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John Davies | |
|---|---|
 Davies in 1973 | |
| Shadow Foreign Secretary | |
| In office 11 April 1976 – 6 November 1978 | |
| Leader | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Reginald Maudling |
| Succeeded by | Francis Pym |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 5 November 1972 – 5 March 1974 | |
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Rippon |
| Succeeded by | Harold Lever |
| President of the Board of Trade | |
| In office 15 October 1970 – 5 November 1972 | |
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Michael Noble |
| Succeeded by | Peter Walker |
| Secretary of State for Trade & Industry | |
| In office 15 October 1970 – 5 November 1972 | |
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Post established |
| Succeeded by | Peter Walker |
| Minister of Technology | |
| In office 28 July 1970 – 15 October 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Rippon |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Director of theConfederation of British Industry | |
| In office 30 July 1965 – 15 October 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Campbell Adamson |
| Member of Parliament forKnutsford | |
| In office 18 June 1970 – 6 November 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Bromley-Davenport |
| Succeeded by | Jock Bruce-Gardyne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Emerson Harding Harding-Davies (1916-01-08)8 January 1916 London, England |
| Died | 4 July 1979(1979-07-04) (aged 63) London, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingFrank |
| Education | St Edward's School, Oxford |
| Profession | Businessman |
John Emerson Harding Harding-Davies,MBE (8 January 1916 – 4 July 1979) was a British businessman who served as director-general of theConfederation of British Industry during the 1960s. He later went into politics and served in the Cabinet ofEdward Heath as the firstSecretary of State for Trade and Industry, a position which he held from October 1970 to 4 November 1972. Davies was President of the Board of Trade, and from July to October 1970 was Minister of Technology. He became a Privy Councillor and, in 1972, was appointedChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with special responsibilities for the co-ordination of British policy towards the European Communities. In 1979 Davies was to be made alife peer as Baron Harding-Davies, but died before the creation of the peerage passed theGreat Seal. Peerage history was made when, by Royal Warrant bearing the date 27 February 1980, Queen Elizabeth II granted his widow Vera Georgina the title of Lady Harding-Davies; his childrenFrank Davies and Rosamond Ann Metherell were given the rank of children of a life peer.
Davies was born inBlackheath, London, on 8 January 1916, the second son of Arnold Thomas Davies (1882–1966) aChartered accountant fromFolkestone, by his wife Edith Minnie Harding (1880–1962) only child of Captain Francis Dallas Harding (1839–1902) - seeHarding of Baraset - and Minnie Mary Malchus of Calcutta. Davies went toWindlesham House School in Sussex andSt Edward's School, Oxford. He followed his father into accountancy as an articled clerk from 1934; he had just obtained professional qualifications as the youngest Chartered accountant in the country in 1939, when the outbreak ofWorld War II led him to enlist in theRoyal Army Service Corps. Davies was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and spent most of the war in the Combined Operations headquarters. From 1945 he worked for Combined Operations Experimental Establishment (COXE), and received theMBE on demobilization in 1946. On 8 January 1943, he married Vera Georgina Bates, only child of George William Bates, Managing Director ofBarratts Shoes, by his wife Elvina Rosa Taylor. The marriage produced two children; a daughter - Rosamond Ann, and a son - Francis William Harding Davies (Frank Davies).
He joined theAnglo-Iranian Oil Company as an accountant in the marketing division. He qualified as a Fellow of theInstitute of Chartered Accountants in 1949. Davies worked for the company in London,Stockholm andParis; the company becoming part ofBP in 1954. In 1956, Davies was promoted to be General Manager (Markets) for BP, and in 1960 he was Director of BP Trading.
The next year, Davies was appointed as Vice-Chairman and Managing Director ofShell-Mex & BP, becoming the youngest man ever to hold the post. This position put him in charge of a national chain of petrol stations. He also became a Director ofHill Samuel. Due to his position he was made a member of the grand council of the Federation of British Industry, and chaired a committee on technical legislation. His conduct on that committee was regarded as impressive.[citation needed]
The Federation merged with British Employers' Federation and the National Association of British Manufacturers in 1965 to form theConfederation of British Industry. Davies was appointed as its Director-General from that July, wanting the organisation to have a much higher profile than its predecessors. He supported initiatives such as theNational Economic Development Council where government, employers and Trade unions met to discuss the economy, and set up a joint CBI-TUC joint committee. He was also supportive of British entry into theEuropean Community when the government applied in 1967.
Davies surprised some, such asEnoch Powell in May 1967, when he made a speech in California in which he observed that the Labour government's measures to keep pay and prices down were working; Powell considered this not only untrue but an example of collaboration in which "the very spokesmen of capitalism" were doing the work of the socialists. As CBI chief, Davies had somequango appointments as a member of theBritish Productivity Council, the British National Export Council and theCouncil of Industrial Design. He was briefly a member of the Public Schools Commission.
However Davies was aConservative by instinct and after thedevaluation of thePound sterling in November 1967, he became much more critical of the government. Increasingly he would lambast Labour ministers on television, although he continued to work together with Ministers in private. Davies handed over the title of Director-General toCampbell Adamson in 1969.
In 1969, Davies was recruited byEdward Heath to join his government once he won the next election. Heath was looking to lead a 'businesslike' government and believed that senior business figures serving in senior posts would provide more expert management. Davies began to be more quotably critical, describing the "solemn and binding" accord between the government and the TUC (after the failure ofIn Place of Strife) as useful only in the lavatory.
He failed to win the selection for the Conservative nomination at theLouth byelection of 1969, and forCities of London and Westminster for the general election. However, with Central Office support, Davies was found a seat atKnutsford in Cheshire, which he easily won in thegeneral election on 18 June 1970.
That October, Davies was promoted to beSecretary of State for Trade and Industry, a new department set up by Heath. He introduced himself at the Conservative Party Conference with a speech which reiterated Heath's pre-election policy of refusing to intervene in industry. The phrase most closely associated with him was said in the House of Commons on 4 November, when Davies said:
"We believe that the essential need of the country is to gear its policies to the great majority of people, who are not 'lame ducks', who do not need a hand, who are quite capable of looking after their own interests and only demand to be allowed to do so." (Hansard, 5th Series, volume 805, column 1211)
The term "lame ducks" became associated with Davies. However, whenRolls-Royce (a vital defence contractor) ran into financial difficulties early in 1971, it was decided that the government should help by bailing it out. When nugatory efforts did not help, the company wasnationalised to prevent it from going bankrupt.
In June 1971, theUpper Clyde Shipbuilders went into receivership after the government refused it a £6 million loan. The workers at the yard, led byCommunist shop stewards, decided to hold a 'work-in' when they occupied the yard and continued production. This industrial action tended to refute claims that trade unions were work-shy and was therefore embarrassing to the government. Davies' London home was firebombed by theAngry Brigade on 31 July 1971. In February 1972, the government changed its policy and decided to retain three of the four shipyards at a cost of £35 million, although Davies knew they would never operate on a commercial basis.
Davies moved sideways to becomeChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in November 1972, with special responsibility for British relations with theEuropean Community which Britain joined on 1 January 1973. Davies' role was predominantly behind the scenes in making sure British law was in compliance with European law. In Cabinet discussions, Davies advocated a confrontational approach to the trade unions, although he feared for the future.
After Heath left office in 1974, Davies retained his Parliamentary seat but was not given a post in theShadow Cabinet. He resumed his directorship of Hill Samuel. From May he took the Chairmanship of the European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons, examining the details of legislation, and won a strong reputation for looking in detail at the regulations coming out of the EC institutions. In 1975, Davies campaigned for a 'Yes' vote in thereferendum on EC membership.
Davies was nominated by the Conservative Party as aEuropean Commissioner for the term beginning in 1977, but was unacceptable to the Labour government. However, in November 1976Margaret Thatcher decided to sackReginald Maudling as Shadow Foreign Secretary and appointed Davies to replace him. Thatcher's memoirs give praise for the effectiveness of Davies' work in the role.
Davies was not a strong supporter ofmonetarism, although he did agree with Thatcher's view on Soviet expansionism. The major disagreement within the Conservative Party was overRhodesia and whether to continuesanctions on the government ofIan Smith: Davies believed that Smith was not entirely committed to a negotiated peace and therefore that sanctions should be maintained.
Davies was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 1978 and swiftly stood down from the Shadow Cabinet and from Parliament. Davies was granted the position ofSteward of the Manor of Northstead on 6 November 1978. In the Queen's birthday honours list of 1979, he was awarded alife peerage, but he died on 4 July 1979, before the patent of creation passed theGreat Seal. Peerage history was made when, by Royal Warrant bearing the date 27 February 1980, his widow Vera Georgina was granted the style and title ofBaroness Harding-Davies of St. Mellons, indicating the title Davies had intended to take; his children Francis William Harding Harding-Davies and Rosamond Ann Metherell were given the rank of children of life peers.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKnutsford 1970–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Business positions | ||
| New office | Director of theConfederation of British Industry 1965–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Technology 1970 | Position abolished |
| Preceded by | President of the Board of Trade 1970–1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Post established | Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 1970–1972 | |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1972–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Foreign Secretary 1976–1978 | Succeeded by |
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