Sir Robert Anthony Bevis Durant (9 January 1928 – 18 February 2016), also known as Tony Durant, was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Political career

Durant stood unsuccessfully for Rother Valley at the 1970 General Election; the seat was retained for his party by Labour's Peter Hardy. In 1971 Durant supported Thatcher's decision to end free school milk on the grounds that many children did not like it. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Reading North from 1974 to 1983. After Reading's constituencies underwent boundary changes, he was the Member of Parliament for Reading West from 1983 to 1997. During his time in the Commons, he acted as a

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. Announced in the 1991 New Year Honours he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 14 February 1991. In 1994, he successfully campaigned for the lowering of the homosexual age of consent. He retired from politics at the

1997 UK General Election The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a landslide by the Labour Party led by Tony Blair, achieving a 179 seat majority. ...

References

Durant, Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Robert Anthony Bevis Durant, Robert A Durant, Robert A Durant, Robert A Durant, Robert A Durant, Robert A Knights Bachelor Politicians awarded knighthoods {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1920s-stub