Nicholas Scott
Under-Secretary of State (Northern Ireland Office) | |
---|---|
In office 15 September 1981 – 11 September 1986 | |
Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
Member of Parliament for Chelsea | |
In office 10 October 1974 – 8 April 1997 | |
Preceded by | Marcus Worsley |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Member of Parliament for Paddington South | |
In office 31 March 1966 – 8 February 1974 | |
Preceded by | Robert Allan |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Edmonton, Middlesex, England | 5 August 1933
Died | 6 January 2005 London, England | (aged 71)
Political party | Conservative |
Spouses | Elizabeth Robinson
(m. 1954; div. 1976)Cecilia Tapsell (m. 1979) |
Children | 5 |
Sir Nicholas Paul Scott
He was a liberal, pro-European Conservative who became President of the
Early life
Scott was born in
In comparison to many Young Conservatives of Scott's generation who later made it into the cabinet, he stood out as not having gone to
Political career
1956–1970
Scott began his political career serving as a councillor on Holborn Borough Council 1956–59 and 1962–65.[4]
Scott contested Islington South West at the 1959 general election and at the 1964 election.
Scott was made national chairman of the
Scott quickly became one of the stand-out liberal Tory MPs, speaking out against discrimination of foreign students and demanding more nursery education. In 1968 when Labour home secretary James Callaghan proposed immigration limits on the entry of East African Asians with UK passports, Scott swam against the tide and refused to join the Conservative shadow government in supporting the limits. He was one of the first Conservative MPs to speak out against Enoch Powell's 1968 anti-immigration speech.[2]
1970–1975
Scott was a protege of Iain Macleod who made him his parliamentary Private Secretary just one month before Macleod died in 1970. With the advent of the Heath government Scott stuck with his principles opposing the sale of arms to apartheid South Africa.[2]
When his seat was abolished after boundary changes for the February 1974 election, he stood in the new Paddington seat, but lost to the outgoing Paddington North MP Arthur Latham.
Shortly after he lost his parliamentary seat in 1974,
In October 1974, Marcus Worsley, the MP for the safe Conservative seat of Chelsea, decided to retire. Scott was selected as the new Conservative candidate, and at the October 1974 general election, he was returned with over 60% of the vote. He immediately took a seat on the opposition front bench as Edward Heath appointed him spokesman on housing.[5]
1975–1986
Scott's prospects were greatly curtailed when Margaret Thatcher won the Conservative Party Leadership race. Thatcher was a proponent of a 'tougher', less liberal Conservatism. Scott was offered a more junior position, he refused to serve and became a rallying point for the "
Scott's championing of liberal causes led Labour politician
He was made a
In 1981 when
Scott firmly believed in power sharing in Northern Ireland; this stance made him deeply unpopular with the loyalist element in Northern Ireland,
1987–1996
In 1987 Scott was moved sideways to the Department of Social Security, and soon became Minister for the Disabled as well. The autonomy he had had in Northern Ireland away from Thatcher did not continue in to this role. Scott made no secret of his disquiet at some of the reforms he was forced to put through. His period as Minister for the Disabled saw him come under attack from many campaigners, including his own daughter, a disability campaigner with
Scott remained MP for Chelsea until the seat was abolished at the 1997 general election. He was initially selected as the Conservative candidate for the new Kensington and Chelsea constituency, but was subsequently deselected after allegations of alcoholism surfaced following an incident in which he was found passed out in a gutter during the party conference in Bournemouth.[2]
Cricket
Away from politics, Scott was a keen cricketer and widely regarded as a talented opening batsman. He turned out for a number of clubs throughout his career, including
Personal life
Scott was twice married. His first marriage to Elizabeth Robinson, by whom he had a son and two daughters, lasted from 1964 to their divorce in 1976.[5] He married secondly to Hon. Cecilia Ann Tapsell, daughter of Bladen Hawke, 9th Baron Hawke, and had another son and daughter Patrick (Paddy) and Amber.[4]
Scott died in London on 6 January 2005, aged 71. At the time of his death, he had Alzheimer's disease.[5]
Sources
- Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Limited, 1992 edition.
- Whitaker's Almanack, 2006 edition.
References
- ^ "Obituary: Sir Nicholas Scott". 7 January 2005. BBC News. 7 January 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ TheGuardian.com. 7 January 2005.
- ISBN 9780199671540. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g Barnes, John (10 January 2005). "Sir Nicholas Scott". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Former NI minister Scott dies". 7 January 2005.
- ^ "Lives Remembered".