Peter Morrison
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter Hugh Morrison PC (2 June 1944 – 13 July 1995) was a British
Conservative
politician, MP for Chester
from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
.
and at Keble College
at the University of Oxford
, where he studied Law.
in the general election of February 1974
for Chester
. He had been one of the first back-bench MPs to urge Margaret Thatcher
to stand for the Party leadership in 1975
.
Morrison was Deputy Conservative Party Chairman under Norman Tebbit
, having been previously a Parliamentary Undersecretary of State and Minister of State
in the Department of Employment. In 1987 he was Minister of State for Energy.
He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Margaret Thatcher in 1990 and was the leader of her campaign team in the Conservative leadership election
of the same year. He was relaxed about Thatcher's prospects and predicted an easy win for her. Alan Clark
went to visit Morrison one afternoon during the campaign and found him asleep in his office. Morrison claimed he had enough MPs down as Thatcher supporters to ensure she would win. After the first ballot among Conservative MPs had shown that Thatcher did not have enough votes to win outright, Morrison suggested to her that she should consult the Cabinet one-by-one to gauge support. He said to her: "Prime Minister, if you haven't won then there are a lot of Tory MPs who are lying".
Morrison stood down at the 1992 general election
, being succeeded as MP for Chester by Gyles Brandreth
.
According to journalist Simon Heffer
, Morrison was gay
and went cruising in Sussex Gardens. Fellow Conservative MP Michael Brown
, himself openly gay, has described Morrison as gay in a column published in The Independent
.
His brother was Sir Charles Morrison
, Conservative MP for Devizes from 1964 to 1992 and their father was John Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale
.
He died of a heart attack early in the morning of 13 July 1995.
in the 2004 BBC
production of The Alan Clark Diaries
, and by Rupert Vansittart
in the 2009 BBC production of Margaret
.
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, MP for Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
from 1974 to 1992, and 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...
(PPS) to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
Education
Morrison was 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"....
and at Keble College
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where he studied Law.
Life and career
He was first elected to the House of CommonsBritish 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...
in the general election of February 1974
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,...
for Chester
City of Chester (constituency)
City of Chester is a county 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.- Boundaries :...
. He had been one of the first back-bench MPs to urge Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
to stand for the Party leadership in 1975
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1975
Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom had called and unexpectedly lost the February 1974 general election...
.
Morrison was Deputy Conservative Party Chairman under Norman Tebbit
Norman Tebbit
Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment...
, having been previously a Parliamentary Undersecretary of State and 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...
in the Department of Employment. In 1987 he was Minister of State for Energy.
He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Margaret Thatcher in 1990 and was the leader of her campaign team in the Conservative leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1990
The 1990 Conservative Party leadership election in the United Kingdom took place in November 1990 following the decision of former Defence and Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine to stand against the incumbent Conservative leader and Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.Thatcher failed to win...
of the same year. He was relaxed about Thatcher's prospects and predicted an easy win for her. Alan Clark
Alan Clark
Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
went to visit Morrison one afternoon during the campaign and found him asleep in his office. Morrison claimed he had enough MPs down as Thatcher supporters to ensure she would win. After the first ballot among Conservative MPs had shown that Thatcher did not have enough votes to win outright, Morrison suggested to her that she should consult the Cabinet one-by-one to gauge support. He said to her: "Prime Minister, if you haven't won then there are a lot of Tory MPs who are lying".
Morrison stood down at 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...
, being succeeded as MP for Chester by Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
.
According to journalist Simon Heffer
Simon Heffer
Simon James Heffer is a British journalist, columnist and writer.-Education:Heffer was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.-Career:...
, Morrison was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and went cruising in Sussex Gardens. Fellow Conservative MP Michael Brown
Michael Brown (UK politician)
Michael Russell Brown is a British former Conservative Party politician and is now a newspaper and broadcast political journalist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1997.-Biography:...
, himself openly gay, has described Morrison as gay in a column published in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
.
His brother was Sir Charles Morrison
Charles Morrison
Sir Charles Andrew Morrison was a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, MP for Devizes constituency from 1964 until 1992.-Background:...
, Conservative MP for Devizes from 1964 to 1992 and their father was John Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale
John Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale
Major John Granville Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale, TD, DL was a British Conservative Party politician.He was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1938 and was Member of Parliament for Salisbury from 1942 until 1965....
.
He died of a heart attack early in the morning of 13 July 1995.
In popular culture
Morrison was portrayed by Nicholas JonesNicholas Jones (actor)
Nicholas Jones is an English character actor. His older sister is actress Gemma Jones. They are the children of actor Griffith Jones....
in the 2004 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...
production of The Alan Clark Diaries
The Alan Clark Diaries
The Alan Clark Diaries is a 2004 BBC television serial dramatising the diaries of the controversial British Conservative politician Alan Clark.-March of the Grey Men:...
, and by Rupert Vansittart
Rupert Vansittart
Rupert Vansittart is an English character actor. He has appeared in a variety of roles in film, television, radio and on stage, often playing comic or serio-comic characters....
in the 2009 BBC production of Margaret
Margaret (2009 film)
Margaret is a 2009 television film produced by Great Meadow Productions for the BBC. It is a fictionalisation of the life of Margaret Thatcher and her fall from the premiership in the 1990 leadership election. It was first broadcast on 26 February 2009 on BBC Two...
.
External links
- Obituary by Patrick CosgravePatrick CosgravePatrick John Francis Cosgrave was an Anglophile Irish journalist and writer, and a staunch supporter of the British Conservative Party.-Early life and education:...
. - Obituary by Sir Archibald HamiltonArchibald HamiltonArchibald Hamilton may refer to:* Lord Archibald Hamilton , Scottish politician* Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton , Scottish peer and politician* Lord Archibald Hamilton son of the above, MP for Lanarkshire....
.