Sir Peter Derek Fry (26 May 1931 – 12 May 2015) 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. Born in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, Fry was educated at the

Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe , established = , closed = , type = Selective Grammar SchoolAcademy , head_label = Headmaster , head = Philip Wayne , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founder ...

, and Worcester College, Oxford. He became an insurance broker and a director of the family retail clothing business. He served as a councillor on Buckinghamshire

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

from 1961. Fry contested Nottingham North in 1964 and Willesden East in 1966. He was elected a

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 o ...

at the 1969

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

by-election. He represented the seat until 1997, when he lost to

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 ...

's Paul Stinchcombe by a margin of 187 votes. He subsequently became the Chairman of the Bingo Association, Chairman of the Federation of European Bingo Associations, and a trustee of the Responsibility in Gambling Trust. During his time as an MP, Fry was a Eurosceptic, who repeatedly voted against the government in 1992-1993 over its attempts to enshrine the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

into UK law. Fry was interviewed in 2012 as part of

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

's oral history project. Fry died on 12 May 2015, aged 83.Notice of death: Sir Peter Derek FRY
announcements.telegraph.co.uk; accessed 15 May 2015.

References

Sources

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Limited, 1997

External links

*
Peter Fry interview at History of Parliament Online
1931 births 2015 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Knights Bachelor People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Councillors in Buckinghamshire Place of death missing Politicians awarded knighthoods British Eurosceptics {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1930s-stub