John Mackintosh Foot, Baron Foot (17 February 1909 – 11 October 1999) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

Family

John Foot was born at Pencrebar,

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, the third son of

Isaac Foot Isaac Foot (23 February 1880 – 13 December 1960) was a British Liberal politician and solicitor. Early life Isaac Foot was born in Plymouth, the son of a carpenter and undertaker who was also named Isaac Foot, and educated at Plymouth Public ...

(1880–1960) and his wife Eva Mackintosh (died 1946). His father was a solicitor and founder of the

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

law firm of Foot and Bowden. Isaac was also an active member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, the Liberal MP for

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

before World War II and the Lord Mayor of Plymouth after the war. His elder siblings were barrister Sir Dingle Foot, QC (1905–1978), who subsequently became both a Liberal and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP and

Hugh Foot, Baron Caradon Hugh Mackintosh Foot, Baron Caradon (8 October 1907 – 5 September 1990) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the last governor of British Cyprus. E ...

(1907–1990), who became

Governor of Cyprus This article lists the colonial governors and administrators of British Cyprus. Hitherto Ottoman Cyprus, a territory of the Ottoman Empire, a British protectorate under Ottoman suzerainty was established over Cyprus by the Cyprus Convention of ...

(1957–1960) and then the UK representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(1964–1970). His younger siblings were Margaret Elizabeth Foot (1911–1965),

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Labour Leader from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on ''Tribune'' and the ''Evening Standard''. He co-wrote the 1940 p ...

(1913–2010), a Labour MP,

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

(1980–1983), Jennifer Mackintosh Highet (1916-2002) and Christopher Isaac Foot (1917-1984). He married an American, Anne (Bailey Farr) in 1936 and they had a son and a daughter.

Early life

He was educated at Forres School,

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...

and then

Bembridge School Bembridge School was a British independent school in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and seco ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. He went on to read

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where he was President of the

Oxford Union 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 ...

in 1931, following in the steps of his elder brother Dingle (1928) and preceding his younger brother Michael (1933). After graduation he joined the family law firm before serving in the Wessex Division, reaching the rank of

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 indicators ...

, and also on the HQ Staff of the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. After the war he rejoined the family law firm and subsequently became the senior partner there following the death of his father in 1960.

Political career

Foot was considered by brother Michael as the best orator and the "ablest member of the family". He first stood as a Liberal candidate in a 1934

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 the safe Conservative seat of

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

, and ran again there in the 1935 general election. In both the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

and 1950 elections, he stood in

, being defeated by the Conservative Sir

Douglas Marshall Sir Douglas Marshall (2 October 1906 – 24 August 1976) was a British businessman in insurance and banking and a Conservative Party politician, and Member of Parliament for Bodmin from 1945 to 1964. Marshall was born on 2 October 1906 and he be ...

on both occasions. He remained in the Liberal Party during the long period of its post-war decline and was subsequently made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

on 29 November 1967 as Baron Foot, of

Buckland Monachorum Buckland Monachorum is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England, situated on the River Tavy, about 10 miles north of Plymouth. In 2006 the neighbourhood had an estimated 1,511 residents and 654 dwellings. The elect ...

in the County of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. He served as Chairman of the UK Immigrants Advisory Service from 1970 to 1978 where he did not hesitate to criticise the Wilson Government for the inadequate fulfilment of their pledges to the persecuted

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n and

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 ...

. He was also a robust

environmental defender Environmental defenders or environmental human rights defenders are individuals or collectives who protect the environment from harms resulting from resource extraction, hazardous waste disposal, infrastructure projects, land appropriation, or ...

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

against the expansionist ambitions of Plymouth Council. He was a patron of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...

until his death.

Death

He died aged 90 on 11 October 1999, survived by his wife and children.

Arms

References

FOOT, Baron
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
Lord Foot
(obituary), ''The Guardian'', London, 16 October 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Foot, John 1909 births 1999 deaths Foot, John Presidents of the Oxford Union Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

People from Buckland Monachorum Politicians from Plymouth, Devon People educated at Bembridge School People from Callington, Cornwall English humanists British Army officers Military personnel from Cornwall British Army personnel of World War II Life peers created by Elizabeth II