Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale
Cirencester and Tewkesbury | |
---|---|
In office 8 October 1959 – 16 March 1992 | |
Preceded by | William Morrison |
Succeeded by | Geoffrey Clifton-Brown |
Personal details | |
Born | Nicholas Ridley 17 February 1929 Carlisle, Cumbria, England |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse |
Clayre Campbell
(m. 1950; div. 1974) |
Children | 3 (including Jane) |
Parent | The 3rd Viscount Ridley (father) |
Relatives | The 4th Viscount Ridley (brother) Elisabeth Lutyens (aunt) Mary Lutyens (aunt) |
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Part of the politics series on |
Thatcherism |
---|
Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale,
As President of the
As
As Secretary of State for the Environment, Ridley opposed a low-cost housing development near his own property, earning him the title of "NIMBY" ("Not in My Back Yard"). He was also responsible for introducing the "poll tax" (formally known as the Community Charge), which was one of the main factors leading to Thatcher's resignation in 1990. He was created a life peer in 1992.
Background and education
Ridley was the second son of
A contemporary at Eton was Tam Dalyell, later Labour MP for West Lothian. The two men were not even able to agree on whether or not Dalyell had been Ridley's fag, though Dalyell greatly admired Ridley's skills as an artist, quoting his teacher as saying that Ridley was "more talented than his grandfather" Edwin Lutyens.[2]
Ridley held a national service commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of The
Political career, 1955–1979
At the
Ridley was made a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Technology briefly in 1970 before becoming a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Trade and Industry.[4] He came under pressure after a policy report he had authored in December 1969 on the break-up and privatisation of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders was leaked, where he had proposed that a Conservative government should cut up and "butcher" UCS and sell the government's holdings, "even for a pittance".[5][6]
He left the government in 1972 after refusing the post of
In 1973, he co-founded the Selsdon Group, which was opposed to the abandonment of the radical 1970 manifesto by Edward Heath. He closed his keynote speech at the group's launch by citing the "Ten Cannots" of William J. H. Boetcker, adding that they "could well become the guiding principle of the Selsdon Group".[7] The members of the group were seen as disloyal at the time but their ideas came to prominence in the Thatcher years.
In government, 1979–1990
When the Conservatives were returned to office at the
Ridley held a secret, informal meeting with his Argentine opposite number Carlos Cavandoli in September 1980, and the two sides broadly agreed to a "leaseback" arrangement whereby nominal sovereignty would be given to Argentina but British administration would be maintained for a fixed number of years, likely 99, until the final handover, as well as co-operating on the Islands' economic development and exploitation of fish and potential oil resources. The meeting took place at a village hotel ten miles outside
In February 1981, with the support of the Islands' Councillors, the British government met Argentine representatives in New York but the British proposal for a sovereignty freeze was rejected by the junta. British intelligence reports continued to suggest that Argentina would invade the Islands only if it was convinced there was no prospect of eventual transfer of sovereignty.
Ridley advised that leaseback remained the only feasible solution and recommended that Britain initiate an education campaign to persuade the islanders. His fierce political opponent Tam Dalyell believed he was right and that but for Ridley's "confrontational style", "off-handed and offensive disdain" which upset both the islanders and the House of Commons, this policy could have avoided the war.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
From 1981 to 1983 Ridley was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
Secretary of State for Transport
Following the
He oversaw
Never far from controversy, Ridley had to apologise following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987, for remarking that he would not be pursuing a particular policy "with the bow doors open". The ship had capsized, with loss of 193 lives, as a result of sailing with its bow doors open.
Secretary of State for the Environment
As Secretary of State for the Environment from 1986 to 1989, he is credited with popularising the phrase NIMBY or Not in My Back Yard to describe those who instinctively opposed any local building development. It was soon revealed that Ridley opposed a low cost housing development near a village where he owned a property.[11] More importantly, he was the Cabinet Minister responsible for the introduction of the 'Poll tax' (formally known as the Community Charge), a policy that brought a standing ovation at the Conservative Party conference at which it was announced, and riots across the country when it was implemented. Ridley had reduced the implementation timetable from 5 to 2 years, which made it much easier for opponents to identify 'losers' and gain support for protest.[citation needed]
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
On 14 July 1990, he was forced to resign as
Baron Ridley of Liddesdale
On 28 July 1992, Ridley was created a
At the 1996 Nicholas Ridley Memorial Lecture, Thatcher said of Ridley that,
Free-market economics was always Nick's passion. And he had a longer, better pedigree in that respect than most Thatcherites—or indeed I may add—than Thatcher herself. His first vote against a Conservative Government bailing out nationalised industries was in 1961. To be so right, so early on, is not to have seen the light—it is to have lit it ... He would have been a superb Chancellor.[19]
Ridley was also secretary of the Canning Club, a councillor on Castle Ward Rural District Council and a member of the executive committee of the National Trust.
Personal life
Lord Ridley of Liddesdale was married to Clayre Campbell, daughter of Alistair Campbell, 4th Baron Stratheden and Campbell. They divorced in 1974. They had three daughters: social worker Susanna Rickett, designer and writer Jessica Ridley, and historian Jane Ridley, Professor of History at the University of Buckingham. He was a keen water colourist and photographer.
In 1990, asked to comment on the resignation of his cabinet colleague
He died of lung cancer on 4 March 1993.
Arms
|
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Patrick Cosgrave (January 2008). "Ridley, Nicholas, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale (1929–1993)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ a b Tam Dalyell (6 March 1993). "Obituary: Lord Ridley of Liddesdale". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook 1960. Kelly's. p. 1689.
- ^ a b c d e f Patrick Cosgrave (6 March 1993). "Obituary: Lord Ridley of Liddesdale". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ISBN 9780408108300.
- ^ "Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Volume 822: Columns 1089-1090". Hansard. 2 August 1971. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Conservatism: Nicholas Ridley speech at Selsdon Park (launch of Selsdon Group) | Margaret Thatcher Foundation". Margaretthatcher.org. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Freedman 2005, pp. 113–123
- ^ "DFB". www.falklandsbiographies.org.
- ^ Freedman 2005, pp. 124–132
- ^ "Would YOU live next to a Nimby?". BBC News. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Fineman, Mark (15 July 1990). "British Trade Minister Quits Post to End Furor : Europe: Ridley's insults against Germany and France brought cries of protest. Thatcher replaces him with a proponent of economic unity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ From the archives: Ridley was right, The Spectator, 22 September 2011.
- ^ Thorpe, John. "Retro: Terry Waite free at last". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ "No. 53006". The London Gazette. 31 July 1992. p. 12943.
- ^ "When will those trains run on time?". New Statesman. 2 January 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ "Maastricht Treaty (Hansard, 17 February 1993)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 February 1993. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ The Times, 3 March 1993.
- ^ "Nicholas Ridley Memorial Lecture (22 November 1996)". Margaretthatcher.org. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ "The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Life Peerages - R".
- Bibliography
- Freedman, Lawrence (2005). The Official History of the Falklands Campaign Vol. 1: The Origin of the Falklands War. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5206-7.