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{{Short description|British politician (1935–2016)}}
⚫
{{Infobox Politician
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
⚫
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Lord Roper
| name = The Lord Roper
| honorific-suffix =
| honorific-suffix = [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]]
| image =
| image = Lord Roper 2014.png
| birthname = John Francis Hodgess Roper
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1935|10|09|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|09|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place =
⚫
| constituency_MP = [[Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Farnworth]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|01|29|1935|09|10|df=yes}}
| majority =
| order1 = [[Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats#House_of_Lords|Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords]]
| term_start = 1970
⚫
| term_start1 = 7 June 2001
| term_end = 1983
| term_end1 = 5 May 2005
| predecessor = [[Ernest Thornton]]
| leader1 = [[Charles Kennedy]]
| successor = Constituency abolished
| predecessor1 = [[John Harris, Baron Harris of Greenwich|The Lord Harris of Greenwich]]
⚫
|order2 = [[Chief Whip]], Social Democrat Party
| successor1 = [[David Shutt, Baron Shutt of Greetland|The Lord Shutt of Greetland]]
⚫
|term_start2 = 1981
⚫
| order2 = Director, [[European Union Institute for Security Studies|Institute for Security Studies of Western European Union]]
⚫
|term_end2 = 1983
⚫
| term_start2 = April 1990
|primeminister2 =
|predecessor2 =
| term_end2 = September 1995
|successor2 =
| predecessor2 =
⚫
| successor2 =
⚫
|order3 = Director, [[European Union Institute for Security Studies|Institute for Security Studies of Western European Union]]
⚫
| order3 = [[SDP Chief Whip|Chief Whip, Social Democrat Party]]
|term_start3 = April 1990
|term_end3 = September 1995
| term_start3 = 26 March 1981
⚫
| term_end3 = 9 June 1983
|primeminister3 =
|predecessor3 =
| leader3 = [[Roy Jenkins]]
| predecessor3 = Office Created
⚫
|successor3 =
| successor3 = [[John Cartwright (British politician)|John Cartwright]]
⚫
|order4 = [[Chief Whip]], Liberal Democrats
⚫
| constituency_MP4 = [[Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Farnworth]]
⚫
|term_start4 = 2001
|term_end4 = May 2005
| term_start4 = 18 June 1970
| term_end4 = 9 June 1983
|primeminister4 =
|predecessor4 =
| predecessor4 = [[Ernest Thornton]]
|successor4 =
| successor4 = Constituency abolished
| alma_mater = [[Magdalen College, Oxford]]; [[University of Chicago]]
| alma_mater = [[Magdalen College, Oxford]]; [[University of Chicago]]
⚫
| party = [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]
| website =
| otherparty = {{plainlist|*[[Labour Co-operative]] (1970-81)
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] (1970-81); [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (1981-88); [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] (1988-)
⚫
*[[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (1981-88)}}
}}
}}


'''John Francis Hodgess Roper, Baron Roper''' (born 10 September 1935), is a British politician.
'''John Francis Hodgess Roper, Baron Roper''' [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]] (10 September 1935 – 29 January 2016)<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-35443826|title=Ex-Liberal Democrat chief whip Lord Roper dies aged 80|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=29 January 2016|accessdate=29 January 2016}}</ref> was a British [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] politician.


==Early life==
John Roper was educated at [[William Hulme's Grammar School]] ([[Manchester]]), [[Reading School]], [[Magdalen College, Oxford]] (studying [[Philosophy, Politics and Economics|PPE]]), and the [[University of Chicago]].
Roper was educated at [[William Hulme's Grammar School]] ([[Manchester]]), [[Reading School]], [[Magdalen College, Oxford]] (studying [[Philosophy, Politics and Economics]] (PPE) and the [[University of Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/mar/31/lordreform.constitution1|title=The new intake - no2|last1=Hartley-Brewer|first1=Julia|last2=Woodward|first2=Will|date=2000-03-31|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref> He began his career as an [[economics]] lecturer at the [[University of Manchester]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/former-mp-lord-roper-dies-10811100|title=Former MP Lord Roper dies following long battle with illness, aged 80|last=Fitzgerald|first=Todd|date=2016-01-29|work=men|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref>


==Political career==
⚫
Roper started his career as an [[economics]] lecturer at the [[University of Manchester]]. He then went into [[politics]] and was elected [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Farnworth]]. He sat as a [[Labour Co-operative]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] (1970&ndash;81) and for the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP) from 1981 to 1983, when he was also the party's [[Chief Whip]]. His Farnworth seat was subsequently abolished, and he contested [[Worsley (UK Parliament constituency)|Worsley]] at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1983|1983 general election]], finishing third in a three-way marginal.
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2016}}
Roper first stood for Parliament for [[High Peak (UK Parliament constituency)|High Peak]] as a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] candidate at the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]], but the Conservative [[David Walder]] retained the marginal seat. He was elected [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Farnworth]] at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/mar/31/lordreform.constitution1|title=The new intake - no2|last1=Hartley-Brewer|first1=Julia|last2=Woodward|first2=Will|date=2000-03-31|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref> In 1972 he acted as an unofficial whip for [[pro-European]] Labour MPs to help pass the [[Heath government]]'s [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/07/lord-roper-obituary "Lord Roper obituary"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 7 February 2016.</ref>


⚫
He sat as a [[Labour Co-operative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] (1970–81) and for the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP) from 1981 to 1983, when he was also the party's [[Chief Whip]]. His Farnworth seat was subsequently abolished, and he contested [[Worsley (UK Parliament constituency)|Worsley]] (which contained parts of the abolished Farnworth constituency) in the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], finishing third in a three-way marginal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lord-roper-of-thorney-island-7lpwqmqb6|title=Lord Roper of Thorney Island|date=2016-02-23|work=The Times|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>
⚫
Since 2000 he has been a [[Life peer]] as '''Baron Roper''', of Thorney Island in the [[City of Westminster]]. He was the [[Liberal Democrats|Liberal Democrat]] Chief Whip in the [[House of Lords]] until 2005. He was subsequently appointed to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]. In 2008, he was elected Principal Deputy [[Chairman of Committees (House of Lords)|Chairman of Committees]].


==House of Lords==
⚫
He has controversially been accused by [[Anthony Glees]] of being a [[Stasi]] "[[espionage|agent]] of some influence" during his time at [[Chatham House]].<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,991533,00.html "History on the rack"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', July 5, 2003</ref><ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no4/article09.html"The Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf"] by Hayden B. Peake, ''[[Central Intelligence Agency]]'', April 14, 2007</ref> Lord Roper rejects the charge indignantly. He says he was engaged in building bridges with East Germany in the 1980s as part of a Foreign Office-approved policy of thawing relations.
⚫
On 12 May 2000, he was created a [[Life peer]] as '''Baron Roper''', of [[Thorney Island (Westminster)|Thorney Island]] in the [[City of Westminster]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=55850|date=17 May 2000|page=5419}}</ref> He was the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] Chief Whip in the [[House of Lords]] until 2005. He was subsequently appointed to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]. In 2008, he was elected Principal Deputy [[Chairman of Committees (House of Lords)|Chairman of Committees]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/john_roper|title=John Roper|work=Liberal Democrats|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en}}</ref> He retired from the House of Lords on 23 May 2015.<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/retired-lords Profile], parliament.uk; accessed 29 January 2016.</ref>


==Allegations==
⚫
"He was deceived, he says, about the background of an undercover Stasi officer he employed as a research fellow when he was director of studies at Chatham House." <ref>[http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,,975079,00.html "The history men fall out over tales of spying, betrayal and buffoonery"] by David Leigh, ''[[The Guardian]]'', June 11, 2003</ref>
===Stasi allegations===
⚫
Roper was wrongfully accused by author Anthony Glees of having been a [[Stasi]] "[[espionage|agent]] of some influence" during his time at [[Chatham House]].<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,991533,00.html "History on the rack"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 5 July 2003.</ref><ref>Hayden B. Peake, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070613114219/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no4/article09.html "The Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf"], ''[[Central Intelligence Agency]]'', 14 April 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q18sAQAAMAAJ&q=John+Roper|title=The Stasi Files: East Germany's Secret Operations Against Britain|last=Glees|first=Anthony|publisher=Simon & Schuster UK|isbn=9780743231053|date=2 February 2004}}</ref>

⚫
Roper rejected the charges and said that he was engaged in building bridges with [[East Germany]] in the 1980s as part of a Foreign Office-approved policy of thawing relations. "He was deceived, he says, about the background of an undercover Stasi officer he employed as a research fellow when he was director of studies at Chatham House".<ref>David Leigh, [http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,,975079,00.html "The history men fall out over tales of spying, betrayal and buffoonery"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 11 June 2003.</ref>

==Personal life==
Roper was married to Hope Edwards from 1959 until her death in 2003. She was the daughter of [[John Edwards (British Labour politician)|John Edwards]], a former Health and Treasury Minister under [[Clement Attlee]]. They had one daughter, Kate Stewart Roper (originally Kate Roper). He also had 3 grandchildren. <ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/07/lord-roper-obituary "Lord Roper obituary"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 7 February 2016.</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
==External links==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-john-roper | John Roper }}
* {{Hansard-contribs|mr-john-roper|John Roper}}
*[http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/mr-lord-roper.html Lord Roper] profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060112014154/http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/mr-lord-roper.html Lord Roper profile], libdems.org.uk
*[http://www.roperld.com/RoperLord.htm Whos Who 2002 entry]
*[http://www.roperld.com/RoperLord.htm Who's Who 2002 entry]


{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
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{{s-bef | before = [[Ernest Thornton]] }}
{{s-bef | before = [[Ernest Thornton]] }}
{{s-ttl
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Farnworth]]
| title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Farnworth]]
| years = [[United Kingdom general election, 1970|1970]]&ndash;[[United Kingdom general election, 1983|1983]]
| years = [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]]–[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]
}}
}}
{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }}
{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box|title=Treasurer of the [[Fabian Society]]|years=1976–1981|before=[[Giles Radice]]|after=[[Brian Abel-Smith]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}


{{Fabian Society}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME =Roper, John
{{Authority control}}
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =

| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British politician
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, John Roper, Baron}}
| DATE OF BIRTH =9 October 1935
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, John}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:British economists]]
[[Category:British economists]]
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Liberal Democrat life peers]]
[[Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People educated at Reading School]]
[[Category:People educated at Reading School]]
[[Category:Labour Co-operative MPs]]
[[Category:Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
⚫
[[Category:Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:Council and directors of Chatham House]]
[[Category:Treasurers of the Fabian Society]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014]]

Latest revision as of 22:51, 29 December 2023

The Right Honourable
The Lord Roper
PC
Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
In office
7 June 2001 – 5 May 2005
LeaderCharles Kennedy
Preceded byThe Lord Harris of Greenwich
Succeeded byThe Lord Shutt of Greetland
Director, Institute for Security Studies of Western European Union
In office
April 1990 – September 1995
Chief Whip, Social Democrat Party
In office
26 March 1981 – 9 June 1983
LeaderRoy Jenkins
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byJohn Cartwright
Member of Parliament
for Farnworth
In office
18 June 1970 – 9 June 1983
Preceded byErnest Thornton
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
John Francis Hodgess Roper

(1935-09-10)10 September 1935
Died29 January 2016(2016-01-29) (aged 80)
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Other political
affiliations
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford; University of Chicago

John Francis Hodgess Roper, Baron Roper PC (10 September 1935 – 29 January 2016)[1] was a British Liberal Democrat politician.

Early life

[edit]

Roper was educated at William Hulme's Grammar School (Manchester), Reading School, Magdalen College, Oxford (studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and the University of Chicago.[2] He began his career as an economics lecturer at the University of Manchester.[3]

Political career

[edit]

Roper first stood for Parliament for High Peak as a Labour candidate at the 1964 general election, but the Conservative David Walder retained the marginal seat. He was elected Member of Parliament for Farnworth at the 1970 general election.[4] In 1972 he acted as an unofficial whip for pro-European Labour MPs to help pass the Heath government's European Communities Act.[5]

He sat as a Labour Co-operative MP (1970–81) and for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from 1981 to 1983, when he was also the party's Chief Whip. His Farnworth seat was subsequently abolished, and he contested Worsley (which contained parts of the abolished Farnworth constituency) in the 1983 general election, finishing third in a three-way marginal.[6]

House of Lords

[edit]

On 12 May 2000, he was created a Life peer as Baron Roper, of Thorney Island in the City of Westminster.[7] He was the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Lords until 2005. He was subsequently appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. In 2008, he was elected Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees.[8] He retired from the House of Lords on 23 May 2015.[9]

Allegations

[edit]

Stasi allegations

[edit]

Roper was wrongfully accused by author Anthony Glees of having been a Stasi "agent of some influence" during his time at Chatham House.[10][11][12]

Roper rejected the charges and said that he was engaged in building bridges with East Germany in the 1980s as part of a Foreign Office-approved policy of thawing relations. "He was deceived, he says, about the background of an undercover Stasi officer he employed as a research fellow when he was director of studies at Chatham House".[13]

Personal life

[edit]

Roper was married to Hope Edwards from 1959 until her death in 2003. She was the daughter of John Edwards, a former Health and Treasury Minister under Clement Attlee. They had one daughter, Kate Stewart Roper (originally Kate Roper). He also had 3 grandchildren. [14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ex-Liberal Democrat chief whip Lord Roper dies aged 80". BBC. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. ^ Hartley-Brewer, Julia; Woodward, Will (31 March 2000). "The new intake - no2". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  3. ^ Fitzgerald, Todd (29 January 2016). "Former MP Lord Roper dies following long battle with illness, aged 80". men. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  4. ^ Hartley-Brewer, Julia; Woodward, Will (31 March 2000). "The new intake - no2". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Lord Roper obituary", The Guardian, 7 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Lord Roper of Thorney Island". The Times. 23 February 2016. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  7. ^ "No. 55850". The London Gazette. 17 May 2000. p. 5419.
  8. ^ "John Roper". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  9. ^ Profile, parliament.uk; accessed 29 January 2016.
  10. ^ "History on the rack", The Guardian, 5 July 2003.
  11. ^ Hayden B. Peake, "The Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf", Central Intelligence Agency, 14 April 2007.
  12. ^ Glees, Anthony (2 February 2004). The Stasi Files: East Germany's Secret Operations Against Britain. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 9780743231053.
  13. ^ David Leigh, "The history men fall out over tales of spying, betrayal and buffoonery", The Guardian, 11 June 2003.
  14. ^ "Lord Roper obituary", The Guardian, 7 February 2016.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Farnworth
1970–1983 		Constituency abolished
Party political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of the Fabian Society
1976–1981 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=John_Roper,_Baron_Roper&oldid=1192538447"