Jump to content

Geoffrey Hirst: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Cydebot (talk | contribs)
6,812,251 edits
m Robot - Moving category Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies to Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies per CFD at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2007 June 16.
m script-assisted date audit and style fixes per MOS:NUM
 
(44 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
⚫
'''Geoffrey Audus Nicholson Hirst''' [[Territorial Decoration|TD]] ([[14 December]], [[1904]] – [[18 June]], [[1984]]) was a [[United Kingdom|British]] industrialist and politician who was a maverick [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament]].
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Geoffrey Hirst
| honorific-suffix = [[Territorial Decoration|TD]]
| image =
| constituency_MP = [[Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)|Shipley]]
| predecessor = [[Arthur Creech Jones]]
| successor = [[Marcus Fox]]
| term_start = 23 February 1950
| term_end = 18 June 1970
| birth_date = {{birth date|1904|12|14|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1984|6|18|1904|12|14|df=y}}
| death_place =
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| spouse =
| party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[University of Cambridge]]
| occupation =
| profession = Industrialist
| religion =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
⚫
'''Geoffrey Audus Nicholson Hirst''' [[Territorial Decoration|TD]] (14 December 1904 – 18 June 1984) was a British industrialist and politician who was a maverick [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]].


==Early career==
==Early career==
Hirst, from a [[Yorkshire]] military family, was educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and [[St John's College, Cambridge|St John's College]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]. He went into industry, becoming President of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce; he was also Chairman of the East and West Ridings Yorkshire Regional Council of the Federation of British Industries.
Hirst, from a [[Yorkshire]] military family, was educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and [[St John's College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{Who's Who | title=HIRST, Geoffrey Audus Nicholson | id = U165332 | type = was | volume = 2023 | edition = online}}</ref> He went into industry, becoming President of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce; he was also Chairman of the East and West Ridings Yorkshire Regional Council of the [[Federation of British Industries]].


==Parliament==
==Parliament==
During the [[Second World War]], Hirst served with the [[Royal Artillery]] (he had been a member of the [[Territorial Army]] before it). At the [[United Kingdom general election, 1950|1950 general election]], Hirst was elected as [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Member of Parliament for [[Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)|Shipley]]. He remained on the backbenches, although he did become Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Trade and Industry Committee. He often raised the issue of the textiles industry.
During the [[Second World War]], Hirst served with the [[Royal Artillery]] (he had been a member of the [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] before it). At the [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950 general election]], Hirst was elected as [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Member of Parliament for [[Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)|Shipley]]. He remained on the backbenches, although he did become Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Trade and Industry Committee. He often raised the issue of the textiles industry.


==Political activities==
==Political activities==
Line 13: Line 41:


==Resigning the whip==
==Resigning the whip==
With Heath as Conservative Party leader after 1965, Hirst became even more disillusioned. Following the [[United Kingdom general election, 1966|1966 general election]], he launched a single-handed campaign against the Wilson government's Prices and Incomes Bill. On [[10 July]], [[1966]] he announced that he would no longer receive the Conservative whip because the party would not vote against the Bill. He sat through the rest of the Parliament as an Independent Conservative, but did not attempt to retain his seat at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1970|1970 general election]].
With Heath as Conservative Party leader after 1965, Hirst became even more disillusioned. Following the [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966 general election]], he launched a single-handed campaign against the Wilson government's Prices and Incomes Bill. On 10 July 1966 he announced that he would no longer receive the Conservative whip because the party would not vote against the Bill. He sat through the rest of the Parliament as an Independent Conservative, but did not attempt to retain his seat at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]].


==References==
== References ==
{{No footnotes|date=November 2009}}
⚫
*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)
{{reflist}}
⚫
*"The Times".


== Sources ==
⚫
{{start box}}
⚫
*M. Stenton and S. Lees, ''Who's Who of British MPs'', Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)
⚫
*''The Times''.

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-geoffrey-hirst | Geoffrey Hirst }}

⚫
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
{{succession box
| title=[[Member of Parliament]] for [[Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)|Shipley]]
| title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)|Shipley]]
| years=[[United Kingdom general election, 1950|1950]]&ndash;[[United Kingdom general election, 1970|1970]]
| years = [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]] – [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]]
| before=[[Arthur Creech Jones]]
| before = [[Arthur Creech Jones]]
| after=[[Marcus Fox]]}}
| after = [[Marcus Fox]]
}}
{{end box}}
{{s-end}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirst, Geoffrey}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirst, Geoffrey}}

[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Conservative MPs (UK)]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Old Carthusians]]
[[Category:Royal Artillery officers]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1950-1951]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1950–1951]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1951-1955]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1951–1955]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1955-1959]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1955–1959]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1959-1964]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1959–1964]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1964-1966]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1964–1966]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966-1970]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]

Latest revision as of 21:08, 1 December 2023

Geoffrey Hirst
TD
Member of Parliament
for Shipley
In office
23 February 1950 – 18 June 1970
Preceded byArthur Creech Jones
Succeeded byMarcus Fox
Personal details
Born(1904-12-14)14 December 1904
Died18 June 1984(1984-06-18) (aged 79)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
ProfessionIndustrialist

Geoffrey Audus Nicholson Hirst TD (14 December 1904 – 18 June 1984) was a British industrialist and politician who was a maverick Conservative Member of Parliament.

Early career

[edit]

Hirst, from a Yorkshire military family, was educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, Cambridge.[1] He went into industry, becoming President of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce; he was also Chairman of the East and West Ridings Yorkshire Regional Council of the Federation of British Industries.

Parliament

[edit]

During the Second World War, Hirst served with the Royal Artillery (he had been a member of the Territorial Army before it). At the 1950 general election, Hirst was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Shipley. He remained on the backbenches, although he did become Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Trade and Industry Committee. He often raised the issue of the textiles industry.

Political activities

[edit]

Hirst was a right-winger and supported an aggressive policy over the Suez Canal in 1956. When the Treasury Ministers Peter Thorneycroft, Enoch Powell and Nigel Birch resigned in 1958 after failing to win backing for spending cuts, Hirst said he was considering resigning the Conservative whip in sympathy with them. He did not go through with this idea, but his constituency association gave backing to him.

In June 1963, Hirst called for "a new and younger leadership" for the government before the next general election, an indirect call for Harold Macmillan to resign. During the Alec Douglas-Home government, Hirst objected to Edward Heath's bill to abolish resale price controls, and jibed that the reason the negotiations for the United Kingdom to join the European Economic Community had failed was that there was no room in Europe for two de Gaulles.

Resigning the whip

[edit]

With Heath as Conservative Party leader after 1965, Hirst became even more disillusioned. Following the 1966 general election, he launched a single-handed campaign against the Wilson government's Prices and Incomes Bill. On 10 July 1966 he announced that he would no longer receive the Conservative whip because the party would not vote against the Bill. He sat through the rest of the Parliament as an Independent Conservative, but did not attempt to retain his seat at the 1970 general election.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "HIRST, Geoffrey Audus Nicholson". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Sources

[edit]
  • M. Stenton and S. Lees, Who's Who of British MPs, Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)
  • The Times.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Shipley
1950 – 1970 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_Hirst&oldid=1187853149"