Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch
Encyclopedia
Malcolm Everard MacLaren Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch (born 20 July 1942, Devizes
, Wiltshire
) is a British businessman and the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He is a member of the House of Lords
.
, Pearson had a successful career in international insurance until he resigned on becoming leader of UKIP.
He was made a life peer
on 18 June 1990 as Baron Pearson of Rannoch, of Bridge of Gaur in the District of Perth and Kinross
, sitting as a Conservative
. He entered the House for services to the insurance industry, particularly his anti-corruption stance on the 'Savonita' affair.
In February 1997, Hugo Gurdon published an interview in the Daily Telegraph with Pearson, discussing his metaphysical and political beliefs and motivations.
Pearson became Treasurer of the degree-awarding body to the Polytechnic
sector, Council for National Academic Awards
(CNAA) serving from 1983-1992.
A daughter from his second marriage, born in 1980, introduced him to the world of learning disabilities for which he has done extensive work and fundraising, in particular for the Camphill movement.
Pearson is a euro-sceptic
of long standing. In May 2004, he called for voters to back the UK Independence Party
(UKIP). Along with three other Conservative peers, he was then expelled by the Conservative Party on 30 May. He subsequently said that he would probably sit as an "independent Conservative". He threatened to quit the Conservatives to join UKIP, which he did on 7 January 2007, along with Lord Willoughby de Broke
. He criticised the Conservative Party's leadership for being "silly" and argued that they should try to get UKIP members back into the fold by adopting more eurosceptic policies themselves. He has tabled a number of unsuccessful bills
in the House of Lords demanding Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. In November 2006 he tabled the European Union (Implications of Withdrawal) Bill which called for an official cost benefit analysis of our EU membership. He joined the United Kingdom Independence Party on January 7th 2007, citing David Cameron
's refusal to tell the British people about the disadvantages they suffer because of Britain's membership of the EU.
He is also the co-founder of a pro free trade think-tank, Global Britain, which publishes research on the BBC's EU coverage and on the cost of UK membership, in bullet-point format.
He is a supporter of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance
, serving as chairman of its deerstalking committee.
Pearson has been married three times: to Francesca Frua de Angeli in 1965, with whom he had one daughter and whom he divorced in 1970; to the Hon. Mary Charteris in 1977, with whom he had two daughters and whom he divorced in 1995; and to Caroline St Vincent Rose in 1997 - she stood as the UKIP candidate in Kensington
in the UK general election in 2010, coming 4th with 754 votes.
In February 2009, Lord Pearson courted controversy when he and cross-bencher Baroness Cox
invited Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders
to show the anti-Islam film Fitna
before the House of Lords
. However, Wilders was prevented from entering the UK on the instructions of the then Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith
. In response, Pearson and Cox accused the then Government of "appeasing" militant Islam. Wilders appealed successfully against his exclusion, and the film was eventually shown in the Lords in 2010.
In September 2009 Pearson announced his candidacy in the 2009 UKIP leadership election
. He won the election and was announced the new leader of UKIP on 27 November 2009. He resigned his leadership in August 2010, saying he was "not much good at party politics".
, Lord Pearson became famous as a leading critic of totalitarianism
in the Soviet Union
and by his support for Soviet dissidents
. Pearson worked closely with the Russian author and dissent Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
to ensure that funds reached other artists and dissents working inside the Soviet Union, and hosted Solzhenitsyn on his Rannoch estate. In 1984 Pearson established the Rannoch Charitable Trust, which funded many refugees escaping from the Soviet Union. In recognition of his efforts Pearson was awarded in 2007 the Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson Award For Values and Vision in Politics.
Previously he had spoken of the disconnect between ordinary people and the political class. In reply, Pearson argued that he spent "half the year" at his Scottish estate, pointed out that the sum covered several years in expenses, and explained that working as a public servant had cost him 'millions' as a result of having to give up salaried work
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
) is a British businessman and the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He is a member of 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....
.
Biography
Born in Devizes, the son of John M. Pearson and Rosabel C Moysey, and educated at Eton CollegeEton 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"....
, Pearson had a successful career in international insurance until he resigned on becoming leader of UKIP.
He 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...
on 18 June 1990 as Baron Pearson of Rannoch, of Bridge of Gaur in the District of Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
, sitting 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 entered the House for services to the insurance industry, particularly his anti-corruption stance on the 'Savonita' affair.
In February 1997, Hugo Gurdon published an interview in the Daily Telegraph with Pearson, discussing his metaphysical and political beliefs and motivations.
Pearson became Treasurer of the degree-awarding body to the Polytechnic
Polytechnic (United Kingdom)
A polytechnic was a type of tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were...
sector, Council for National Academic Awards
Council for National Academic Awards
The Council for National Academic Awards was a degree awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until 1992. The CNAA awarded academic degrees at polytechnics, Central Institutions and other non-university institutions such as Colleges of Higher Education until they were awarded university...
(CNAA) serving from 1983-1992.
A daughter from his second marriage, born in 1980, introduced him to the world of learning disabilities for which he has done extensive work and fundraising, in particular for the Camphill movement.
Pearson is a euro-sceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
of long standing. In May 2004, he called for voters to back the UK Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
(UKIP). Along with three other Conservative peers, he was then expelled by the Conservative Party on 30 May. He subsequently said that he would probably sit as an "independent Conservative". He threatened to quit the Conservatives to join UKIP, which he did on 7 January 2007, along with Lord Willoughby de Broke
David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke
Leopold David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke, FRSA, FRGS is a British peer. He is one of the 92 hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999; originally elected a Conservative peer, he joined United Kingdom Independence Party in...
. He criticised the Conservative Party's leadership for being "silly" and argued that they should try to get UKIP members back into the fold by adopting more eurosceptic policies themselves. He has tabled a number of unsuccessful bills
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...
in the House of Lords demanding Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. In November 2006 he tabled the European Union (Implications of Withdrawal) Bill which called for an official cost benefit analysis of our EU membership. He joined the United Kingdom Independence Party on January 7th 2007, citing David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
's refusal to tell the British people about the disadvantages they suffer because of Britain's membership of the EU.
He is also the co-founder of a pro free trade think-tank, Global Britain, which publishes research on the BBC's EU coverage and on the cost of UK membership, in bullet-point format.
He is a supporter of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance
Countryside Alliance
The Countryside Alliance is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as country sports, including hunting, shooting and angling...
, serving as chairman of its deerstalking committee.
Pearson has been married three times: to Francesca Frua de Angeli in 1965, with whom he had one daughter and whom he divorced in 1970; to the Hon. Mary Charteris in 1977, with whom he had two daughters and whom he divorced in 1995; and to Caroline St Vincent Rose in 1997 - she stood as the UKIP candidate in Kensington
Kensington (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington is a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in west London, comprising the northern and central parts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around Kensington...
in the UK general election in 2010, coming 4th with 754 votes.
In February 2009, Lord Pearson courted controversy when he and cross-bencher Baroness Cox
Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox
Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox FRCN; born 6 July 1937) is a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords. She also is the founder and CEO of an organisation called the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust...
invited Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
to show the anti-Islam film Fitna
Fitna (film)
Fitna is a 2008 short political, propaganda film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders with his view on the religion of the Islam. Approximately 17 minutes in length, the movie shows selected excerpts from Suras of the Qur'an, interspersed with media clips and newspaper cuttings showing or...
before 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....
. However, Wilders was prevented from entering the UK on the instructions of the then Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
. In response, Pearson and Cox accused the then Government of "appeasing" militant Islam. Wilders appealed successfully against his exclusion, and the film was eventually shown in the Lords in 2010.
In September 2009 Pearson announced his candidacy in the 2009 UKIP leadership election
United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election, 2009
The United Kingdom Independence Party held a leadership election in 2009, with ballots closing on 26 November. The election was won by Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch....
. He won the election and was announced the new leader of UKIP on 27 November 2009. He resigned his leadership in August 2010, saying he was "not much good at party politics".
Support for Soviet dissidents
During the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, Lord Pearson became famous as a leading critic of totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and by his support for Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents were citizens of the Soviet Union who disagreed with the policies and actions of their government and actively protested against these actions through either violent or non-violent means...
. Pearson worked closely with the Russian author and dissent Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
to ensure that funds reached other artists and dissents working inside the Soviet Union, and hosted Solzhenitsyn on his Rannoch estate. In 1984 Pearson established the Rannoch Charitable Trust, which funded many refugees escaping from the Soviet Union. In recognition of his efforts Pearson was awarded in 2007 the Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson Award For Values and Vision in Politics.
Expenses controversy
Shortly after Pearson's election as UKIP leader in 2009, the Daily Telegraph reported that he had claimed more than £115,000 in Parliamentary expenses between 2001 and 2007, having designated his £3.7m house in London as his principle residence for tax purposes, and his estate in Scotland as his main residence. He was thus not liable for £275,000 in capital gains tax when he sold his London house in 2006.Previously he had spoken of the disconnect between ordinary people and the political class. In reply, Pearson argued that he spent "half the year" at his Scottish estate, pointed out that the sum covered several years in expenses, and explained that working as a public servant had cost him 'millions' as a result of having to give up salaried work
External links
- Lord Pearson on the UKIP website