Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron Skelmersdale (2 April 1945 – 31 October 2018), was a British politician and

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 was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Lord Wandsworth College Lord Wandsworth College (LWC) is a co-educational private school in Long Sutton, Hampshire, England, for day and boarding pupils between the ages of 11–18, which occupies a 1,200 acre campus and is known for its charitable foundation. It is a ...

. From 1972, Lord Skelmersdale and his wife Christine owned and operated Broadleigh Gardens, a horticultural centre at Barr House,

Bishops Hull Bishop's Hull is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, in the western suburbs of Taunton. It includes the areas of Rumwell, Rumwell Park, Roughmoor and Longaller and is close to the River Tone. The parish, which includes the hamlet o ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, Somerset. Lord Skelmersdale succeeded to the peerage in 1973 on the death of his father

Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham, 6th Baron Skelmersdale Brigadier Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham, 6th Baron Skelmersdale, (23 September 1896 – 21 July 1973) was a British Army officer and peer who served in both the First and Second World War. Early life Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham was born on 23 September ...

. He was made 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 ...

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 ...

's government in 1981, holding that position until 1986. He then moved to the

Department of Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

as a

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...

and then to the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

in 1987 before that department was split in 1988. Lord Skelmersdale continued 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 ...

until 1989 when he was assigned to the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

, serving until the end of Thatcher's premiership in November 1990. He was not reappointed by

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 ...

. 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 Skelmersdale, 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 ninety-two elected hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords pending completion of House of Lords reform. Lord Skelmersdale was, as of 2006, a Conservative Shadow Minister for 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 ...

as a member of

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 ...

's front bench team, however, he did not become a minister in the coalition Cameron ministry starting in 2010. He served as a Deputy Chairman of Committees from 1991 to 2003 (and Deputy Speaker from 1995), and again from 2010 to 2014. Lord Skelmersdale was a bridge player and a member of the all-party parliamentary bridge group. Lord Skelmersdale died on 31 October 2018 at the age of 73.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelmersdale, Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron 1945 births 2018 deaths People educated at Eton College Skelmersdale, Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron Skelmersdale, Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron Northern Ireland Office junior ministers Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 People educated at Lord Wandsworth College