Eric Forth
Encyclopedia
Eric Forth was a British
politician
. He was the Conservative
Member
of the European Parliament
(MEP) for Birmingham North
, then Member of Parliament
(MP) for Mid Worcestershire and finally Bromley and Chislehurst at his death. He served as a junior minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher
and John Major
between 1988 and 1997. In his obituaries, he was described as "colourful", "flamboyant", "provocative" and a "right-wing libertarian". He was noted for his colourful tie
s and waistcoat
s, sideburns
, and jewellery
.
. His father was a harbourmaster
. He was educated at the Jordanhill College School
and the University of Glasgow
, where he was awarded a master's degree
in politics
and economics
. Before entering politics, he worked in junior managerial roles at Xerox
, Rank
and Ford Motor Company
before becoming a management consultant with Deloitte and Dexion.
He was married to Linda St. Clair in 1967 and they had two daughters before their divorce in 1994; he re-married in 1994, to Carroll Goff, gaining a stepson. Forth died in Charing Cross Hospital
from cancer
on 17 May 2006, aged 61.
at a mock school-election and flirting with distributism
at university, Forth developed conservative
libertarian
leanings. Forth was elected as a councillor for the Pilgrims Hatch
ward on the Brentwood
Urban District Council from 1968-72. He contested the safe Labour seat of Barking
at both the February
and October 1974
general elections, where on both occasions he was defeated by Labour's
Jo Richardson
. He was the secretary of Llandeilo
Conservative Association from 1975–77, and chairman of the Ross-on-Wye
Conservative Political Committee from 1978-79.
He was elected to the European Parliament
as the member
for Birmingham North
in 1979. He remained in Brussels
and Strasbourg
until 1984, where he founded and chaired the backbench committee of the European Democratic Group. Originally in favour of membership of the European Economic Community
, he would eventually become a Eurosceptic
.
He was elected to the House of Commons
at the 1983 general election
with a majority of 14,205 votes for the new seat of Mid-Worcestershire. His political views were apparent from his maiden speech, in which he attacked the Sex Equality Bill, and he was an early member of the No Turning Back group. Following boundary changes to his constituency, he was not selected to fight the new seat with the same name, losing out to the sitting MP for Worcester
, Peter Luff
. Forth found a safe seat in the Outer London
suburbs for Bromley and Chislehurst in the heart of the large London Borough of Bromley
. He was elected to represent the seat in 1997
, 2001
and 2005
.
In Parliament, he served on the Employment select committee in 1986 until later in the year when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Angela Rumbold
at the Department for Education and Science.
He entered the government of Margaret Thatcher
when she appointed him as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry in 1988, as minister for consumer affairs. He was moved by John Major
in 1990 to the same position at the Department for Employment and then the Department of Education following the 1992 general election
, taking responsibility for schools. He was promoted to become Minister of State
for higher education
at the Department for Education and Employment in 1995 and became a member of the Privy Council
in 1996, shortly before leaving office in 1997.
for the leadership of the Conservative Party, to follow Major, but Portillo famously lost his seat in the 1997 general election
. Forth was then Peter Lilley
's campaign manager until the latter withdrew, then supported John Redwood
, and finally backed eventual winner William Hague
. Forth refused the offer of a place in the Conservative shadow ministerial team and instead became a leading backbench irritant to the Labour government, engaging in "a Parliamentary form of guerrilla warfare
". Initially acting as a loner and concentrating on Private members bills to which he objected, Forth soon gathered a small group around him known as "the awkward squad".
In 1997, with senior Conservative MPs David Maclean
and Patrick McLoughlin
, he established the Parliamentary Resource Unit, a subscription briefing service available to any MP as a means of countering the briefings that government ministers receive from the Civil Service
.
Disliking e-mail
, he would send brief written notes to like-minded MPs to say "I am given to understand that the Powers That Be think that Wednesday's business will go through easily", and his group would ensure that Wednesday's business did not go through easily. Forth's speciality was the filibuster
: as Labour MPs found themselves often required to remain in Parliament past midnight, they called him "Bloody Eric Forth" (a reaction Forth welcomed). Iain Duncan Smith
appointed Forth Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
in 2001. Forth backed David Davis
to replace Duncan Smith in 2003: Davis refused to stand, and Forth was dismissed from his front-bench position by Michael Howard
. He served on many Parliamentary committees and his last role was chairing the statutory instrument
s committee. He was a member of the Speaker's
Panel of Chairmen.
Forth was in favour of capital punishment
, but opposed corporal punishment in schools. He opposed the BBC's spending money on a Nelson Mandela concert in 1988, saying "those who want the arts and who support them should pay for them themselves". He also opposed the government spending on AIDS treatment, saying that the disease was "largely self-inflicted". He was a fan of Elvis Presley
and treasurer of the all-party Music Appreciation Group, and a couple of Presley's songs were played at Forth's memorial service in October 2006.
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...
. He was the 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...
Member
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
(MEP) for Birmingham North
Birmingham North (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
, then 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) for Mid Worcestershire and finally Bromley and Chislehurst at his death. He served as a junior minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
between 1988 and 1997. In his obituaries, he was described as "colourful", "flamboyant", "provocative" and a "right-wing libertarian". He was noted for his colourful tie
Tie
Tie may refer to:* Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders* Tie , a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports...
s and waistcoat
Waistcoat
A waistcoat or vest is a sleeveless upper-body garment worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear, and as the third piece of the three-piece male business suit.-Characteristics and use:...
s, sideburns
Sideburns
Sideburns or sideboards are patches of facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to below the ears and worn with an unbearded chin...
, and jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
.
Early and private life
Forth was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. His father was a harbourmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
. He was educated at the Jordanhill College School
Jordanhill School
Jordanhill School educates children from age 5-18. It is located on Chamberlain Road in Glasgow, Scotland.Uniquely among mainstream Scottish schools, it is funded directly by the Scottish Executive, rather than through the local authority, in this case Glasgow City Council...
and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, where he was awarded a master's degree
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Before entering politics, he worked in junior managerial roles at Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
, Rank
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
and Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
before becoming a management consultant with Deloitte and Dexion.
He was married to Linda St. Clair in 1967 and they had two daughters before their divorce in 1994; he re-married in 1994, to Carroll Goff, gaining a stepson. Forth died in Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on 17 May 2006, aged 61.
Political career
After standing as a communistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
at a mock school-election and flirting with distributism
Distributism
Distributism is a third-way economic philosophy formulated by such Catholic thinkers as G. K...
at university, Forth developed conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
leanings. Forth was elected as a councillor for the Pilgrims Hatch
Pilgrims Hatch
Pilgrims Hatch is a residential suburb of Brentwood, Essex, in the east of England. There is a borough council ward bearing the name 'Pilgrims Hatch' which covers the Bishops Hall and Flower estates and a small rural area to the north up to Ashwells Road and Days Lane. Pilgrims Hatch usually...
ward on the Brentwood
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
Urban District Council from 1968-72. He contested the safe Labour seat of Barking
Barking (UK Parliament constituency)
Barking is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its creation in 1945, usually with strong majorities.- Boundaries :The...
at both the February
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
and October 1974
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
general elections, where on both occasions he was defeated by Labour's
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...
Jo Richardson
Jo Richardson
Josephine Richardson was a British Labour Party politician. At the time of her death she was Member of Parliament for Barking, a post she had held since 1974.-Early life:She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...
. He was the secretary of Llandeilo
Llandeilo
Llandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th century stone bridge. Its population is 1,731.The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.- Early history :...
Conservative Association from 1975–77, and chairman of the Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
Conservative Political Committee from 1978-79.
He was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
as the member
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Birmingham North
Birmingham North (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
in 1979. He remained in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
until 1984, where he founded and chaired the backbench committee of the European Democratic Group. Originally in favour of membership of the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
, he would eventually become a Eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
.
He was elected to the House of Commons
British 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...
at 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...
with a majority of 14,205 votes for the new seat of Mid-Worcestershire. His political views were apparent from his maiden speech, in which he attacked the Sex Equality Bill, and he was an early member of the No Turning Back group. Following boundary changes to his constituency, he was not selected to fight the new seat with the same name, losing out to the sitting MP for Worcester
Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)
Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885 it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; from 1295 to 1885 it elected two MPs....
, Peter Luff
Peter Luff
Peter James Luff MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire since the 1997 general election, and was MP Worcester from 1992 until 1997...
. Forth found a safe seat in the Outer London
Outer London
Outer London is the name for the group of London Boroughs that form a ring around Inner London.These were areas that were not part of the County of London and became formally part of Greater London in 1965...
suburbs for Bromley and Chislehurst in the heart of the large London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...
. He was elected to represent the seat in 1997
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...
, 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
and 2005
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....
.
In Parliament, he served on the Employment select committee in 1986 until later in the year when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Angela Rumbold
Angela Rumbold
Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold, DBE was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament until 1997.- Education :...
at the Department for Education and Science.
He entered the government of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
when she appointed him as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry in 1988, as minister for consumer affairs. He was moved by John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
in 1990 to the same position at the Department for Employment and then the Department of Education following the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, taking responsibility for schools. He was promoted to become Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
at the Department for Education and Employment in 1995 and became a member 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 1996, shortly before leaving office in 1997.
The awkward squad
Forth had hoped to support Michael PortilloMichael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...
for the leadership of the Conservative Party, to follow Major, but Portillo famously lost his seat in 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...
. Forth was then Peter Lilley
Peter Lilley
Peter Bruce Lilley MP is a British Conservative Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament MP since 1983. He currently represents the constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden and, prior to boundary changes, represented St Albans...
's campaign manager until the latter withdrew, then supported John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...
, and finally backed eventual winner William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
. Forth refused the offer of a place in the Conservative shadow ministerial team and instead became a leading backbench irritant to the Labour government, engaging in "a Parliamentary form of guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
". Initially acting as a loner and concentrating on Private members bills to which he objected, Forth soon gathered a small group around him known as "the awkward squad".
In 1997, with senior Conservative MPs David Maclean
David Maclean
David John Maclean, Baron Blencathra is a Conservative Party life peer. He was the Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010.-Biography:...
and Patrick McLoughlin
Patrick McLoughlin
Patrick Allen McLoughlin is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1986, initially for West Derbyshire and since 2010 for its successor, the Derbyshire Dales constituency...
, he established the Parliamentary Resource Unit, a subscription briefing service available to any MP as a means of countering the briefings that government ministers receive from the Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
.
Disliking e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, he would send brief written notes to like-minded MPs to say "I am given to understand that the Powers That Be think that Wednesday's business will go through easily", and his group would ensure that Wednesday's business did not go through easily. Forth's speciality was the filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
: as Labour MPs found themselves often required to remain in Parliament past midnight, they called him "Bloody Eric Forth" (a reaction Forth welcomed). Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
appointed Forth Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House in arranging Commons business and holding the Government to account in its overall management of the House...
in 2001. Forth backed David Davis
David Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
to replace Duncan Smith in 2003: Davis refused to stand, and Forth was dismissed from his front-bench position by Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
. He served on many Parliamentary committees and his last role was chairing the statutory instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
s committee. He was a member of the Speaker's
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
Panel of Chairmen.
Forth was in favour of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, but opposed corporal punishment in schools. He opposed the BBC's spending money on a Nelson Mandela concert in 1988, saying "those who want the arts and who support them should pay for them themselves". He also opposed the government spending on AIDS treatment, saying that the disease was "largely self-inflicted". He was a fan of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and treasurer of the all-party Music Appreciation Group, and a couple of Presley's songs were played at Forth's memorial service in October 2006.
Publications
- Regional Policy: A Fringe Benefit? by Eric Forth, 1983, Conservative Central Office, ISBN CCO508912
External links
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Eric Forth MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Eric Forth MP
- Ex-Tory minister Eric Forth dies, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 18 May 2006 - Family values MP dies, Pink News, 18 May 2006