of Parliament for Braintree from 1974 to 1997, and was later a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

Early life

Newton was born in

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring District, Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-w ...

, Essex. He was educated at

Friends School Saffron Walden Friends' School (known as Walden School from 2016–17) was a Quaker independent school located in Saffron Walden, Essex, situated approximately 12 miles south of the city of Cambridge, England. The school was co-educational and accommodated chil ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he was President of Oxford University Conservative Association and the Union. He unsuccessfully fought Sheffield Brightside in the 1970 General Election. In the

1972 Birthday Honours The 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplemen ...

, Newton was appointed to 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 ...

as an Officer (OBE).

Member of Parliament

Newton was first elected for the new constituency of Braintree in February 1974 with a majority of 2,001, and successfully retained the seat in the October 1974 general election with a reduced majority of 1,090. The Conservative victory at the 1979 general election boosted his majority dramatically to 12,518, and it increased at every subsequent election to a high of 17,494 at the 1992 general election before his defeat in the Labour landslide at the 1997 general election by 1,451 votes.

In government

Newton was appointed a government

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 ...

when the Conservatives came to power in 1979. In 1982 he moved to a junior ministerial position at the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. Hi ...

, where he remained until 1988, becoming Minister for Social Security and Disabled People in 1984, and Minister for Health in 1986. In the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries. ...

, Newton was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

. He became

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

and a minister at the DTI for a year, before being promoted to

Secretary of State for Social Security The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and ...

from 1989 to 1992, and then taking up the positions of

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...

and

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...

until 1997. From 1992 to 1995, he answered to Prime Minister’s Questions when

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

was not present. His discretion about Major's four-year affair with Edwina Currie is credited with enabling Major to become prime minister.

Peerage

In the

1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to ''The London Gazette'' of 1 August 1997 (published 2 August 1997) and marked the May 1997 resignation of the Prime Minister, John Major. A notable omi ...

, after Newton lost his seat, he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

as Baron Newton of Braintree, ''of Coggeshall in the County of Essex'' on 31 October 1997. He attempted to be selected for the

1999 European Parliament Election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and L ...

, but was unsuccessful. In 1998 he was appointed a professional standards director of the Institute of Directors, a position he held until 2004. Newton chaired the Hansard Society ''Commission on Parliamentary Scrutiny'' which ran from 1999 to 2001. The Commission concluded that Parliament was being left behind by changes in the constitution, government and society and set out reforms for improving its function. He became a chairman of the Further Education Funding Council for East Region, serving between 1998 and 2001, the privy councillors' committee on the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 between 2002 and 2004, the Tax Law Rewrite Steering Committee between 2007 and 2010), the North East Essex Mental Health NHS Trust between 1997 and 2001, the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust between 2001 and 2009, East Anglia's Children's Hospices between 1998 and 2002 and Help the Hospices between 2002 and 2010, the Council on Tribunals (1998-2007), and its successor the

Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council The Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, responsible for supervising and regulating administrative justice and tribunals. It was created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcem ...

(2007–2009); the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (1997–2001). He became a deputy lieutenant of Essex in 2002

Personal life

Newton was married to Janet Huxley from 25 August 1962 until they divorced in 1986. He married Patricia Gilthorpe née Thomson on 26 September 1986. Her first husband had died. Newton was a heavy smoker from an early age. He died at Colchester Hospital of

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

on 25 March 2012. He was survived by his two daughters from his first marriage.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton of Braintree, Tony 1937 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British Secretaries of State Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Deputy Lieutenants of Essex Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Bow Group Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of the British Empire Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at Friends School Saffron Walden People from Harwich Presidents of the Oxford Union Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997