Jill Knight
Encyclopedia
Joan Christabel Knight, Baroness Knight of Collingtree, DBE
(née Christie, b. 9 July 1923 London (or 1927)), known as Jill Knight, is a former Conservative
Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom
. She was created a Life Peer
as Baroness Knight of Collingtree, of Collingtree
in the County of Northamptonshire
in 1997
after standing down at that year's general election
. She was awarded the MBE (1964) and DBE (1985).
, Birmingham
. She served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
during World War II. On 14 June 1947 she married James Montague (Monty) Knight (who was an optician, in Northampton
). They had two sons.
. Knight unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of Northampton
in 1959 and 1964 for the Conservative Party. She was elected Member of Parliament
(MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston in 1966
, which she held in successive elections until 1997.
Knight was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Race Relations and Immigration, 1969–1972, on the Select Committee for the Council of Europe
from 1977, Home Affairs 1980–1983, Lady Chairman of the Lords and Commons All-Party Child and Family Protection Group from 1978, on the Conservative Back-bench Health and Social Services Committee 1982 –, Secretary to the 1922 Committee
1983–1987.
She was President of the West Midlands Conservative Political Centre 1980–1983 and Lady Chairman of the Western European Union
Relations with Parliaments Committee, 1984–1988. She served on the Council of Europe
(1977–88), and as Chairman, British Inter-Parliamentary Union (1994–97).
and was an outspoken opponent of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA).
Following the February 1972 Aldershot Bombing
by the OIRA she called for legislation to outlaw the IRA, and attacked supporters and sympathisers on the mainland. In September 1973 she repeated her call for the banning of the IRA which, she said, was "at open war with Britain", and in December she stated that "it is the first duty of any government to protect its citizens". In June 1974 Knight protested at the "arrogant IRA march" which had been held in London. She said it was: "an outrage and insult to the British people". In this she was supported by other Monday Club MPs John Biggs-Davison
, who made representations under the Public Order Act to the Home Secretary
, and John Stokes
. Also in June she herself made a formal complaint to the Home Secretary
about the "Terrorist International Rally" that had been held in Northern Ireland
. She said it was: "highly offensive for international terrorists to meet in Britain and plot against us". (The IRA was banned in 1977.)
In August 1974 she tabled a Question in the House of Commons
asking the Secretary of State for Social Services to review payments to foreign visitors, stating that "anyone from Ireland or elsewhere must be made to understand that we have not the money to fund them". In October Sir Keith Joseph
, speaking in Knight's constituency, expressed admiration for her as "a brave woman who speaks up when others prefer discretion in public and speak their minds only in private". She responded "I believe my constituents sent me to parliament to speak up, not shut up".
In November 1974 she called for the death penalty to be made available for IRA and all terrorists, moved an amendment to that effect in the House of Commons, and asked the then Home Secretary
, Roy Jenkins
, to step up activities against the IRA. Knight said that she had received more than 8,000 letters demanding capital punishment
for terrorist killings and only 115 against it. John Biggs-Davison
and Knight protested in parliament when the government decided to pay £42,000 in compensation to the relatives of men who were shot by the British Army on Bloody Sunday
in 1972. She added that "these payments would seem to open up a completely new level of culpability. What compensation will the relatives of the victims of IRA killers in Birmingham get?".
's decision to intervene in the British Leyland strike by appealing to the workers.
, was responsible for introducing the Section 28
amendment to the Local Government Act 1988
, which barred local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality
. She was also an opponent of abortion, and supported successive attempts to reduce the time-period when the operation could be legally performed.
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...
(née Christie, b. 9 July 1923 London (or 1927)), known as Jill Knight, is a former 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 of Parliament in the United Kingdom
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...
. She was created 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...
as Baroness Knight of Collingtree, of Collingtree
Collingtree
Collingtree is a village within the Borough of Northampton and a civil parish in Northamptonshire, England.- Location and context :The village is about from Northampton town centre, close to the A45 trunk road which heads east to Wellingborough and Peterborough...
in the County of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
in 1997
1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to the London Gazette of 1 August 1997 and marked the May 1997 resignation of Prime Minister John Major....
after standing down at that year's 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...
. She was awarded the MBE (1964) and DBE (1985).
Early life
Jill Christie was educated at the King Edward Grammar School for GirlsFoundation of the Schools of King Edward VI
The Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham is a charitable institution that operates two independent schools, five voluntary aided selective state schools in Birmingham, England and one academy....
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. She served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
during World War II. On 14 June 1947 she married James Montague (Monty) Knight (who was an optician, in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
). They had two sons.
Election and Committee Memberships
She served as a councillor on Northampton Borough Council from 1956–66, where she was whipWhip (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...
. Knight unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of Northampton
Northampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Northampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Northampton which existed until 1974.It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election...
in 1959 and 1964 for the Conservative Party. She was elected 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 Birmingham Edgbaston 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...
, which she held in successive elections until 1997.
Knight was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Race Relations and Immigration, 1969–1972, on the Select Committee for the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
from 1977, Home Affairs 1980–1983, Lady Chairman of the Lords and Commons All-Party Child and Family Protection Group from 1978, on the Conservative Back-bench Health and Social Services Committee 1982 –, Secretary to the 1922 Committee
1922 Committee
In British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...
1983–1987.
She was President of the West Midlands Conservative Political Centre 1980–1983 and Lady Chairman of the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
Relations with Parliaments Committee, 1984–1988. She served on the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
(1977–88), and as Chairman, British Inter-Parliamentary Union (1994–97).
Irish Interests
Knight was for over 20 years an active member of the Conservative Monday ClubConservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
and was an outspoken opponent of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA).
Following the February 1972 Aldershot Bombing
1972 Aldershot Bombing
The Aldershot bombing was a car bomb attack by the Official Irish Republican Army on 22 February 1972 in Aldershot, England. The bomb targeted the headquarters of the British Army's 16th Parachute Brigade and was claimed as a revenge attack for Bloody Sunday. Seven civilian staff were killed and...
by the OIRA she called for legislation to outlaw the IRA, and attacked supporters and sympathisers on the mainland. In September 1973 she repeated her call for the banning of the IRA which, she said, was "at open war with Britain", and in December she stated that "it is the first duty of any government to protect its citizens". In June 1974 Knight protested at the "arrogant IRA march" which had been held in London. She said it was: "an outrage and insult to the British people". In this she was supported by other Monday Club MPs John Biggs-Davison
John Biggs-Davison
Sir John Alec Biggs-Davison was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for Chigwell from 1955 and then, after boundary changes in 1974, Epping Forest until his death. He was a leading figure in the Conservative Monday Club.-Early years:The son of Major John Norman Biggs-Davison,...
, who made representations under the Public Order Act to the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, and John Stokes
John Heydon Stokes
Sir John Heydon Romaine Stokes, KBE , was a British politician and a Conservative Party Member of Parliament.-Education and Early Career:...
. Also in June she herself made a formal complaint to the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
about the "Terrorist International Rally" that had been held in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. She said it was: "highly offensive for international terrorists to meet in Britain and plot against us". (The IRA was banned in 1977.)
In August 1974 she tabled a Question in 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...
asking the Secretary of State for Social Services to review payments to foreign visitors, stating that "anyone from Ireland or elsewhere must be made to understand that we have not the money to fund them". In October Sir Keith Joseph
Keith Joseph
Keith St John Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH, PC , was a British barrister and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under three Prime Ministers , and is widely regarded to have been the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as...
, speaking in Knight's constituency, expressed admiration for her as "a brave woman who speaks up when others prefer discretion in public and speak their minds only in private". She responded "I believe my constituents sent me to parliament to speak up, not shut up".
In November 1974 she called for the death penalty to be made available for IRA and all terrorists, moved an amendment to that effect in the House of Commons, and asked the then Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, to step up activities against the IRA. Knight said that she had received more than 8,000 letters demanding 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...
for terrorist killings and only 115 against it. John Biggs-Davison
John Biggs-Davison
Sir John Alec Biggs-Davison was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for Chigwell from 1955 and then, after boundary changes in 1974, Epping Forest until his death. He was a leading figure in the Conservative Monday Club.-Early years:The son of Major John Norman Biggs-Davison,...
and Knight protested in parliament when the government decided to pay £42,000 in compensation to the relatives of men who were shot by the British Army on Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
in 1972. She added that "these payments would seem to open up a completely new level of culpability. What compensation will the relatives of the victims of IRA killers in Birmingham get?".
Political Stance - Strikes
In December 1974 Jill Knight protested in the House of Commons that single men on strike were receiving social security benefits on their own behalf for rent and hire-purchase payments. The following month she supported Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
's decision to intervene in the British Leyland strike by appealing to the workers.
Political Stance - Homosexuality
Jill Knight, along with David WilshireDavid Wilshire
David Wilshire is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament for Spelthorne in Surrey from 1987 to 2010....
, was responsible for introducing the Section 28
Section 28
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
amendment to the Local Government Act 1988
Local Government Act 1988
The United Kingdom Local Government Act of 1988 was famous for introducing the controversial Section 28 into law. In terms of the section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, Local Authorities were prohibited from promoting in specified category of schools, "the teaching of the acceptability of...
, which barred local authorities from "promoting" 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...
. She was also an opponent of abortion, and supported successive attempts to reduce the time-period when the operation could be legally performed.
Sources
- Knight, Jill About the House (1985)
- Copping, Robert, The Monday Club - Crisis and After, Current Affairs Information Service, Ilford, Essex, May 1976, pps: 5, 9, 16-18, 21-22.
- Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1973, 160th edition, Sell's Publications Ltd., Epsom, Surrey.
- Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1990, 171st edition, London.
- Black, A & C, Who's Who, London. (Various editions).