John Butcher (British politician)

John Patrick Butcher (13 February 1946 – 25 December 2006) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.

For other people named John Butcher, see John Butcher (disambiguation).

John Butcher
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science
In office
26 July 1988 – 24 July 1989
Preceded byBaroness Hooper
Succeeded byAlan Howarth
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
In office
14 June 1983 – 26 July 1988
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byEric Forth
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Industry
In office
6 April 1982 – 12 June 1983
Preceded byJohn Wakeham
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of Parliament
for Coventry South West
In office
3 May 1979 – 1 May 1997
Preceded byAudrey Wise
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Birmingham City Councillor
In office
1972–1978
Personal details
Born13 February 1946
Doncaster
Died25 December 2006
Lake District
CitizenshipBritish
Political partyConservative
Children3, including Jessica
EducationHuntingdon Grammar School
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham

Butcher was born in Doncaster but grew up in Huntingdonshire where he was educated at Huntingdon Grammar School and the University of Birmingham. He fought the seat of Birmingham Northfield in February 1974 and was a Birmingham City Councillor from 1972 until 1978.[1]

He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry South West from 1979 until 1997, when the seat was abolished by boundary changes. He was later chairman of Texas Instruments (1990–98) and the Institute of Directors (1997–2001).[1]

He was married with three children, including Jessica Butcher,[2] and despite living in Solihull was a common sight at the Carlton Club in London.

Westminster

Following his election in 1979, Butcher was appointed PPS to Leon Brittan in 1981 and became a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in 1982 at the Department of Trade. Butcher also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Education and Science between 1988 and 1989, after being moved from what was then called the Department of Trade and Industry.[1]

During his time as minister at the Department of Trade and Industry during the eighties he deregulated the mobile telephone market in the UK.[3]

After he left ministerial office he introduced the Property Misdescriptions Act, which aimed to curb "the more extravagant claims of estate agents".[3] He was also a euro-sceptic and was one of the Maastricht rebels who voted against the Government in 1993.[3]

After politics

When he left politics due to heart problems, which would eventually take his life, he became chairman of the Institute of Directors. In 1997, he became a director of Pertemps Group and two years later became a director of Phoenic Telecom. He even ran his own company, John Butcher Associates in the West Midlands.[4]

He died of heart failure at the age of 60, on Christmas Day 2006, at 1500 feet, beside Alcock Tarn in the Lake District with his three children.[5]

The initial John Butcher Memorial Lecture was held at University of Warwick on 19 March 2008. The first guest speaker was Michael Howard QC MP.[3]

Notes
  1. "John Butcher". The Independent. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  2. "Farewell to former city MP". Coventry Telegraph. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  3. "John Butcher". The Daily Telegraph. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  4. Pearce, Edward (30 December 2006). "John Butcher". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  5. "Ex-Coventry MP John Butcher dies". BBC News. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2019.

References
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Audrey Wise		 Member of Parliament for Coventry South West
1979–1997		 Constituency abolished
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