Michael Shersby

Shersby was born to William (Bill) and Elinor Shersby (Nora, née Fuller) at their home 9 Court Road, Ickenham (a Greater London area later in his seat in the House of Commons) on 17 February 1933. Christened Julian Michael, he was known primarily as Michael by the age of ten. He had siblings: Dick (also known as Harold), Marjorie and Brian Shersby. His father advanced in the Port of London Authority to be a manager.[1]

He attended Breakspear primary school[1] and was later, like his siblings sat entrance exams for and was funded to attend independent school. Shersby attended The John Lyon School, in Harrow. Shersby left school at 16, in 1949 starting work in a humble clerical position at a company in London. He lived with family in Ickenham until at 25 he married Barbara Barrow of West Drayton and they moved to London. He qualified as a trained Conservative party agent during the 1950s and worked in that capacity during his early 20s before joining the industrial film industry between 1958 and 1966. Between 1966 and 1988 he was Director General of the British Sugar Bureau, the industry's trade association.

Shersby's career as an elected political representative began in 1959 when he was first elected as a borough councillor on Paddington Borough Council for Maida Vale North ward and he then continued to serve for the Maida Vale ward of Westminster City Council from 1964 to 1970 after Paddington was subsumed into the new larger unitary Council's area. He served as Deputy Lord Mayor on Westminster City Council from 1967 to 1968.[2]

Shersby was first elected to Parliament at a 1972 by-election that followed the sudden death of Charles Curran, who had re-taken the seat for the Conservatives from Labour's John Ryan in the 1970 general election. This was a by-election Shersby had not been expected to win since it took place in the depths of unpopularity of the Heath Government and on the same night that Shersby was elected to Parliament (7 December 1972) the Conservatives lost the considerably safer seat of Sutton and Cheam by a large majority after a huge swing against the party there to the Liberal party. But in Uxbridge Shersby managed to hang on to a seat taken back from Labour for the Conservatives by Charles Curran in 1970, even though the majority fell from 1970's 3646 votes to a rather less comfortable 1,178 votes that night. His local roots as an Ickenham born lad probably helped him considerably in that election and over the years he consistently built up his majority to a high point of 15,970 votes in the 1987 general election by establishing a reputation as an extremely committed and hardworking backbench MP more interested in being able to pursue single issues he believed in rather than pursuing the trappings of power as a minister at what would have been the expense of his political independence.

He received an Honorary Doctorate from Brunel University in 1994[3] and was knighted in 1995 for his longstanding years of service in Parliament [4]

Since at least 1920s he holds a record. This is the parliamentarian who has introduced the most of their own tabled bills (eight) to become law.[5] Many of these he was the named sponsor, to bring attention to their importance, thus survive tight parliamentary timetabling rules.[5]

Resulting Acts

• Town and Country Amenities Act 1974
• Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1974
• Stock Exchange (Completion of Bargains) Act 1975-76
• Gaming (Amendment) Act 1979-80
• Copyright Act 1956 (Amendment) Act 1981-82
• British Nationality (Falkland Islands) 1982-83
• Firearms (Amendment) 1993-94
• Pharmacists (Fitness To Practice) Act 1996-97

Following a meeting with the Yorkshire Police Federation, Shersby was invited to assist in the development of a ‘counter attack’ to ‘repudiate’ Lord Justice Taylor's Interim Report, which had condemned the evidence and testimony of senior police officers and rejected as exaggerated the allegations made against Liverpool fans. Taylor LJ stated categorically that fans’ behaviour played no part in the disaster. The Police Federation considered the Interim Report unfair and unbalanced.[6] His acts, if any, as Parliamentary Adviser to the Police Federation following the Hillsborough disaster, per the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report, are unknown.[6]

After nearly 25 years in Parliament, Shersby died at the age of 64 from a heart attack, only seven days after being re-elected to Parliament in the 1997 general election. The resulting by-election was won by local department store owner John Randall.

Sir Michael was survived by his wife of 39 years (Barbara) and his two children, Julian and Lucy. Lucy stood as Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Battersea in the 2001 general election but was not elected while Julian served as a Conservative councillor on Mole Valley District Council between 1999 and 2006.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Michael Shersby