Richard Kidston Law, 1st Baron Coleraine, (27 February 1901 – 15 November 1980) was a British

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 ...

politician.

Early life

He was the youngest son among six children born to businessman and Conservative politician

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law (; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadi ...

(who would go on to serve as

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

from 1922 to 1923) and Law's wife, the former Annie Pitcairn Robley, a daughter of Harrington Robley, a merchant from Glasgow. Richard's brother Charlie, a lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers, was killed at the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917,Taylor (2007) p. 11 followed by brother James, a captain in the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

, who was shot down and killed on 21 September 1917.Taylor (2007) p.12 His sister Isabel married Sir Frederick Sykes, and another sister Catherine married The 1st Baron Archibald in 1961.Adams (1999) p. 293 He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

Political career

Law was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull South West in the general election of 1931 and held the seat until 1945. In 1940 he was appointed Financial Secretary to the War Office. He was then transferred to the post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs until 1943. While in the latter post he took part in the

Bermuda Conference The Bermuda Conference was an international conference between the United Kingdom and the United States held from April 19 to 30, 1943, at Hamilton, Bermuda. The topic of discussion was the question of Jewish refugees who had been liberated by All ...

on the fate of European Jewry and was sworn of the Privy Council in the 1943 New Year Honours. He was then

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 ...

, also at the Foreign Office, until 1945, when he served briefly as Minister of Education in the Churchill Caretaker ministry. In a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in November 1945 he became MP for Kensington South, which he held until February 1950. Law was again elected as an MP in the election of 1951, this time for Haltemprice, but he resigned this seat in January 1954 and in February was elevated to 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 ...

as Baron Coleraine of Haltemprice in the East Riding of the County of York. After his elevation to the peerage, he went on a two-week lecture tour in the United States, following two weeks in Russia at the invitation of the Russian government.

Published works

In 1950, Law published ''Return from Utopia'', a book in which he stated his belief that trying to use the power of the state to create any sort of

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

is not just unattainable but positively evil, because one of the first principles to be sacrificed is the principle of

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

and individual choice. Law argued:

To turn our backs on Utopia, to see it for the sham and the delusion that it is, is the beginning of hope. It is to hold out once again the prospect of a society in which man is free to be good because he is free to choose. Freedom is the first condition of human virtue and Utopia is incompatible with freedom. Come back from Utopia and hope is born again.Richard Law, ''Return from Utopia'' (London: Faber & Faber, 1950), p. 9.

In 1970, Lord Coleraine published another book, ''For Conservatives Only'', in which he criticised the Conservative leadership of the time for, in his view, sacrificing Tory principles for electoral expediency and the pursuit of the "middle ground". At this time he was Patron of the Selsdon Group of Conservative MPs.

Personal life

On 26 January 1929, Lord Coleraine (when still Richard Law) married Mary Virginia Nellis, the second daughter of Abraham Fox Nellis, of

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. Her father, a silk manufacturer, had died in 1923. Together, they were the parents of two children: * James Law, 2nd Baron Coleraine (1931–2020), who married Emma Elizabeth Richards, only daughter of Nigel Richards, in 1958. After their divorce in 1966, he married Anne ''Patricia'' Farrant in 1966. She was the second daughter of Maj.-Gen. Ralph Henry Farrant. * Hon. Andrew Bonar Law (b. 1933), who married Joanna Margarette Neill, daughter of Raymond Neill of Ireland, in 1961. Lady Coleraine died on 3 April 1978 in

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Lord Coleraine died on 15 November 1980, age 79, and was succeeded in the barony by his son James Martin Bonar Law.

Descendants

Through his elder son James, he was a grandfather of Hon. Elizabeth Mary Law (b. 1961), who married Charles Ironside, 3rd Baron Ironside (only son and heir of Edmund Ironside, 2nd Baron Ironside) in 1985; Hon. Sophia Anne Law (b. 1964); Hon. James Peter Bonar Law (b. 1975), Hon. Henrietta Margaret Law (1968–1993), and Hon. Juliana Caroline Matilda Law (b. 1971). Through his son Andrew, he was a grandfather of Richard Pitcairn Bonar Law (b. 1963) and Charlotte Mary de Montmorency Law (b. 1964).

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleraine, Richard Law, 1st Baron 1901 births 1980 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford British Secretaries of State for Education Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Law, Richard Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II People educated at Shrewsbury School Law, Richard Law, Richard Law, Richard Law, Richard Law, Richard UK MPs who were granted peerages War Office personnel in World War II Barons Coleraine