Hugh Linstead
Encyclopedia
Sir Hugh Nicholas Linstead OBE
(3 February 1901 – 27 May 1987) was a British
pharmaceutical chemist and barrister
who served as Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
(MP) for Putney
for 22 years. Linstead had significant business interests in the pharmaceutical
industry. His politics were on the moderate side of the Conservative Party and he was a strong supporter of the National Health Service
.
, and then obtained the Jacob Bell Scholarship to the Pharmaceutical Society's
School. He worked as a pharmaceutical chemist, and in 1926 was appointed Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Society. In the late 1920s he also trained in law at Birkbeck College
, and he was Called to the Bar in 1929 by the Middle Temple
. Linstead married Alice Freke in 1928; the couple had two daughters.
Poisons Board. Linstead was a strong defender of the integrity of all those involved in pharmacy. He complained in 1936 that the law did not allow any action to be taken against the author of an article attacking the profession as a whole. In 1937, Linstead was awarded the OBE
for services to the industry. In 1938 when the Central Pharmaceutical War Committee was set up, Linstead became its Secretary. He was also involved in the Scouting
movement, being Commissioner for Training Scout Officers for the Boy Scouts' Association
from 1932.
s, and individual effort will all be needed". The next month he was chosen as Conservative Party
candidate for Putney
after the death of Marcus Samuel. He faced opposition from Captain Bernard Acworth
RN
(retd.) who stood as an Independent
; due to the electoral truce the Labour Party
gave their support to Linstead.
Controversy was caused in the by-election
when Winston Churchill
, in his letter of support to Linstead, accused Acworth of supporting a negotiated peace with Japan
. Acworth insisted this was untrue. Linstead asked that Acworth publish the letter he sent to Members of Parliament
to clear the matter up. The controversy raged until polling day, when Linstead won comfortably with 8,788 votes to Acworth's 2,939.
on social insurance. He was particularly supportive of moves to create a national health service; he cautioned that the administration must be kept efficient. At the 1945 general election
, Linstead faced a five-cornered fight against not only Labour and Liberal candidates but also Sir Richard Acland
, the leader of Common Wealth
and Mrs. E. Tennant, a former Conservative candidate now standing as an Independent. Linstead won a majority of 3,887.
The post-war Labour Government set up a Joint Negotiating Committee for Hospital Staffs in preparation for the National Health Service
in 1946, and Linstead was appointed as chairman. At the time of the dispute between Health minister Aneurin Bevan
and representatives of doctors, Linstead called for arbitration between the two, which was involved in all other professions who were to become part of the new service. When the NHS started in 1948 he became chairman of the Wandsworth Group Hospital Committee.
, Linstead's constituency had unwelcome boundary changes from his point of view, bringing into the constituency 12,000 voters from a Labour-held ward formerly in Wandsworth Central
. Despite this change, Linstead was re-elected with his majority increased to 5,692. In 1951 he was appointed by the Ministry of Health to the Central Health Services Council.
in the Coronation Honours' List of 1953. At the 1953 Conservative Party conference he submitted a paper on "Health and Hospitals" which advocated greater financial freedom for hospital committees including the ability to roll savings over between financial years, and also supported bringing general practitioner
s within the hospital system. Linstead served as President of the International Pharmaceutical Federation from 1953.
In November 1953 Linstead was inadvertently the cause of some political difficulties to the Conservative government. He moved a motion to annul an Order in Council which lifted an embargo on cut glass imports, arguing that to do so would damage the domestic industry. After debate he intended to withdraw the motion, but the Labour opposition (which wanted to continue the embargo) objected and put the motion to the vote; with the Conservative whips
not expecting a division
, they lost by four votes. This was the first vote which the government had lost.
and homosexuality
in 1954; Linstead endorsed the conclusions of the report that male homosexuality be decriminalised, and criticised the government for not bringing in legislation. He kept up his interest in the pharmaceutical industry in Parliament, complaining in February 1955 that the public too often believed "magic .. was attached to a bottle of medicine" and that prescriptions were frequently "no more than a palliative given to the patient to satisfy him in a rather vague psychological way". After the 1955 general election
, Linstead served two years as Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. He was also chairman of the Franco-British Parliamentary Committee from 1955 to 1960.
-inspired delegations urging Members of Parliament to co-operate more closely with the Soviet Union
crowded out "people of good will, anxious to do anything they could to promote international understanding". In January 1956 he was named as the Parliamentary Charity Commissioner for England and Wales, an appointment in the government's control.
He defended the BBC
television programme "Your life in their hands" in 1958, which looked sceptically at the medical profession; some MPs had urged that the BBC be ordered not to broadcast it. However, he criticised the Public Accounts Committee over a report which criticised the pricing of NHS medicines, arguing that the committee did not take evidence from experts. One member of the committee complained that the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry had refused to take part in the inquiry.
In 1959 Linstead was appointed as the House of Commons member on Medical Research Council
. He called for an inquiry into the pay of professions allied with medicine in November 1961; and when the birth defects associated with thalidomide
were discovered Linstead believed the problems associated with the drug could not have been predicted. In the 1960s Linstead became interested in television, and was appointed to the General Advisory Council of the BBC. He believed that the second BBC channel should be funded by a Treasury
grant balanced by a payment into the treasury of the profits of independent television
.
illegal. His Bill passed into law. He led the fight against the Government's Bill to abolish resale price maintenance in 1964, believing it to be damaging to small chemists; later he moved an amendment to defend the position of chemists which was defeated by only one vote.
, and failed to recapture the seat in 1966
. He became Chairman of Macarthys Pharmaceuticals Ltd after leaving Parliament, and also served as Renter Warden for the Worshipful Company of Farriers
for 1968-69, Middle Warden for 1969-70, Upper Warden for 1970-71 and Master for the year 1971-72. He was also First Chairman of the Farriers' Registration Council from 1976 to 1979.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(3 February 1901 – 27 May 1987) 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...
pharmaceutical chemist and barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
who served as 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
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 Putney
Putney (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections 1950–1979:-Elections 1918–1945:-Notes and references:...
for 22 years. Linstead had significant business interests in the pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
industry. His politics were on the moderate side of the Conservative Party and he was a strong supporter of the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
.
Family and training
Linstead was educated at the City of London SchoolCity of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
, and then obtained the Jacob Bell Scholarship to the Pharmaceutical Society's
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was formerly the statutory regulatory and professional body for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England, Scotland and Wales...
School. He worked as a pharmaceutical chemist, and in 1926 was appointed Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Society. In the late 1920s he also trained in law at Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, and he was Called to the Bar in 1929 by the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
. Linstead married Alice Freke in 1928; the couple had two daughters.
Pharmaceutical industry
His position in the Pharmaceutical Society brought him membership of the Home OfficeHome Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
Poisons Board. Linstead was a strong defender of the integrity of all those involved in pharmacy. He complained in 1936 that the law did not allow any action to be taken against the author of an article attacking the profession as a whole. In 1937, Linstead was awarded the OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to the industry. In 1938 when the Central Pharmaceutical War Committee was set up, Linstead became its Secretary. He was also involved in the Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
movement, being Commissioner for Training Scout Officers for the Boy Scouts' Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
from 1932.
By-election candidate
In March 1942 Linstead supported the Guild system in pharmaceutical retailing, arguing that after the end of the war, "state control, cartelCartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
s, and individual effort will all be needed". The next month he was chosen as 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...
candidate for Putney
Putney (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections 1950–1979:-Elections 1918–1945:-Notes and references:...
after the death of Marcus Samuel. He faced opposition from Captain Bernard Acworth
Bernard Acworth
Captain Bernard Acworth was an English submariner, writer, evangelical Christian and creationist.-Biography:...
RN
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
(retd.) who stood as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
; due to the electoral truce the Labour Party
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...
gave their support to Linstead.
Controversy was caused in the by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
when Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, in his letter of support to Linstead, accused Acworth of supporting a negotiated peace with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Acworth insisted this was untrue. Linstead asked that Acworth publish the letter he sent to Members 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,...
to clear the matter up. The controversy raged until polling day, when Linstead won comfortably with 8,788 votes to Acworth's 2,939.
Beveridge report
Linstead proved a moderate MP. He joined the Tory Reform Committee and in October 1944 welcomed the report of the Beveridge CommitteeWilliam Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...
on social insurance. He was particularly supportive of moves to create a national health service; he cautioned that the administration must be kept efficient. At the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, Linstead faced a five-cornered fight against not only Labour and Liberal candidates but also Sir Richard Acland
Richard Acland
Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland, 15th Baronet was one of the founding members of the British Common Wealth Party. He had previously been a Liberal Member of Parliament and joined the Labour Party in 1945...
, the leader of Common Wealth
Common Wealth Party
The Common Wealth Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom in the Second World War. Thereafter, it continued in being, essentially as a pressure group, until 1993.-The war years:...
and Mrs. E. Tennant, a former Conservative candidate now standing as an Independent. Linstead won a majority of 3,887.
The post-war Labour Government set up a Joint Negotiating Committee for Hospital Staffs in preparation for the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in 1946, and Linstead was appointed as chairman. At the time of the dispute between Health minister Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
and representatives of doctors, Linstead called for arbitration between the two, which was involved in all other professions who were to become part of the new service. When the NHS started in 1948 he became chairman of the Wandsworth Group Hospital Committee.
1950 election
At the 1950 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
, Linstead's constituency had unwelcome boundary changes from his point of view, bringing into the constituency 12,000 voters from a Labour-held ward formerly in Wandsworth Central
Wandsworth Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Wandsworth Central was a parliamentary constituency in the Wandsworth district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
. Despite this change, Linstead was re-elected with his majority increased to 5,692. In 1951 he was appointed by the Ministry of Health to the Central Health Services Council.
NHS organisation
Linstead received a knighthoodKnight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the Coronation Honours' List of 1953. At the 1953 Conservative Party conference he submitted a paper on "Health and Hospitals" which advocated greater financial freedom for hospital committees including the ability to roll savings over between financial years, and also supported bringing general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
s within the hospital system. Linstead served as President of the International Pharmaceutical Federation from 1953.
In November 1953 Linstead was inadvertently the cause of some political difficulties to the Conservative government. He moved a motion to annul an Order in Council which lifted an embargo on cut glass imports, arguing that to do so would damage the domestic industry. After debate he intended to withdraw the motion, but the Labour opposition (which wanted to continue the embargo) objected and put the motion to the vote; with the Conservative whips
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...
not expecting a division
Division (vote)
In parliamentary procedure, a division of the assembly is a voting method in which the members of the assembly take a rising vote or go to different parts of the chamber, literally dividing into groups indicating a vote in favour of or in opposition to a motion on the floor...
, they lost by four votes. This was the first vote which the government had lost.
Criticism of medical profession
The Home Secretary named Linstead to the Wolfenden Committee investigation prostitutionProstitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in 1954; Linstead endorsed the conclusions of the report that male homosexuality be decriminalised, and criticised the government for not bringing in legislation. He kept up his interest in the pharmaceutical industry in Parliament, complaining in February 1955 that the public too often believed "magic .. was attached to a bottle of medicine" and that prescriptions were frequently "no more than a palliative given to the patient to satisfy him in a rather vague psychological way". After the 1955 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
, Linstead served two years as Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. He was also chairman of the Franco-British Parliamentary Committee from 1955 to 1960.
Inquiries and scrutiny
In October 1955, Linstead protested that large CommunistCommunist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
-inspired delegations urging Members of Parliament to co-operate more closely with 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....
crowded out "people of good will, anxious to do anything they could to promote international understanding". In January 1956 he was named as the Parliamentary Charity Commissioner for England and Wales, an appointment in the government's control.
He defended 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...
television programme "Your life in their hands" in 1958, which looked sceptically at the medical profession; some MPs had urged that the BBC be ordered not to broadcast it. However, he criticised the Public Accounts Committee over a report which criticised the pricing of NHS medicines, arguing that the committee did not take evidence from experts. One member of the committee complained that the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry had refused to take part in the inquiry.
In 1959 Linstead was appointed as the House of Commons member on Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
. He called for an inquiry into the pay of professions allied with medicine in November 1961; and when the birth defects associated with thalidomide
Thalidomide
Thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s that was typically used to cure morning sickness. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy. There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide, and it is introduced as an immunomodulatory agent used...
were discovered Linstead believed the problems associated with the drug could not have been predicted. In the 1960s Linstead became interested in television, and was appointed to the General Advisory Council of the BBC. He believed that the second BBC channel should be funded by a Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
grant balanced by a payment into the treasury of the profits of independent television
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
Cannabis legislation
After winning a spot in the ballot for Private Members Bills in November 1963, Linstead introduced a Bill to make the cultivation of cannabisCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
illegal. His Bill passed into law. He led the fight against the Government's Bill to abolish resale price maintenance in 1964, believing it to be damaging to small chemists; later he moved an amendment to defend the position of chemists which was defeated by only one vote.
Post-Parliamentary career
Linstead was defeated at the 1964 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
, and failed to recapture the seat in 1966
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...
. He became Chairman of Macarthys Pharmaceuticals Ltd after leaving Parliament, and also served as Renter Warden for the Worshipful Company of Farriers
Worshipful Company of Farriers
The Worshipful Company of Farriers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Farriers, or horseshoe makers, organised in 1356. It received a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1674. Over the years, the Company has evolved from a trade association for horseshoe makers into an...
for 1968-69, Middle Warden for 1969-70, Upper Warden for 1970-71 and Master for the year 1971-72. He was also First Chairman of the Farriers' Registration Council from 1976 to 1979.
Sources
- "Who Was Who", A & C Black.
- M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)