Dudley Smith
Encyclopedia
Sir Dudley Gordon Smith is a British
Conservative
politician.
Smith was educated at Chichester
High School and became a journalist. He was elected a councillor on Middlesex
County Council
in 1958, then the youngest councillor, and became chief whip
of the majority party.
Smith contested Peckham
in 1955. He was MP for Brentford and Chiswick
from 1959 until he lost the seat at the 1966 general election
to Michael Barnes
, then won the Warwick and Leamington by-election
of 1968. He lost that seat to James Plaskitt
in the Labour
landslide at the 1997 general election
.
Smith served as a junior minister for the British Army
and Employment during the Edward Heath
government of 1970 to 1974.
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
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.
Smith was educated at Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
High School and became a journalist. He was elected a councillor on Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
in 1958, then the youngest councillor, and became chief 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...
of the majority party.
Smith contested Peckham
Peckham (UK Parliament constituency)
Peckham was a borough constituency in South London which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in 1955. He was MP for Brentford and Chiswick
Brentford and Chiswick (UK Parliament constituency)
Brentford and Chiswick was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Brentford and Chiswick districts of west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
from 1959 until he lost the seat at the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
to Michael Barnes
Michael Barnes (UK politician)
Michael Cecil John Barnes has been a British Labour Party politician and marketing consultant.He was Member of Parliament for Brentford and Chiswick from 1966 to 1974, when the seat was abolished in boundary changes...
, then won the Warwick and Leamington by-election
Warwick and Leamington by-election, 1968
The by-election in Warwick and Leamington, in Warwickshire, England, occurred in 1968, and resulted in a hold for the Conservatives.-Results:...
of 1968. He lost that seat to James Plaskitt
James Plaskitt
James Andrew Plaskitt is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington from 1997 until his defeat at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
in 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...
landslide at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
.
Smith served as a junior minister for 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...
and Employment during the 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 ....
government of 1970 to 1974.