Geoffrey Lawler
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey John Lawler is a British
politician and public affairs consultant. He was a Conservative Party
Member of Parliament, representing Bradford North
, for one term.
, Kenya
, where his father Major Ernest Lawler was serving. He went to primary schools in West Germany, and then to Colchester Royal Grammar School
and to Richmond School
in North Yorkshire. Lawler studied Economics and Accountancy at the University of Hull
, where he was President of the Students' Union in 1976-77 (the first Conservative to hold the post).
county council in the 1977 elections. On graduating from university he briefly worked for Peat Marwick Mitchell before joining the Yorkshire Area of Conservative Central Office; he worked as a researcher in the Community Affairs department from 1978, moving in 1980 to the Research Department. In 1982, he became a public relations executive with Bulldog Publicity Services in Bradford
. In January 1983 he was adopted as Conservative candidate for the Bradford North
constituency; after boundary changes it was estimated that Labour had a 16% lead over the Conservatives in the seat.
had deselected the sitting MP Ben Ford; Ford then stood as an Independent Labour candidate to try to keep his seat. His replacement as Labour candidate, Pat Wall
, was a founder of the Militant tendency
, and when Labour Party leader Michael Foot
visited to support him, full-page newspaper adverts placed by the Conservative Party reprinted part of a speech in which Wall had declared that a Marxist Labour government, on coming to office "will face bloodshed. We will face the possibility of civil war and the terrible death and destruction and bloodshed that would mean". In addition, the SDP
candidate Peter Birkby was a well known former Labour agent.
At the end of the campaign, Michael Foot was challenged by Robin Day
in a televised interview to say whether he would back Pat Wall or Ben Ford. Foot replied "I'm not going to answer in that way". When the votes were counted, Lawler was declared elected with a majority of 1,602 over Pat Wall; he had won with only 34.3% of the vote but with the twelfth biggest swing
to the Conservatives in Britain. Lawler became the first Conservative to win a Parliamentary seat in Bradford since 1970. He later declared that he had not expected to win.
on 22 July in a debate on regional industrial policy; he complained that Yorkshire had suffered from an inequality of treatment, but that the regional assistance in the manner provided since the second world war was inappropriate to contemporary needs. He did not support massive public intervention. After demanding an inquiry into under-employment, in late 1983 he called on the Government to abolish or privatise the Crown Agents
. Lawler voted to reintroduce the death penalty for murderers of police or prison officers only, and against its reintroduction generally, in July 1983. In January 1985 he was one of 70 Conservative MPs to break the whip and vote to reject a planning inspectors' report supporting expansion of Stansted Airport
.
In November 1984, his name was drawn as sixteenth in the annual ballot for twenty MPs to introduce a Private member's bill
; he introduced the Fabric Origin Marking Bill which would require the country of origin to be indicated; his Bill made no progress. After the Bradford City stadium fire, he noted that the death toll would have been much worse had there been a fence in front of the stand to stop pitch invasions. He asked for money to be made available to build a new stand as quickly as possible.
Lawler spoke strongly in favour of televising the House of Commons in November 1985, arguing that if the public did not like what they saw, then Parliament should look to itselves to change. In July 1986 he owned up to leading a plot among backbench MPs to make sure there were enough present at 1 AM to vote to increase the allowances used to pay for secretaries and researchers by 50%. The Government had proposed an increase of only 6% and Mrs Thatcher complained the following day about the increase in the cost of Parliament. As vice-chairman of the Conservative backbench employment committee, he protested against comments by Lord Chief Justice Lord Lane
who had called for lower sentences for people found to have committed benefit fraud; Lawler described Lane's comments as "an affront to all law-abiding people who declare their incomes and pay all their taxes, and equally to those who are honest claimants of social security and depend on it for their income".
by 1,633 votes. He noted that being an MP "doesn't give you many additional recognisable skills other than being a good communicator", but since he had previously worked in public relations before his election, he returned to the same field.
After his defeat, Lawler submitted his name for selection in several constituencies (among them Finchley
after Margaret Thatcher
announced her retirement) but after several narrow defeats was not selected anywhere. In 1991 he set up on his own as managing director of The Public Affairs Company, a political consultancy based in Leeds. A few days after the 2005 general election
, Lawler wrote to The Times
to remark that the Conservative Party's strategy was "misconceived" and that the negative tone "repelled many people and buried the positive reasons that would attract them to support the Conservatives"; he appeared to blame Lynton Crosby
by calling for no more immigration by "election experts from Australia".
In 2010 Lawler joined Keene Public Affairs, and was promoted to its board of directors in July 2011.
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 and public affairs consultant. He was a 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...
Member of Parliament, representing Bradford North
Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, for one term.
Early life
Lawler was born in NairobiNairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, where his father Major Ernest Lawler was serving. He went to primary schools in West Germany, and then to Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester Royal Grammar School is a grammar school in Colchester, Essex, founded in AD 1206 and granted two Royal Charters by Henry VIII and by Elizabeth I .-Admissions:...
and to Richmond School
Richmond School
Richmond School and Sixth Form College, often referred to simply as Richmond School, is a British Comprehensive School. It was created by the merger of three schools, the oldest of which is of such unknown antiquity that its exact founding date is unknown. The first mentions of it in writings,...
in North Yorkshire. Lawler studied Economics and Accountancy at the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
, where he was President of the Students' Union in 1976-77 (the first Conservative to hold the post).
Political activity
Already active in Conservative politics, Lawler was an unsuccessful candidate for HumbersideHumberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
county council in the 1977 elections. On graduating from university he briefly worked for Peat Marwick Mitchell before joining the Yorkshire Area of Conservative Central Office; he worked as a researcher in the Community Affairs department from 1978, moving in 1980 to the Research Department. In 1982, he became a public relations executive with Bulldog Publicity Services in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. In January 1983 he was adopted as Conservative candidate for the Bradford North
Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
constituency; after boundary changes it was estimated that Labour had a 16% lead over the Conservatives in the seat.
1983 election
The election in Bradford North was one of the more high profile as the local Constituency Labour PartyConstituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
had deselected the sitting MP Ben Ford; Ford then stood as an Independent Labour candidate to try to keep his seat. His replacement as Labour candidate, Pat Wall
Pat Wall
Charles Patrick Wall was an English Trotskyist political figure and Labour Party Member of Parliament for Bradford North from 1987 to 1990...
, was a founder of the Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
, and when Labour Party leader Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
visited to support him, full-page newspaper adverts placed by the Conservative Party reprinted part of a speech in which Wall had declared that a Marxist Labour government, on coming to office "will face bloodshed. We will face the possibility of civil war and the terrible death and destruction and bloodshed that would mean". In addition, the SDP
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
candidate Peter Birkby was a well known former Labour agent.
At the end of the campaign, Michael Foot was challenged by Robin Day
Robin Day
Sir Robin Day, OBE was a British political broadcaster and commentator. His obituary in the Guardian stated that "he was the most outstanding television journalist of his generation...
in a televised interview to say whether he would back Pat Wall or Ben Ford. Foot replied "I'm not going to answer in that way". When the votes were counted, Lawler was declared elected with a majority of 1,602 over Pat Wall; he had won with only 34.3% of the vote but with the twelfth biggest swing
Swing (politics)
An electoral swing analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It is an indicator of voter support for individual candidates or political parties, or voter preference between two or more candidates or parties...
to the Conservatives in Britain. Lawler became the first Conservative to win a Parliamentary seat in Bradford since 1970. He later declared that he had not expected to win.
Parliament
Lawler made his maiden speechMaiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 22 July in a debate on regional industrial policy; he complained that Yorkshire had suffered from an inequality of treatment, but that the regional assistance in the manner provided since the second world war was inappropriate to contemporary needs. He did not support massive public intervention. After demanding an inquiry into under-employment, in late 1983 he called on the Government to abolish or privatise the Crown Agents
Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd
The Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd is a Greater London, UK based company. Prior to 1979, the Crown Agents was an autonomous body working for the British and other governments, and for multilateral development and funding institutions...
. Lawler voted to reintroduce the death penalty for murderers of police or prison officers only, and against its reintroduction generally, in July 1983. In January 1985 he was one of 70 Conservative MPs to break the whip and vote to reject a planning inspectors' report supporting expansion of Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport
-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
.
In November 1984, his name was drawn as sixteenth in the annual ballot for twenty MPs to introduce a Private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
; he introduced the Fabric Origin Marking Bill which would require the country of origin to be indicated; his Bill made no progress. After the Bradford City stadium fire, he noted that the death toll would have been much worse had there been a fence in front of the stand to stop pitch invasions. He asked for money to be made available to build a new stand as quickly as possible.
Lawler spoke strongly in favour of televising the House of Commons in November 1985, arguing that if the public did not like what they saw, then Parliament should look to itselves to change. In July 1986 he owned up to leading a plot among backbench MPs to make sure there were enough present at 1 AM to vote to increase the allowances used to pay for secretaries and researchers by 50%. The Government had proposed an increase of only 6% and Mrs Thatcher complained the following day about the increase in the cost of Parliament. As vice-chairman of the Conservative backbench employment committee, he protested against comments by Lord Chief Justice Lord Lane
Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane
Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane AFC PC QC was a British Judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1980 to 1992. The later part of his term was marred by a succession of disputed convictions...
who had called for lower sentences for people found to have committed benefit fraud; Lawler described Lane's comments as "an affront to all law-abiding people who declare their incomes and pay all their taxes, and equally to those who are honest claimants of social security and depend on it for their income".
Leaving Parliament
Due to the circumstances of his 1983 win, Lawler's chances of retaining the seat at any subsequent election were not rated highly; Lawler himself knew that his seat was "highly risky". He made strenuous efforts to attract the votes of Asian residents of the constituency, who did not traditionally vote Conservative. Although the Conservative vote in Bradford North increased by more than 3,000, Lawler was defeated in the 1987 electionUnited 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...
by 1,633 votes. He noted that being an MP "doesn't give you many additional recognisable skills other than being a good communicator", but since he had previously worked in public relations before his election, he returned to the same field.
After his defeat, Lawler submitted his name for selection in several constituencies (among them Finchley
Finchley (UK Parliament constituency)
Finchley was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; its best-known MP was Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990...
after Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
announced her retirement) but after several narrow defeats was not selected anywhere. In 1991 he set up on his own as managing director of The Public Affairs Company, a political consultancy based in Leeds. A few days after the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, Lawler wrote to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to remark that the Conservative Party's strategy was "misconceived" and that the negative tone "repelled many people and buried the positive reasons that would attract them to support the Conservatives"; he appeared to blame Lynton Crosby
Lynton Crosby
Lynton Crosby AO is an Australian political strategist.Having masterminded four successive election victories for John Howard, he has been described as a "master of the dark political arts," "the Australian Karl Rove," and in 2002 The Age newspaper described Crosby as "one of the most powerful and...
by calling for no more immigration by "election experts from Australia".
In 2010 Lawler joined Keene Public Affairs, and was promoted to its board of directors in July 2011.