Oliver Michael Robert Eden, 8th Baron Henley, 6th Baron Northington (born 22 November 1953), is a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

and politician, who is a

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 ...

member of 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 ...

. He has served in a number of ministerial positions in the governments of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

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 ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

and

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

, most recently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...

. Lord Henley served as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

at the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

with responsibility for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction, a role in which he succeeded Lady Browning in September 2011 to September 2012.

Early life

Lord Henley is the eldest son and fourth child of the 7th Baron Henley and his wife, Nancy Mary née Walton. He was educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

. He graduated from Collingwood College,

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1975. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1977.

Political career

By right as an hereditary peer

Lord Henley succeeded to the peerage in 1977 upon the death of his father. An Irish peer, he is able to sit in the House of Lords by virtue of a United Kingdom peerage granted to the 3rd Baron Henley, namely

Baron Northington Baron Henley is a title that has been created twice: first in the Peerage of Great Britain and then in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1760 in favour of Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington, Sir Robert Henley, Lord Chancello ...

. He was an elected County Councillor for Cumbria from 1986 to 1989. He was also at that time President of the Cumbria Association of Local Councils. He served as a House of Lords

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 ...

under

from 1989 to July 1990. He then moved to become a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Department of Social Security A ministry of social security or department of social security is a government entity responsible for social security affairs. It may be a ministry office, a department, or, as in the United States, a nominally independent agency. Notable ones ar ...

, retaining the position when

rose to power and serving until 1993. He was then briefly moved to the

Department of Employment The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In , it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In , the employment functions were h ...

, when in 1994 he was again fleetingly moved to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. In 1995 he was promoted to

at the

Department for Education and Employment The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the Education in England, education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's se ...

, serving until the Conservative government lost the 1997 general election.

By election from among hereditary peers

With the passage of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, Lord Henley along with almost all other hereditary peers lost his automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. He was however elected as one of the 92 hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords pending completion of House of Lords reform. He first served as opposition spokesman for Home Affairs before becoming Opposition Chief Whip in the Lords from 1998 to 2001 and as Opposition spokesman for Justice from 2003 to 2010. After the 6 May 2010 general election, Lord Henley was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the Cameron Ministry. He was promoted to

at the

on 16 September 2011, with special responsibility for crime prevention and anti-social behaviour reduction, replacing Baroness Browning, who stepped down for health reasons. He was a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights until November 2016. On 21 November 2016, it had been announced that he had been appointed a

Lord in Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

, one of the government whips in the House of Lords. In addition to that role, he was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...

on 21 December 2016. He was appointed to the Privy Council (PC) in 2013.

Personal life

Eden married Caroline Patricia Sharp, daughter of Alan G. Sharp, on 11 October 1984. The couple has four children. The family seat is Scaleby Castle, Carlisle.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Oliver Eden, 8th Baron 1953 births Alumni of Collingwood College, Durham Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Northington, Oliver Eden, 6th Baron Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Oliver Eden Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Clifton College English lawyers Barons Henley Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999