Bernard Weatherill
Encyclopedia
Bruce Bernard Weatherill, Baron Weatherill, PC
, DL
, KStJ
(25 November 1920 – 6 May 2007) was a British
Conservative Party
politician who became Speaker of the House of Commons.
, he was apprenticed at age 17 as a tailor
to the family firm Bernard Weatherill Ltd, Sporting Tailors, later of Savile Row
. He later became Director (1948), then Managing Director (1958), then Chairman (1967) of the business. After it merged with Kilgour French & Stanbury Ltd., Tailors in 1969, he became Chairman of the combined firms. He resumed his role with the company after his retirement from the House of Commons in 1992, serving as President until the firm was acquired by others in 2003. Some of the clothes he designed are preserved in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum
and other museum collections.
Following his mother's advice, he always carried his tailoring thimble
in his pocket as a reminder of his trade origins and the need for humility, no matter how high one rises. He said that he desired his epitaph
to be "He always kept his word."
Regiment of the British Army
, a few days after the start of World War II
, Weatherill was commissioned into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in May 1941 and reached the rank of Captain three years after that. He was attached to 19th King George V's Own Lancers
, Indian Army
, after being posted to Burma. After seeing the Bengal Famine
of 1943, he became a vegetarian. A year after the end of the war, he was discharged, having served for seven years.
on 15 October 1964 for Croydon North East
as a Conservative
. He became a party whip
only three years later, and deputy Chief Whip
six years after that. He was re-elected seven times to the same parliamentary seat until his retirement in 1992.
From October 1971 to April 1973, Weatherill was Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household
. This office is usually held by a Government whip, as Weatherill then was. As Vice-Chamberlain, he wrote a letter (hand-carried by messenger, or sent by telegram) directly to the Queen at the end of each day the House of Commons met, describing the debates, reactions, and political gossip of the day. His letters are believed to have been more entertaining to the Queen than the debates themselves.
It has recently been revealed that in 1979, Weatherill played a critical role in the defeat of the Labour
government in the vote of confidence. As the vote loomed, Labour's deputy Chief Whip, Walter Harrison
approached Weatherill to enforce the convention and "gentleman's agreement" that if a sick MP from the Government could not vote, an MP from the Opposition would abstain to compensate. The Labour MP Alfred Broughton
was on his deathbed and could not vote, meaning the Government would probably lose by one vote. Weatherill said that the convention had never been intended for such a critical vote that literally meant the life or death of the Government, and it would be impossible to find a Conservative MP who would agree to abstain. However, after a moment's reflection, he offered that he himself would abstain, because he felt it would be dishonourable to break his word with Harrison. Walter Harrison was so impressed by Weatherill's offer - which would have effectively ended his political career - that he released Weatherill from his obligation, and so the Government fell by one vote on the agreement of gentlemen.
, he became widely known throughout the English-speaking world due to the regular international rebroadcasts of Prime Minister's Questions
.
He was the last speaker to wear a wig while in the chair. He commented that the wig is a wonderful device that allows the speaker to pretend not to hear some things. He presided over the House with wit and humour, always honouring the traditions of the House and protecting the rights of backbenchers and members of the opposition parties. He also enforced the rights of Parliament to be publicly told of government policies before they were announced to the press or elsewhere. A portrait by Robin-Lee Hall of Speaker Weatherill hangs in Portcullis House
.
that same year, as Baron Weatherill, of North East Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon. As is customary for former speakers, the government put before the House of Commons an address to the Queen, asking that Weatherill be appointed a peer as a mark of "royal favour". Given a rare opportunity to discuss constitutional arrangements relating to the monarch and the Upper House, left-wing members of Parliament forced a debate on the petition.
It was reported in several newspapers that Weatherill would be granted an earldom, The Earl of Wetheral. This did not come to fruition.
He sat in the House of Lords
as a crossbencher.
In 1993, he was elected alternate convenor of the crossbenchers, and was a convenor from 1995 until 1999. In the House of Lords he made a major contribution to the House of Lords Act 1999
by stitching together the compromise that allowed a limited number of hereditary peers to remain as members.
In 2006, he became Patron of the Better Off Out
campaign, calling for Britain to leave the European Union.
(born 1951) and H. Bruce (born 1953) and daughter Virginia (born 1955). Weatherill was known as "Jack", while his twin sister (baptismal name Margery) was called "Jill".
He became a Freeman of the City of London
in 1949, and of the Borough of Croydon
in 1983.
He was a member of three City of London Livery Companies: the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
, the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths
, and the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers
.
He was sworn of the Privy Council
in 1980.
In 1989, he succeeded the Lord Blake
as High Bailiff and Searcher of the Sanctuary of Westminster Abbey
. He resigned both of those offices at the end of 1998 in protest of the manner in which the Dean and Chapter dealt with terminating the employment of the organist. He was succeeded by Sir Roy Strong
.
He was Vice-Chancellor of the British charitable Order of St John of Jerusalem
from 1983 through 2000, and was a knight thereof from 1992.
An Urdu-speaker, he was decorated with the Hilal-i-Pakistan (Crescent of Pakistan, second class
) by the government of Pakistan
in 1993.
In 1994, he was named a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent
.
Lord Weatherill was a member of the European Reform Forum
.
Weatherill was an advocate for vegetarianism and appeared at the first Vegetarian Rally in Hyde Park
in 1990, alongside Tony Benn
. He once stated; "as a life long vegetarian I believe that since man cannot give life he has no moral right to take it away".
In 2005, he announced he was suffering from prostate cancer. On 6 May 2007, he died at the age of 86 in the Marie Curie
Community Hospice in Caterham
, Surrey
after a short illness.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, KStJ
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
(25 November 1920 – 6 May 2007) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician who became Speaker of the House of Commons.
Tailor
After attending Malvern CollegeMalvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
, he was apprenticed at age 17 as a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
to the family firm Bernard Weatherill Ltd, Sporting Tailors, later of Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
. He later became Director (1948), then Managing Director (1958), then Chairman (1967) of the business. After it merged with Kilgour French & Stanbury Ltd., Tailors in 1969, he became Chairman of the combined firms. He resumed his role with the company after his retirement from the House of Commons in 1992, serving as President until the firm was acquired by others in 2003. Some of the clothes he designed are preserved in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
and other museum collections.
Following his mother's advice, he always carried his tailoring thimble
Thimble
A thimble is a small hard pitted cup worn for protection on the finger that pushes the needle in sewing.The earliest known thimble was Roman and was found at Pompeii. Made of bronze, its creation has been dated to the 1st century AD...
in his pocket as a reminder of his trade origins and the need for humility, no matter how high one rises. He said that he desired his epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
to be "He always kept his word."
British Army
Enlisting as a private in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light InfantryOxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
Regiment of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, a few days after the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Weatherill was commissioned into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in May 1941 and reached the rank of Captain three years after that. He was attached to 19th King George V's Own Lancers
19th King George's Own Lancers
The 19th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Before 1956, it was known as 19th King George V's Own Lancers, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, by the amalgamation of 18th King George's Own Lancers and 19th Lancers...
, Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, after being posted to Burma. After seeing the Bengal Famine
Bengal famine of 1943
The Bengal famine of 1943 struck the Bengal. Province of pre-partition India. Estimates are that between 1.5 and 4 million people died of starvation, malnutrition and disease, out of Bengal’s 60.3 million population, half of them dying from disease after food became available in December 1943 As...
of 1943, he became a vegetarian. A year after the end of the war, he was discharged, having served for seven years.
Member of Parliament
He was elected a Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
on 15 October 1964 for Croydon North East
Croydon North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Croydon North East was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
as a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. He became a party whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
only three years later, and deputy Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
six years after that. He was re-elected seven times to the same parliamentary seat until his retirement in 1992.
From October 1971 to April 1973, Weatherill was Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...
. This office is usually held by a Government whip, as Weatherill then was. As Vice-Chamberlain, he wrote a letter (hand-carried by messenger, or sent by telegram) directly to the Queen at the end of each day the House of Commons met, describing the debates, reactions, and political gossip of the day. His letters are believed to have been more entertaining to the Queen than the debates themselves.
It has recently been revealed that in 1979, Weatherill played a critical role in the defeat of the Labour
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...
government in the vote of confidence. As the vote loomed, Labour's deputy Chief Whip, Walter Harrison
Walter Harrison
Walter Harrison is a British Labour politician.Harrison was educated at Dewsbury Technical College and School of Art. He was a foreman electrician and was active in the Electricians' Trade Union...
approached Weatherill to enforce the convention and "gentleman's agreement" that if a sick MP from the Government could not vote, an MP from the Opposition would abstain to compensate. The Labour MP Alfred Broughton
Alfred Broughton
Sir Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton was a British Labour Party politician.Broughton was educated at Rossall School, Downing College, Cambridge and the London Hospital and became a doctor, a member of a family who had been Batley doctors for 70 years. During World War II he worked in civil...
was on his deathbed and could not vote, meaning the Government would probably lose by one vote. Weatherill said that the convention had never been intended for such a critical vote that literally meant the life or death of the Government, and it would be impossible to find a Conservative MP who would agree to abstain. However, after a moment's reflection, he offered that he himself would abstain, because he felt it would be dishonourable to break his word with Harrison. Walter Harrison was so impressed by Weatherill's offer - which would have effectively ended his political career - that he released Weatherill from his obligation, and so the Government fell by one vote on the agreement of gentlemen.
Elected as Speaker
He served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1983 to 1992. As Speaker at the time television cameras were first allowed to cover proceedings in the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, he became widely known throughout the English-speaking world due to the regular international rebroadcasts of Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
.
He was the last speaker to wear a wig while in the chair. He commented that the wig is a wonderful device that allows the speaker to pretend not to hear some things. He presided over the House with wit and humour, always honouring the traditions of the House and protecting the rights of backbenchers and members of the opposition parties. He also enforced the rights of Parliament to be publicly told of government policies before they were announced to the press or elsewhere. A portrait by Robin-Lee Hall of Speaker Weatherill hangs in Portcullis House
Portcullis House
Portcullis House is an office building in Westminster, London, UK, that was commissioned in 1992 and opened in 2001 to provide offices for 213 Members of Parliament and their staff, augmenting limited space in the Palace of Westminster and surroundings....
.
Life Peer
He stood down in 1992, and was made a life peerLife peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
that same year, as Baron Weatherill, of North East Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon. As is customary for former speakers, the government put before the House of Commons an address to the Queen, asking that Weatherill be appointed a peer as a mark of "royal favour". Given a rare opportunity to discuss constitutional arrangements relating to the monarch and the Upper House, left-wing members of Parliament forced a debate on the petition.
It was reported in several newspapers that Weatherill would be granted an earldom, The Earl of Wetheral. This did not come to fruition.
He sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as a crossbencher.
In 1993, he was elected alternate convenor of the crossbenchers, and was a convenor from 1995 until 1999. In the House of Lords he made a major contribution to the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
by stitching together the compromise that allowed a limited number of hereditary peers to remain as members.
In 2006, he became Patron of the Better Off Out
Better Off Out
Better Off Out is the name of a non-party campaign run by The Freedom Association to call for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union...
campaign, calling for Britain to leave the European Union.
Personal life
He was the son of Bernard Bruce Weatherill (1883–1962) and Annie Gertrude Weatherill (née Creak) (1886–1966). He married Lyn Eatwell (1928–) in 1949 and they had 3 children: sons Bernard R., QCQueen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(born 1951) and H. Bruce (born 1953) and daughter Virginia (born 1955). Weatherill was known as "Jack", while his twin sister (baptismal name Margery) was called "Jill".
He became a Freeman of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
in 1949, and of the Borough of Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
in 1983.
He was a member of three City of London Livery Companies: the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London.The Company, originally known as the Guild and Fraternity of St...
, the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths
Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths
The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation was first mentioned in a court record in 1299. A Royal Charter officially granting it the status of Company was granted in 1571. The Company originally had the right to set regulations and...
, and the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers
Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers
The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers were incorporated by Royal Charter in 1693; the City granted it the status of a Livery Company in 1780...
.
He was sworn of the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1980.
In 1989, he succeeded the Lord Blake
Robert Blake, Baron Blake
Robert Norman William Blake, Baron Blake was an English historian. He is best known for his 1966 biography of Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, and for The Conservative Party from Peel to Churchill, which grew out of his 1968 Ford lectures...
as High Bailiff and Searcher of the Sanctuary of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. He resigned both of those offices at the end of 1998 in protest of the manner in which the Dean and Chapter dealt with terminating the employment of the organist. He was succeeded by Sir Roy Strong
Roy Strong
Sir Roy Colin Strong FRSL is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has been director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London...
.
He was Vice-Chancellor of the British charitable Order of St John of Jerusalem
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
from 1983 through 2000, and was a knight thereof from 1992.
An Urdu-speaker, he was decorated with the Hilal-i-Pakistan (Crescent of Pakistan, second class
Civil decorations of Pakistan
The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent Republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following...
) by the government of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1993.
In 1994, he was named a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Lord Weatherill was a member of the European Reform Forum
European Reform Forum
The European Reform Forum is a committee of senior British politicians, journalists, academics, and businessmen who are seeking to produce a report on the future direction of the European Union. The members are drawn predominantly from a Conservative background. It was launched on 30 June 2005 in...
.
Weatherill was an advocate for vegetarianism and appeared at the first Vegetarian Rally in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in 1990, alongside 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...
. He once stated; "as a life long vegetarian I believe that since man cannot give life he has no moral right to take it away".
In 2005, he announced he was suffering from prostate cancer. On 6 May 2007, he died at the age of 86 in the Marie Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
Community Hospice in Caterham
Caterham
Caterham is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is geographically divided into two sections: Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley - the main town centre. The town lies close to the A22, a few miles south of Croydon, in a valley cut into the dip slope of the North Downs...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
after a short illness.