John Ambrose Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley, PC (born 13 May 1937) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Education

Cope was educated at

Oakham School Oakham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Oakham, Rutland, England. The school was founded in 1584 by Archdeacon Robert Johnson, along with Uppingham School, a few miles away. They share a common b ...

before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.

Career

Cope contested Woolwich East in the 1970 general election, but was defeated by Labour's

Christopher Mayhew Christopher Paget Mayhew, Baron Mayhew (12 June 1915 – 7 January 1997) was a British politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1950 and from 1951 to 1974, when he left the Labour Party to join the Liberals. In 1981 ...

. Thereafter he served as Member of Parliament for

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

from 1974 to 1983. When that constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, he was returned for the new

Northavon Northavon was a district in the English county of Avon from 1974 to 1996. The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974 as part of a reform of local authorities throughout England and Wales. Under the reorganisatio ...

constituency, serving until his defeat in the 1997 general election by the Liberal Democrat

Steve Webb Sir Steven John Webb (born 18 July 1965) is a British pensions commentator who was previously Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Northavon from 1997 to 2010 and for Thornbury and Yate from 2010 to 2015. He was the Minister of S ...

. Within the Conservative Party, he was an Assistant Whip from June 1979 to June 1981. His first political office was as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (June 1981 to June 1983), and then he was Treasurer of HM Household (1983–1987), and was then appointed Minister of State for Employment (with a special focus on small businesses) 1987–1989. He was then Minister of State for Security and Finance at the Northern Ireland Office until November 1990. In the meantime, in 1988, he was sworn as a member of the Privy Council. Cope served as Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1 November 1990, succeeding

David Trippier Sir David Austin Trippier, RD, DL (born 15 May 1946) is a British Conservative Party politician and author. Early life Trippier was born on 15 May 1946. He was educated at Bury Grammar School. Political career Trippier fought Rochdale in ...

. He was succeeded by

Dame Angela Rumbold Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold (née Jones; 11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament from a 1982 by-election until the 1997 general election. Education She was edu ...

on 1 April 1992. Cope served as

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. History The post was ...

(HM Treasury) in

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

's government between 1992 and 1994. He was 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Cope of Berkeley, ''of Berkeley in the County of Gloucestershire'' on 4 October 1997. He served as Opposition Chief Whip in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

front bench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

, from 2001 to 2007, when he was replaced by Baroness Anelay. His daughter Lucy was formerly married to Jack Lopresti, who was Member of Parliament for Filton and Bradley Stoke, one of Northavon's successor seats. In 2012, Cope made the opening speech to the House of Lords, presenting a motion for the Loyal Address on the opening day of Parliament. He retired from the House of Lords on 13 May 2020, his 83rd birthday.

Charity work

Cope is a patron of the charity Kids for Kids, helping children in rural areas of

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. He is a patron of The West of England MS Therapy Centre, a charity helping those in Bristol and the surrounding areas live independent lives whilst coping with MS and other neurological conditions, Cope is also President of the Friends of the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath. Cope has also been a Trustee of War Memorials Trust since 1999; this is a conservation charity that works for the protection of war memorials across the United Kingdom.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, John Ambrose 1937 births People educated at Oakham School Cope of Berkeley Life peers created by Elizabeth II Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 United Kingdom Paymasters General Treasurers of the Household Knights Bachelor Northern Ireland Office junior ministers Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014