Cranley Onslow

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Lord Temporal
Life peerage
2 August 1997 – 13 March 2001
Member of Parliament
for Woking
In office
15 October 1964 – 1 May 1997
Preceded byHarold Watkinson
Succeeded byHumfrey Malins
Personal details
Born
Cranley Gordon Douglas Onslow

(1926-06-08)8 June 1926
England
Died13 March 2001(2001-03-13) (aged 74)
England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Lady June Hay
(m. 1955)
Children3
EducationHarrow School, Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Alma materOriel College, Oxford

Cranley Gordon Douglas Onslow, Baron Onslow of Woking,

PC (8 June 1926 – 13 March 2001) was a British politician and served as the Conservative MP for Woking
from 1964 to 1997, and a British Peer from 1997 until his death in 2001.

Family background

Onslow was related to the Earl of Onslow, and was named for one of the subsidiary titles of the Earldom: Viscount Cranley. His parents were Francis Robert Douglas Onslow (1878–1938) and Mabel Strachan (d 1974). He had a younger brother, Ian Denzil Onslow (1929–2013). Onslow was a descendant of George Onslow, eldest son of Lieutenant-General Richard Onslow, nephew of the first Baron and uncle of the first Earl.

Early life and career

He was educated at

Burma.[1]

Political career

Onslow resigned from the civil service in 1960 and became active in politics, first being elected to Dartford Rural District Council and later to Kent County Council. In 1963 he was selected to succeed Harold Watkinson as MP for Woking and he was elected the following year in the 1964 general election.

Once elected, Onslow demonstrated his right wing credentials by calling for lower taxes on the middle class and a reduction in third world aid. He also pursued a strong non-partisan interest in aviation, eventually chairing the Conservative aviation committee.

Government

He would later serve as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Aerospace from 1972 to 1974 in Edward Heath's government. In Margaret Thatcher's government he was made a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1983, but resigned a year later after his boss, Francis Pym, was sacked by Margaret Thatcher.[2]

1922 Committee

In 1984, he was elected to chair the 1922 Committee, and was therefore considered to be the most powerful backbencher in the Conservative party. In this post, he conveyed to Mrs Thatcher the desire of backbenchers that Leon Brittan should resign over the Westland affair and in the 1990 leadership contest that many backbenchers wanted a broader choice of candidates, contributing to her decision to drop out. This angered many allies of Thatcher, and in 1992 he was forced from his post as chairman of the 1922 Committee.[citation needed]

Honours and styles

Honours

Having been sworn of the

life peerage was announced in the Resignation Honours[5] and he was raised to the peerage as Baron Onslow of Woking, of Woking in the County of Surrey.[6][7]

Marriage

In 1955, he married Lady June Hay, daughter of George Hay, 14th Earl of Kinnoull.

References

  1. ^ "Obituary: Lord Onslow of Woking". The Guardian. 19 March 2001.
  2. TheGuardian.com
    . 19 March 2001.
  3. ^ "No. 51171". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1987. p. 1.
  4. ^ "No. 53153". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1992. p. 3.
  5. ^ "No. 54850". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 August 1997. p. 8911.
  6. ^ "No. 24292". The Edinburgh Gazette. 4 November 1997. p. 2810.
  7. ^ "No. 54939". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1997. p. 12422.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Woking
1964–1997
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the 1922 Committee
1984–1992
Succeeded by