John Biffen

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

David Ormsby-Gore
Succeeded byOwen Paterson
Personal details
Born
William John Biffen

(1930-11-03)3 November 1930
Bridgwater, England
Died14 August 2007(2007-08-14) (aged 76)
Shrewsbury, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Sarah Wood
​
(m. 1979)​
Alma materJesus College, Cambridge

William John Biffen, Baron Biffen,

DL (3 November 1930 – 14 August 2007), was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1961 to 1997, and served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet; he then served in the House of Lords
.

Early life and education

The son of Victor William Biffen, a tenant farmer, of Hill Farm,

Tube Investments Ltd. In the 1960s he joined the Mont Pelerin Society.[1]

Political career

Having previously stood unsuccessfully against Richard Crossman at Coventry East in 1959, Biffen was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Oswestry, later renamed Shropshire North, from the time of his election at a by-election in 1961 until his retirement at the 1997 general election.[1]

In his early political career he was a disciple of

EC. He championed tight fiscal policy and opposed state intervention in economic management. This stance barred his way to advancement under Edward Heath, but contributed to his promotion under Margaret Thatcher.[1]

In government

Biffen served in Thatcher's government in the successive positions of

Secretary of State for Trade, and as Leader of the House of Commons. Thatcher writes in The Downing Street Years (1993) that "(Biffen) had been a brilliant exponent in Opposition of the economic policies in which I believed... But he proved rather less effective than I had hoped in the gruelling task of trying to control public expenditure."[3]

In 1981, he allowed

Monopolies Commission.[4] According to Woodrow Wyatt, who helped persuade Thatcher to ensure this, the Commission "almost certainly would have blocked it".[5]

As Leader of the House, Biffen used the guillotine to cut short debate on the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1986. Edward Pearce has written that Biffen "was widely thought the best post-war floor leader".[6]

Biffen's image as an economic "dry" mellowed during his time in government, and he made blunt public calls for greater moderation in government policy. In 1980 he warned the country to prepare for "three years of unparalleled austerity".

social democrats now", Biffen concluded in his speech.[7]

On 9 February 1986, he said that Toryism was "not a raucous political faction"

Stalinist regime".[11]

Despite his right-wing views on economic policy, he was very much to the left of Thatcher on social policy. Similarly to Powell, he completely opposed capital punishment and was very supportive of equal gay rights but wanted less immigration. Biffen also opposed the tightening of laws restricting abortion and voted in 1990 to preserve the limit at 28 weeks.[12]

Brian Walden noted that Biffen was the "most honest" politician he had interviewed.[13]

Return to the Backbench

On the backbenches Biffen voted against the Local Government Finance Act 1988 which introduced the

referendum on the EU Constitution so he could vote "No".[14]

House of Lords

On 3 June 1997 he was created a life peer, as Baron Biffen, of Tanat in the County of Shropshire.[15]

Personal life

Biffen married Sarah Wood in 1979. He had one stepson, Nicholas Wood, a correspondent with The New York Times and International Herald Tribune, and a stepdaughter, Lucy.[16] The family lived at Tanat House, Llanyblodwel.[17]

Biffen died from heart failure at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 14 August 2007, aged 76.[1] He had also suffered from kidney failure for many years.[18]

In popular culture

Biffen was portrayed by Roger Brierley in the 2004 BBC production of The Alan Clark Diaries.

Notes

  1. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/98990. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ISBN 9781849547017
    .
  3. ^ Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (HarperCollins, 1993), p. 26.
  4. ^ Campbell, John, Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady (Jonathan Cape, 2003), p. 572.
  5. ^ Woodrow Wyatt, The Journals of Woodrow Wyatt: Volume 3 (Pan, 2001), p. 582.
  6. ^ Ramsden, John (ed.), The Oxford Companion to 20th-Century British Politics (Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 55.
  7. ^ Hugo Young, One of Us (Pan, 1990), p. 240.
  8. ^ John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady (Jonathan Cape, 2003), p. 448.
  9. ^ Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (HarperCollins, 1993), p. 422.
  10. ^ Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (HarperCollins, 1993), p. 589.
  11. ^ The Sunday Telegraph (London), 5 July 1987
  12. ^ "Amendment of law relating to termination of pregnancy". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 24 April 1990. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  13. ^ Coughlan, Sean. "Walden's secret ingredient for power". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2006.
  14. ^ John Biffen, Vindication for De Gaulle, The Guardian (London), 15 June 2005.
  15. ^ "No. 54787". The London Gazette. 9 June 1997. p. 6697.
  16. ^ "Lords Hansard text for 6 December 2005 (51206-22)". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  17. ISBN 0-903802-40-6
    .
  18. ^ "Thatcher leads tributes to Biffen". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2007.

Bibliography

  • John Biffen, Nation in Doubt (Conservative Political Centre, 1976).
  • John Biffen, Political Office, or Political Power?: Six Speeches on National and International Affairs (Centre for Policy Studies, 1977).
  • John Biffen, 'The Conservatism of Labour', in Maurice Cowling (ed.), Conservative Essays (Cassell, 1978), pp. 155–167.
  • John Biffen, 'Inside the House of Commons', (1989).
  • John Biffen, Inside Westminster (Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1996).

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
David Ormsby-Gore
 Member of Parliament for Oswestry
1961–1983 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for North Shropshire
1983–1997 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Secretary to the Treasury
1979–1981 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Secretary of State for Trade

1981–1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
1982–1983 		Succeeded by
Leader of the House of Commons
1982–1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Privy Seal
1983–1987
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