Francis Pym
Encyclopedia
Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, MC
, PC (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008), was a British
politician
. A member of the Conservative Party
, he served in various positions in the Cabinet
in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign Secretary
, Defence Secretary
, Northern Ireland Secretary
and Leader of the House of Commons
. He was Member of Parliament
(MP) representing the constituencies of Cambridgeshire
(1961–83) and South East Cambridgeshire (1983–87), and was made a life peer
in 1987.
in Monmouthshire
. He was educated at Eton College
, before going on to Cambridge University
(Magdalene College
).
For much of World War II
, Pym served in North Africa and Italy as a captain and regimental adjutant in the 9th Lancers. He was awarded the Military Cross
, and he ended his military service as a major
.
Pym was a managing director and landowner before he went into politics.
without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as Member of Parliament
for Cambridgeshire
. He held the seat until 1983, and was MP for Cambridgeshire South East 1983–87.
Pym was an Opposition whip
from 1964 and served under Edward Heath
as Government Chief Whip (1970–73) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
(1973–74), and Margaret Thatcher
as Defence Secretary (1979–81), Leader of the House of Commons
and Lord President of the Council
(1981–82). He became foreign secretary during the Falklands War
in 1982 following Lord Carrington's
resignation, but was removed by Margaret Thatcher
in 1983 after her second election victory.
He was a leading member of the Wets
during the Thatcher administration. During the 1983 general election
campaign he said on the BBC
's Question Time
that that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments". This was publicly repudiated by Margaret Thatcher
and he was sacked after the election. Shortly afterwards, he launched a pressure group called Conservative Centre Forward to argue for more centrist, One Nation
policies. But with Thatcher at the height of her powers, it was unsuccessful.
He stood down at the 1987 election
and was created a life peer
as Baron Pym, of Sandy in the County of Bedfordshire
. Pym was not a descendant of the 17th century Parliamentarian
John Pym
as has been commonly held. See Pym's own published family history. His father, Leslie Pym
, was also a Member of Parliament; his grandfather, Rt. Rev. Walter Ruthven Pym
, was Bishop of Bombay
.
He died on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86.
in the 1987-88 BBC
TV sit-com Yes, Prime Minister. He was portrayed by Jeremy Child
in the 2002 BBC
production of Ian Curteis
's The Falklands Play
.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, PC (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008), 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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. A member of the 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...
, he served in various positions in the Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
, Defence Secretary
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
, Northern Ireland Secretary
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
and 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...
. He was Member of Parliament
Member 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,...
(MP) representing the constituencies of Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...
(1961–83) and South East Cambridgeshire (1983–87), and was made a life peer
Life 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...
in 1987.
Early life
Pym was born at Penpergwm Lodge, near AbergavennyAbergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
in Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
. He was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, before going on to Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(Magdalene College
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
).
For much 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...
, Pym served in North Africa and Italy as a captain and regimental adjutant in the 9th Lancers. He was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, and he ended his military service as a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
.
Pym was a managing director and landowner before he went into politics.
Political career
Pym entered politics as a member of Herefordshire County Council in 1958. He contested Rhondda WestRhondda West (UK Parliament constituency)
Rhondda West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rhondda district of Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system...
without success in 1959 and entered Parliament in 1961 at a by-election as Member of Parliament
Member 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,...
for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...
. He held the seat until 1983, and was MP for Cambridgeshire South East 1983–87.
Pym was an Opposition 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...
from 1964 and served under Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
as Government Chief Whip (1970–73) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
(1973–74), and Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
as Defence Secretary (1979–81), 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...
and Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...
(1981–82). He became foreign secretary during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
in 1982 following Lord Carrington's
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...
resignation, but was removed by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
in 1983 after her second election victory.
He was a leading member of the Wets
Wets
During the 1980s, members of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom who opposed some of the more hard-line policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were often referred to as "wets"...
during the Thatcher administration. During the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
campaign he said on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Question Time
Question Time
Question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...
that that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments". This was publicly repudiated by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and he was sacked after the election. Shortly afterwards, he launched a pressure group called Conservative Centre Forward to argue for more centrist, One Nation
One Nation Conservatism
One nation, one nation conservatism, and Tory democracy are terms used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to a certain wing of the Conservative Party...
policies. But with Thatcher at the height of her powers, it was unsuccessful.
He stood down at the 1987 election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
and was created a life peer
Life 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...
as Baron Pym, of Sandy in the County of Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. Pym was not a descendant of the 17th century Parliamentarian
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
John Pym
John Pym
John Pym was an English parliamentarian, leader of the Long Parliament and a prominent critic of James I and then Charles I.- Early life and education :...
as has been commonly held. See Pym's own published family history. His father, Leslie Pym
Leslie Pym
Leslie Ruthven Pym was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Monmouth in Wales at a by-election in 1939. He represented the constituency in the House of Commons until his death during the 1945 general election. Polling took place on 5...
, was also a Member of Parliament; his grandfather, Rt. Rev. Walter Ruthven Pym
Walter Ruthven Pym
Walter Ruthven Pym was an English colonial bishop at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.He was the son of Alexander Pym and Eliza Elizabeth Pell....
, was Bishop of Bombay
Bishop of Bombay
The Bishop of Bombay was the Ordinary of the Anglican Church in Bombay from its inception in 1837 until the foundation of the Church in India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon in 1927; and since then head of one of its most prominent Dioceses.-External links:*...
.
He died on 7 March 2008 after a prolonged illness, aged 86.
In popular culture
Pym was the touchstone for the role of Chief Whip played by Peter CartwrightPeter Cartwright (actor)
Peter Cartwright is an actor who has made hundreds of appearances in television, film and on radio and has worked extensively in the theatre, both in the provinces and London's West End....
in the 1987-88 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV sit-com Yes, Prime Minister. He was portrayed by Jeremy Child
Jeremy Child
Sir Coles John "Jeremy" Child, 3rd Baronet is an English actor.He was born in Woking, England and educated at Eton College, as well as trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After appearing in repertory theatre, he was cast in a significant role in the 1967 film Privilege...
in the 2002 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of Ian Curteis
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis is a British television dramatist and former television director.In a career as a television dramatist from the late 1960s onwards, Curteis wrote for many of the series of the day, including The Onedin Line and Crown Court. In 1979, two television plays by Curteis were...
's The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
.