Bernard Ingham
Encyclopedia
Sir Bernard Ingham is a journalist and former civil servant who is best known as Margaret Thatcher
's Chief Press Secretary while she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
. Today Ingham lectures in Public Relations
at Middlesex University
in London. He is also secretary to Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE), a group of individuals who seek to promote nuclear power and he holds the position of Vice President of Country Guardian, an anti wind-energy campaign group.
Ingham is also a regular panellist on BBC current affairs programme Dateline London
.
Grammar School and joined the Hebden Bridge Times newspaper at the age of 16. He went on to work for the Yorkshire Evening Post
, the Yorkshire Post
, latterly as Northern Industrial Correspondent, and The Guardian
. While a reporter at the Yorkshire Post, Ingham was an active member of the National Union of Journalists and was vice chairman of the Leeds branch. He is also likely to have been anonymous and aggressively anti-Conservative columnist "Albion" for the Leeds Weekly Citizen – a Labour Party organ – from 1964 to 1967.
Ingham's father was a Labour Party
councillor and he was himself a member of the Labour Party until he joined the Civil Service
.
Ingham contested the safe Conservative Moortown
ward of Leeds
City Council in the 1965 council elections for the Labour party, having been nominated by the Fabian Society
.
, Robert Carr
, Maurice Macmillan, Lord Carrington
, Eric Varley
and Tony Benn
.
Although a career civil servant, Ingham gained a reputation for being a highly effective propagandist for the Thatcherite cause. The phrase spin doctor did not enter common parlance until after his retirement, but he was nevertheless a gifted exponent in what came to be known as the "black arts" of spin.
In those days, Downing Street briefings were "off the record," meaning that information given out by Ingham could be attributed only to "senior government sources." Occasionally he used this deniability to brief against the Government's own ministers, such as when he described the Leader of the House of Commons
John Biffen
as a "semi-detached" member of the Government. Biffen was dropped at the next reshuffle.
Ingham managed to stay out of the damaging Westland helicopter crisis
in 1986, correctly realising that any involvement by him would directly link Thatcher to the affair.
He was knighted
on Thatcher's resignation – and retirement – in 1990. His successor as Press Secretary was Sir Gus O'Donnell
, who went on to become Cabinet Secretary
and Head of the Civil Service in 2005.
sketch which she performed in public with Paul Eddington
and Nigel Hawthorne
.
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's Chief Press Secretary while she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. Today Ingham lectures in Public Relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
at Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
in London. He is also secretary to Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE), a group of individuals who seek to promote nuclear power and he holds the position of Vice President of Country Guardian, an anti wind-energy campaign group.
Ingham is also a regular panellist on BBC current affairs programme Dateline London
Dateline London
Dateline London is a weekly news discussion programme shown on both BBC News and BBC World News. The programme, presented by Gavin Esler, with Nik Gowing and Lyse Doucet acting as relief presenters, features a roundtable panel of foreign and British journalists who discuss the week's top news...
.
Background
Ingham was educated at Hebden BridgeHebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
Grammar School and joined the Hebden Bridge Times newspaper at the age of 16. He went on to work for the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, the Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
, latterly as Northern Industrial Correspondent, and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. While a reporter at the Yorkshire Post, Ingham was an active member of the National Union of Journalists and was vice chairman of the Leeds branch. He is also likely to have been anonymous and aggressively anti-Conservative columnist "Albion" for the Leeds Weekly Citizen – a Labour Party organ – from 1964 to 1967.
Ingham's father was a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
councillor and he was himself a member of the Labour Party until he joined the Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
.
Ingham contested the safe Conservative Moortown
Moortown, Leeds
Moortown is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in the LS17 postcode area. It is a civil parish and electoral ward in the north of the city. It is situated between Roundhay and Brackenwood on the east and Weetwood on the west, with Chapel Allerton to the south, and Alwoodley to the north...
ward of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
City Council in the 1965 council elections for the Labour party, having been nominated by the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
.
Press secretary to Margaret Thatcher
Ingham spent 11 years as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Chief Press Secretary in No. 10 Downing Street. In 1989–90 he was also Head of the Government Information Service. In the course of his Civil Service career he was also press secretary to Barbara CastleBarbara Castle
Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn , PC, GCOT was a British Labour Party politician....
, Robert Carr
Robert Carr
Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, PC is a British Conservative politician.Robert Carr was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he read Natural Sciences, graduating in 1938....
, Maurice Macmillan, Lord Carrington
Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, is a British Conservative politician. He served as British Foreign Secretary between 1979 and 1982 and as the sixth Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He is the last surviving member of the Cabinets of both Harold Macmillan and Sir...
, Eric Varley
Eric Varley
Eric Graham Varley, Baron Varley, PC was an English politician and former Cabinet Minister on the right wing of the Labour Party....
and Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
.
Although a career civil servant, Ingham gained a reputation for being a highly effective propagandist for the Thatcherite cause. The phrase spin doctor did not enter common parlance until after his retirement, but he was nevertheless a gifted exponent in what came to be known as the "black arts" of spin.
In those days, Downing Street briefings were "off the record," meaning that information given out by Ingham could be attributed only to "senior government sources." Occasionally he used this deniability to brief against the Government's own ministers, such as when he described the Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
John Biffen
John Biffen
William John Biffen, Baron Biffen, PC, DL , was a Conservative member of the House of Lords, who previously spent 36 years in the House of Commons.-Early life:...
as a "semi-detached" member of the Government. Biffen was dropped at the next reshuffle.
Ingham managed to stay out of the damaging Westland helicopter crisis
Westland affair
The Westland affair was a political scandal for the British Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1986. The argument was a result of differences of opinion within the government as to the future of the United Kingdom helicopter industry. The struggling Westland company, Britain's last...
in 1986, correctly realising that any involvement by him would directly link Thatcher to the affair.
He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
on Thatcher's resignation – and retirement – in 1990. His successor as Press Secretary was Sir Gus O'Donnell
Gus O'Donnell
Sir Augustine Thomas "Gus" O'Donnell GCB is a British civil servant, who is the current Cabinet Secretary, the highest rank in the British Civil Service. He is consequently, under current practice, Head of the Civil Service, which means he has authority over all civil servants except those who are...
, who went on to become Cabinet Secretary
Cabinet Secretary
A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...
and Head of the Civil Service in 2005.
Television script
Ingham helped Thatcher in the writing of the Yes MinisterYes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
sketch which she performed in public with Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington CBE was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s: The Good Life, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:...
and Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
.
Ancestry
Bernard Ingham's ancestry, revealing him to be of both Yorkshire and Lancashire stock, with one ancestral line from Staffordshire, was published in an article in the September 2006 issue of the UK genealogy magazine, Practical Family History. This article was researched and written by Roy Stockdill, an old friend of Ingham's when they both worked as young journalists in Halifax in the 1950s. It showed that the Inghams originally came from Manchester and Salford, but Bernard's grandfather Henry Ingham moved to the Calder Valley and Hebden Bridge. On his maternal side, Bernard's ancestors were mostly from Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall, while his maternal grandmother Jane Vernon descended from Staffordshire coal miners.Selected works
- Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman, 2001) ISBN 1855681935
- Kill the Messenger...Again (2003)