Michael Francis Lovell Cocks, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe, PC (19 August 1929 – 26 March 2001) was a British Labour Party politician. He was the member of parliament for Bristol South from 1970 to 1987, and was the Labour Party's chief whip from 1976 to 1985.

Early life

Cocks was born in Leeds, and was educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

, Edinburgh, and Silcoates School,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

. After obtaining a BSc at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

he became a geography teacher and later lectured at Bristol Polytechnic.

Political career

Cocks contested

Bristol West Bristol West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Thangam Debbonaire of the Labour Party. It mostly covered the central and western parts of Bristol. Following t ...

in 1959 and

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 ...

in 1964 and 1966. He was Member of Parliament for Bristol South from 1970 until 1987, after being deselected as a candidate in 1986 and replaced by

Dawn Primarolo Dawn Primarolo, Baroness Primarolo, (born 2 May 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Bristol South from 1987 until 2015, when she stood down. She was Minister of State for Children, Young People a ...

, in a challenge from the left. During his time in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, Cocks served as a Labour

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in government and in opposition, being

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

from 1976 to 1985. Cocks was created 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 ...

on 6 October 1987, becoming Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe, ''of Chinnor in the County of Oxfordshire'' and served as vice-chairman of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

1993–98. He also served as Deputy Chairman of the London Docklands Development Corporation. As Government Chief Whip from 1976 to 1979 he had the task of ensuring Government majorities for a minority government.

Personal life and legacy

Cocks married Janet Macfarlane, a nurse, in 1954. The couple had four children, Andrew, Helen, Sarah and David, before separating in 1976 and divorcing the following year. He was married to Valerie Davis from 1979 until his death from a heart attack at Southmead Hospital in Bristol on 26 March 2001, at the age of 71. Cocks is a major character in the play '' This House'' by James Graham. The play was first staged at the National Theatre in 2011, with Cocks played by Vincent Franklin.

References

Sources

* ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Ltd, 1966, 1983 & 1987 *
"Obituary: Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 27 March 2001

External links