Robin Squire
Encyclopedia
Robin Clifford Squire was a British politician. He was the Conservative
MP for Hornchurch
from 1979 until 1997 when he lost the seat to John Cryer
.
Squire was born and raised in South West London. After qualifying as an accountant he was employed by a finance company while being a Conservative Party activist. He became a member of Sutton Borough Council
in 1968 and the Member of Parliament
for Hornchurch
in 1979. During the Thatcher
years (1979 to 1990) Squire was considered to be a prominent "wet", opposed to the Conservative government's economic and employment policies. After Mrs Thatcher left office in 1990, Squire's political position strengthened and he held junior ministerial positions until the Conservative government fell in 1997.
Squire was described in The Guardian
as "a user-friendly Tory wet" and in The Times
as "a minister who wears pebble glasses and always looks as though he lives in a bedsit."
After losing his seat in the 1997 general election
, Squire struggled initially to find a new career. His difficulties in this regard were widely reported on in the media. Since 2002, he has been the Trust Secretary/Chief Executive for the Veolia ES Cleanaway Trusts, based in Rainham
, a group of several environmental charities operating in Havering and in Basildon
and Castle Point
, Essex
.
Squire was educated at Tiffin Grammar School, Kingston upon Thames
and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant
while working in a small City
practice. He joined the accounting department of Lombard Banking in 1968 (a finance company that became a member of the National Westminster Bank
group in 1970) and was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Accountant at Lombard North Central
in 1972. He held this post until he was elected to Parliament in 1979.
During this period he was a Conservative activist. Notably, he held various positions in the Greater London
Young Conservatives including that of Chairman in 1973. He was elected a member of Sutton Borough Council
in 1968. Squire was the Conservative candidate for Hornchurch in the October 1974 general election
although he lost the election by a 7,000 vote margin. In 1976 he become the Leader of Sutton Council.
At an early stage, he demonstrated a political position on the left of the Conservative Party. At the Conservative Party Conference in 1973 he was booed when he opposed a motion calling on the Government to recognise the white minority regime in Rhodesia
. At the Conservative Local Government Conference in 1977 Squire was one of five council leaders who spoke against plans advanced by Keith Speed
(then Conservative local government spokesman) to abolish the domestic rating system. Squire warned that abolition of the rating system without a widely accepted alternative to put in its place might be highly damaging.
During the period 1970 to 1979, both Conservative and Labour
administrations promoted the move to comprehensive education. As Leader of Sutton Council, Squire advocated a move to comprehensive education in the Borough that would be phased in by 1984. However, in 1978 Labour Education Secretary
Shirley Williams pressed for an end to selective education in the Borough by 1980. This resulted in a stand-off and Squire threatened legal action against the government in order to prevent an earlier move to comprehensives
. The advent of a new Conservative government in May 1979 allowed Sutton to remain as an isolated pocket of selective education and grammar school
s. After the Liberal Democrats took control of the Council in 1986 selective education was retained.
Squire was elected to Parliament as the member for Hornchurch on 3 May 1979. Labour-held Hornchurch had not been a marginal seat and Squire had not expected to win it. However,he was elected with a 769 vote majority on a "freak" 8.5% swing. At this point he stood down as leader of Sutton Borough Council and he gave up his Council seat in 1982.
Squire married Susan Fey in 1981. Fey was a Labour Party activist. Questioned about the marriage, Fey stated that she was on the right wing of the Labour Party and her husband was on the left of the Conservative Party. As such, she considered that there was no great political difference between them. The couple had two children (1 son, 1 daughter) by Fey's previous marriage and divorced in 2007.
(or 'poll tax
') and in 1988 he was one of 20 Conservative rebels to vote against the freezing of child benefits. During the 1980s, he sponsored a successful 'freedom of information
' private members bill and participated in cross-party pressure groups involved with homeless people. He became particularly well known for his regular contributions to Capital Radio
's "Party Pieces" programme and he was described in the Times
diary as being "pleasingly unsycophantic".
He appeared to be comfortable as a member of the 'Parliamentary club'. He was reported to be a prominent and popular member of the Guy Fawkes club - a dining club
composed of Conservative MPs first elected in 1979. Other members of the Guy Fawkes club included John Major
and Brian Mawhinney
. He was rated as a highly capable member of the House of Commons bridge team and acquitted himself well in tournaments.
Squire consistently expressed misgivings over the personal leadership style of Margaret Thatcher, describing her as "a good wartime leader, but ...." This, combined with his status as a "dripping" or "oceanic" wet meant that promotion was slow in coming. The only significant office he held during the Thatcher governments was that of Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Transport Secretary
Linda Chalker between 1983 and 1985. In 1980 he was ousted from the Secretaryship of the Conservative backbench European Committee by a Eurosceptic.
However, his prospects suddenly improved when John Major became Prime Minister in 1990 and early in 1991, he became PPS to Chris Patten
MP, the Chairman of the Conservative Party.
, Squire was appointed Under Secretary of State for the Environment. In this capacity he was variously described as the "inner cities minister" or the "local government minister". His background as a Council leader made him an obvious choice for this role and he appeared to work harmoniously with Michael Howard
, the then Secretary of State for the Environment
.
However, on 28 May 1993 he was moved to the post of Under Secretary of State for Education, serving under Secretary of State John Patten
and later Gillian Shephard
. In this capacity he was generally known as the "schools minister" and occasionally as the "school discipline minister". He held this post until the Conservative government fell in May 1997. The official reason given for the move was that one of the other education ministers (Baroness Blatch
) sat in the House of Lords
and it was felt that an experienced House of Commons operator like Squire was needed to front government policy on schools.
During his 4 years as Schools Minister, Squire was involved in many high-profile issues. These included the introduction of the OFSTED
schools inspection regime, published league tables for school performance, the ability of state sector schools to opt-out of local authority control as "grant-maintained" schools, nursery education vouchers and the introduction of the first state funded Muslim schools. Many of these reforms survived the change of government in 1997 and became features of Labour education policy.
He is reported to have "barked down" some of the more extreme proposals to deal with the threat of school shootings after the Dunblane massacre
in 1996. This incident occurred when a crazed individual with a gun entered a primary school and shot a number of pupils and teachers.
During the final months of the Major government, Squire was identified with the "Conservative Mainstream" group of MPs. This group was composed of centrist, one-nation members who sided with John Major in his confrontations with Eurosceptics and right-wingers.
In the United Kingdom general election, 1997
, Squire was defending a 9,165 majority in his constituency at Hornchurch. His personal popularity plus his prominence as a Minister lead him to believe that he would hold the seat, "This was the one time when I thought my seat was safe..." but he lost the seat to Labour's John Cryer
with a 16% swing and a 5,680 Labour majority.
Squire initially considered a return to accountancy. But he had difficulty in this regard because he had not updated his skills since leaving the profession in 1979. For example, he was initially unable to use a computer spreadsheet
or a scientific calculator
- essential tools for an accountant by 1997. He applied for the post of General Manager of the Dolphin Square
residential complex in Pimlico, London at a salary of £30,000 but was turned down, albeit as the runner-up for the post. He applied for the position of bursar
at several independent schools but was rejected by all of them. "His only independent income in the first four months of his enforced leisure came when he won 20 pounds on a Sunday Times brain-teaser competition"
He eventually "signed on" for the Job Seeker's Allowance. He was given counselling and directed to courses on interview technique, assertiveness and IT
skills. Squire gradually developed a portfolio of part-time appointments. In 1999 he served for a short period as a National Lottery Commission
er (salary £6,200) and he was later appointed as a schools adjudicator by the Department of Education. It is believed that he took up a number of other such posts in the voluntary and NGO sectors. He also acted, until March 2000, as a Parliamentary lobbyist.
Squire stood against John Cryer
at Hornchurch in the 2001 general election
but lost again by a significant majority. He has not been politically active since that time.
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...
MP for Hornchurch
Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
Hornchurch was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
from 1979 until 1997 when he lost the seat to John Cryer
John Cryer
John Robert Cryer is an English Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead since the general election in May 2010...
.
Squire was born and raised in South West London. After qualifying as an accountant he was employed by a finance company while being a Conservative Party activist. He became a member of Sutton Borough Council
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
in 1968 and the 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,...
for Hornchurch
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
in 1979. During the Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
years (1979 to 1990) Squire was considered to be a prominent "wet", opposed to the Conservative government's economic and employment policies. After Mrs Thatcher left office in 1990, Squire's political position strengthened and he held junior ministerial positions until the Conservative government fell in 1997.
Squire was described in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as "a user-friendly Tory wet" and in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as "a minister who wears pebble glasses and always looks as though he lives in a bedsit."
After losing 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...
, Squire struggled initially to find a new career. His difficulties in this regard were widely reported on in the media. Since 2002, he has been the Trust Secretary/Chief Executive for the Veolia ES Cleanaway Trusts, based in Rainham
Rainham, London
Rainham is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan and is surrounded by a residential area, which has grown from the historic village,...
, a group of several environmental charities operating in Havering and in Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
and Castle Point
Castle Point
Castle Point is a local government district and borough in south Essex. The borough comprises the towns of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley which also provides the site of the council headquarters.-History:...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Early career
Squire was educated at Tiffin Grammar School, Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
while working in a small City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
practice. He joined the accounting department of Lombard Banking in 1968 (a finance company that became a member of the National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
group in 1970) and was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Accountant at Lombard North Central
Lombard Direct
Lombard Direct is a British-based finance company that specialise in loans and insurance, founded in 1995. It is one of the largest finance houses in the United Kingdom and is now a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland group....
in 1972. He held this post until he was elected to Parliament in 1979.
During this period he was a Conservative activist. Notably, he held various positions in the Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
Young Conservatives including that of Chairman in 1973. He was elected a member of Sutton Borough Council
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
in 1968. Squire was the Conservative candidate for Hornchurch in the October 1974 general election
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...
although he lost the election by a 7,000 vote margin. In 1976 he become the Leader of Sutton Council.
At an early stage, he demonstrated a political position on the left of the Conservative Party. At the Conservative Party Conference in 1973 he was booed when he opposed a motion calling on the Government to recognise the white minority regime in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. At the Conservative Local Government Conference in 1977 Squire was one of five council leaders who spoke against plans advanced by Keith Speed
Keith Speed
Sir Herbert "Keith" Speed, RD, DL is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and former Member of Parliament. He is a descendant of cartographer and historian John Speed....
(then Conservative local government spokesman) to abolish the domestic rating system. Squire warned that abolition of the rating system without a widely accepted alternative to put in its place might be highly damaging.
During the period 1970 to 1979, both Conservative and Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
administrations promoted the move to comprehensive education. As Leader of Sutton Council, Squire advocated a move to comprehensive education in the Borough that would be phased in by 1984. However, in 1978 Labour Education Secretary
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
Shirley Williams pressed for an end to selective education in the Borough by 1980. This resulted in a stand-off and Squire threatened legal action against the government in order to prevent an earlier move to comprehensives
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
. The advent of a new Conservative government in May 1979 allowed Sutton to remain as an isolated pocket of selective education and grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s. After the Liberal Democrats took control of the Council in 1986 selective education was retained.
Squire was elected to Parliament as the member for Hornchurch on 3 May 1979. Labour-held Hornchurch had not been a marginal seat and Squire had not expected to win it. However,he was elected with a 769 vote majority on a "freak" 8.5% swing. At this point he stood down as leader of Sutton Borough Council and he gave up his Council seat in 1982.
Squire married Susan Fey in 1981. Fey was a Labour Party activist. Questioned about the marriage, Fey stated that she was on the right wing of the Labour Party and her husband was on the left of the Conservative Party. As such, she considered that there was no great political difference between them. The couple had two children (1 son, 1 daughter) by Fey's previous marriage and divorced in 2007.
Parliamentary career
Upon entering Parliament, Squire was soon established as one of the "wet" group of Conservative MPs who opposed many aspects of the economic, employment and social policies of the Thatcher government. For example, in 1981 Squire was one of 18 Conservative rebels who opposed referendum provisions for local council rate increases. In 1987 he opposed the introduction of the community chargeCommunity Charge
The Community Charge, popularly known as the "poll tax", was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of the rates to part fund local government in Scotland from 1989, and England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the...
(or 'poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
') and in 1988 he was one of 20 Conservative rebels to vote against the freezing of child benefits. During the 1980s, he sponsored a successful 'freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
' private members bill and participated in cross-party pressure groups involved with homeless people. He became particularly well known for his regular contributions to Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
's "Party Pieces" programme and he was described in the Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
diary as being "pleasingly unsycophantic".
He appeared to be comfortable as a member of the 'Parliamentary club'. He was reported to be a prominent and popular member of the Guy Fawkes club - a dining club
Dining club
A dining club is a social group, usually requiring membership , which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers...
composed of Conservative MPs first elected in 1979. Other members of the Guy Fawkes club included 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...
and Brian Mawhinney
Brian Mawhinney
Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney PC is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 until 1997 and a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 2005.-Early life:...
. He was rated as a highly capable member of the House of Commons bridge team and acquitted himself well in tournaments.
Squire consistently expressed misgivings over the personal leadership style of Margaret Thatcher, describing her as "a good wartime leader, but ...." This, combined with his status as a "dripping" or "oceanic" wet meant that promotion was slow in coming. The only significant office he held during the Thatcher governments was that of 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 Transport Secretary
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
Linda Chalker between 1983 and 1985. In 1980 he was ousted from the Secretaryship of the Conservative backbench European Committee by a Eurosceptic.
However, his prospects suddenly improved when John Major became Prime Minister in 1990 and early in 1991, he became PPS to Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
MP, the Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Ministerial career
On 14 April 1992, in the immediate aftermath of the United Kingdom general election, 1992United 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...
, Squire was appointed Under Secretary of State for the Environment. In this capacity he was variously described as the "inner cities minister" or the "local government minister". His background as a Council leader made him an obvious choice for this role and he appeared to work harmoniously with 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...
, the then Secretary of State for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
.
However, on 28 May 1993 he was moved to the post of Under Secretary of State for Education, serving under Secretary of State John Patten
John Patten
John Patten is the name of:*John Patten , American soldier and politician from Delaware*John Patten , British Conservative politician*Jack Patten, Australian Aboriginal leader-See also:...
and later Gillian Shephard
Gillian Shephard
Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, PC , née Watts, is an English Conservative politician; she was the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, and a former Cabinet Minister and is now Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers.-Early life and career:The daughter...
. In this capacity he was generally known as the "schools minister" and occasionally as the "school discipline minister". He held this post until the Conservative government fell in May 1997. The official reason given for the move was that one of the other education ministers (Baroness Blatch
Emily Blatch, Baroness Blatch
Emily Blatch, Baroness Blatch, CBE, PC, FRSA was a British Conservative politician.Born as Emily May Triggs, the daughter of Stephen and Sarah Triggs, she was educated at Prenton and at Huntingdonshire College...
) sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and it was felt that an experienced House of Commons operator like Squire was needed to front government policy on schools.
During his 4 years as Schools Minister, Squire was involved in many high-profile issues. These included the introduction of the OFSTED
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
schools inspection regime, published league tables for school performance, the ability of state sector schools to opt-out of local authority control as "grant-maintained" schools, nursery education vouchers and the introduction of the first state funded Muslim schools. Many of these reforms survived the change of government in 1997 and became features of Labour education policy.
He is reported to have "barked down" some of the more extreme proposals to deal with the threat of school shootings after the Dunblane massacre
Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
in 1996. This incident occurred when a crazed individual with a gun entered a primary school and shot a number of pupils and teachers.
During the final months of the Major government, Squire was identified with the "Conservative Mainstream" group of MPs. This group was composed of centrist, one-nation members who sided with John Major in his confrontations with Eurosceptics and right-wingers.
In the United Kingdom general election, 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...
, Squire was defending a 9,165 majority in his constituency at Hornchurch. His personal popularity plus his prominence as a Minister lead him to believe that he would hold the seat, "This was the one time when I thought my seat was safe..." but he lost the seat to Labour's John Cryer
John Cryer
John Robert Cryer is an English Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead since the general election in May 2010...
with a 16% swing and a 5,680 Labour majority.
After Parliament
Around 150 Conservative MPs lost their seats in the 1997 general election. Many of them struggled to find gainful employment and a new role in life for themselves. This was particularly difficult for former ministers who had become accustomed to the status, emoluments and perks that went with their old jobs.Squire initially considered a return to accountancy. But he had difficulty in this regard because he had not updated his skills since leaving the profession in 1979. For example, he was initially unable to use a computer spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
or a scientific calculator
Scientific calculator
A scientific calculator is a type of electronic calculator, usually but not always handheld, designed to calculate problems in science, engineering, and mathematics...
- essential tools for an accountant by 1997. He applied for the post of General Manager of the Dolphin Square
Dolphin Square
Dolphin Square is a block of private apartments and business complex built near the River Thames at Pimlico in London, between 1935 and 1937.At one time, the huge development was home to more than 70 MPs, and at least 10 lords...
residential complex in Pimlico, London at a salary of £30,000 but was turned down, albeit as the runner-up for the post. He applied for the position of bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
at several independent schools but was rejected by all of them. "His only independent income in the first four months of his enforced leisure came when he won 20 pounds on a Sunday Times brain-teaser competition"
He eventually "signed on" for the Job Seeker's Allowance. He was given counselling and directed to courses on interview technique, assertiveness and IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
skills. Squire gradually developed a portfolio of part-time appointments. In 1999 he served for a short period as a National Lottery Commission
National Lottery Commission
The National Lottery Commission is the non-departmental public body set up on 1 April 1999 under the National Lottery Act 1998 to regulate the National Lottery...
er (salary £6,200) and he was later appointed as a schools adjudicator by the Department of Education. It is believed that he took up a number of other such posts in the voluntary and NGO sectors. He also acted, until March 2000, as a Parliamentary lobbyist.
Squire stood against John Cryer
John Cryer
John Robert Cryer is an English Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead since the general election in May 2010...
at Hornchurch in the 2001 general election
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...
but lost again by a significant majority. He has not been politically active since that time.