The Lord Clarke of Nottingham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jack Straw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chris Grayling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | John Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Norman Lamont | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Secretary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 10 April 1992 – 27 May 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | John Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Kenneth Baker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Michael Howard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Education and Science | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 2 November 1990 – 10 April 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | John MacGregor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Patten (Education) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Health | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 July 1988 – 2 November 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Moore (Social Services) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | William Waldegrave | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister without Portfolio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | The Baroness Warsi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Robert Halfon (2015) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 13 July 1987 – 25 July 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Norman Tebbit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Tony Newton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Kenneth Harry Clarke (1940-07-02)2 July 1940 (age 85) Nottingham, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (BA,LLB) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940[2]) is a British politician who served asHome Secretary from 1992 to 1993 andChancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of theConservative Party, he wasMember of Parliament (MP) forRushcliffe from1970 to2019, serving asFather of the House of Commons between 2017 and 2019.
Clarke served in theCabinets ofMargaret Thatcher andJohn Major asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1987 to 1988,Health Secretary from 1988 to 1990, andEducation Secretary from 1990 to 1992. He held two of theGreat Offices of State asHome Secretary andChancellor of the Exchequer.
President of theTory Reform Group since 1997, Clarke is aone-nation conservative who identifies witheconomically andsocially liberal views. He contested theConservative Party leadership three times—in1997,2001 and2005—being defeated each time. Opinion polls indicated he was more popular with the general public than with his party, whose generallyEurosceptic stance did not chime with hispro-European views.
Under thecoalition government ofDavid Cameron, he returned to the Cabinet asJustice Secretary andLord Chancellor from 2010 to 2012 andMinister without Portfolio from 2012 to 2014. He was also theUnited Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion from 2010 to 2014.
The Conservative Whip was withdrawn from him in September 2019 because he and 20 other MPs voted with the Opposition on a motion; for the remainder of his time in Parliament he sat as anindependent, though still on the government benches. He stood down as an MP at the2019 general election and was thereafter made a Conservativelife peer in theHouse of Lords in 2020.[3]
Clarke is President of theConservative Europe Group, Co-President of the pro-EU bodyBritish Influence and Vice-President of theEuropean Movement UK.[4] Described by the press as a 'Big Beast' of British politics, his total time as a minister is the fifth-longest in the modern era. He has spent over 20 years serving underPrime MinistersEdward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. He was one of only five ministers (Tony Newton,Malcolm Rifkind,Patrick Mayhew andLynda Chalker are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Thatcher-Major governments, which represents the longest uninterrupted ministerial service in Britain sinceLord Palmerston in the early 19th century.
Kenneth Harry Clarke was born inNottingham and was christened with the same name as his father, Kenneth Clarke, a mining electrician.[5][6] The younger Clarke spent his early years inLangley Mill, Derbyshire.[7] He won a scholarship to the independentNottingham High School[8] before going up to readlaw atGonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he graduated with anupper second honours degree.[9] Clarke initially heldLabour sympathies, and his grandfather was aCommunist, but while at Cambridge he joined theConservative Party.
As Chairman of theCambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA), Clarke invited former British Fascist leaderSir Oswald Mosley to speak for two years in succession, prompting some Jewish students (including his future successor at the Home Office,Michael Howard) to resign from CUCA in protest.[10] Howard then defeated Clarke in one election for the presidency of theCambridge Union, but Clarke becamePresident of the Cambridge Union a year later, being elected on 6 March 1963 by a majority of 56 votes. Clarke opposed the admission of women to the Union, and is quoted as saying upon his election, "The fact that Oxford has admitted them does not impress me at all. Cambridge should wait a year to see what happens before any decision is taken on admitting them."[11]
In an early-1990s documentary, journalistMichael Cockerell played to Clarke some tape recordings of him speaking at the Cambridge Union as an undergraduate, and he displayed amusement at hearing his then-stereotypical upper class accent. Clarke is deemed one of theCambridge Mafia, a group of prominent Conservative politicians who were educated atCambridge in the 1960s. After graduation, Clarke wascalled to the Bar in 1963 atGray's Inn, being appointedQueen's Counsel in 1980.[12]
Clarke sought election to the House of Commons almost immediately after Cambridge. His political career began by contesting the Labour stronghold ofMansfield at the1964 and1966 elections. InJune 1970, just before his 30th birthday, he won theEast Midlands constituency ofRushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, south ofNottingham, from Labour MPTony Gardner.
Clarke was soon appointed a GovernmentWhip, and served as such from 1972 to 1974; he, with the assistance of Labour rebels, helped ensure Edward Heath's government won key votes on British entry into theEuropean Communities (which later evolved into theEuropean Union). Even though Clarke opposed the election of Margaret Thatcher as Conservative Party Leader in 1975, he was appointed as her Industry Spokesman from 1976 to 1979, and then occupied a range of ministerial positions during her premiership.
From 2017 to 2019 he served asFather of the House. Following his expulsion from theConservative Party in September 2019, he became the first Independent MP to hold the position of Father of the House sinceClement Tudway, who died in office as MP forWells in 1815.
Lord Clarke is the subject of aportraitin oil commissioned by Parliament.[13][14]
Clarke first served in the government of Margaret Thatcher asParliamentary secretary forTransport (1979–81) andParliamentary under-secretary of state forTransport (1981–82), and thenMinister of State forHealth (1982–85).
Clarke joined the Cabinet asPaymaster General and Employment Minister (1985–87) (his Secretary of State,Lord Young of Graffham, sat in the Lords), and served asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of theDTI (1987–88) with responsibility for Inner Cities. While in that position, Clarke announced the sale toBritish Aerospace of theRover Group, a new name forBritish Leyland, which had been nationalised in 1975 by the government ofHarold Wilson.[15]
Clarke was appointed the firstSecretary of State for Health when the department was created out of the formerDepartment of Health and Social Security in July 1988.[16] Clarke, with backing from John Major, persuaded Thatcher to accept the controversial "internal market" concept to theNHS.[17][18] Clarke claimed that he had persuaded Thatcher to introduce internal competition in the NHS as an alternative to her preference for introducing a system of compulsory health insurance, which he opposed.[19]
He told his biographer Malcolm Balen: "John Moore was pursuing a line which Margaret [Thatcher] was very keen on, which made everything compulsory medical insurance. I was bitterly opposed to that...TheAmerican system is...the world's worst health service – expensive, inadequate and with a lot of rich doctors".[20] In her memoirs, Thatcher claimed that Clarke, although "a firm believer in state provision", was "an extremely effective Health minister – tough in dealing with vested interests and trade unions, direct and persuasive in his exposition of government policy".[21]
In January 1989, Clarke's White PaperWorking for Patients appeared; this advocated giving hospitals the right to become self-governingNHS Trusts, taxpayer-funded but with control over their budgets and independent of theregional health authorities.[22] It also proposed that doctors be given the option to become "GP fundholders". This would grant doctors control of their own budgets in the belief that they would purchase the most effective services for their patients. Instead of doctors automatically sending patients to the nearest hospital, they would be able to choose where they were treated. In this way, money would follow the patient and the most efficient hospitals would receive the greatest funding.[23]
This was not well received by doctors and their trade union, theBritish Medical Association, launched a poster campaign against Clarke's reforms, claiming that the NHS was "underfunded, undermined and under threat". They also called the new GP contracts "Stalinist". A March 1990 opinion poll commissioned by the BMA showed that 73% believed that the NHS was not safe in Conservative hands.[23] Clarke later claimed that the BMA was "the most unscrupulous trade union I have ever dealt with and I've dealt with every trade union across the board".[23] Although Thatcher tried to halt the reforms just before they were introduced, Clarke successfully argued that they were necessary to demonstrate the government's commitment to the NHS. Thatcher told Clarke: "It isyou I'm holding responsible ifmy NHS reforms don't work".[23]
By 1994 almost all hospitals had opted to become trusts but GP fundholding was much less popular.[24] There were allegations that fundholders received more funding than non-fundholders, creating a two-tier system. GP fundholding was abolished by Labour in 1997 and replaced by Primary Care Groups.[25] According toJohn Campbell, by "the mid-1990s the NHS was treating more patients, more efficiently than in the 1980s...the system was arguably better managed and more accountable than before".[25] Studies suggest that while the competition introduced in the "internal market" system resulted in shorter waiting times it also caused a reduction in the quality of care for patients.[26][27]
Clarke has been the subject of criticism over the decades for his responsibility for thecontaminated blood scandal.[28][29][30] It was the largest loss-of-life disaster in Britain since the 1950s and claimed the lives of thousands ofhaemophiliacs.[31]Theresa May ordered apublic inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal in July 2017.[32] In July 2021, Clarke gave oral evidence to the inquiry with his demeanour being widely branded "arrogant, pompous and contemptuous" by the press. It was reported that he argued with inquiry counsel, refused to apologise and at one point even walked out while the chairman,Sir Brian Langstaff, was speaking.[33][34][35]
TheMSF trade union claimed that Clarke's exclusion of NHS medical laboratory staff from the pay review body in 1984 led to massive staff shortages and a crisis in medical laboratory testing by 1999.[36]
Just over two years later he was appointedSecretary of State for Education and Science in the final weeks of Thatcher's Government, followingNorman Tebbit's unwillingness to return to Cabinet following the resignation ofGeoffrey Howe. Clarke was the first Cabinet Minister to advise Thatcher to resign after her victory in the first round of the November 1990leadership contest was less than the 15% winning margin required to prevent a second ballot; she referred to him in her memoirs as acandid friend: "his manner was robust in the brutalist style he has cultivated: the candid friend".[37]
Clarke came to work with John Major very closely, and quickly emerged as a central figure in his government. After continuing as Education Secretary (1990–92), where he introduced a number of reforms, he was appointed asHome Secretary in the wake of the Conservatives' victory at the1992 general election. In May 1993, seven months after the impact of "Black Wednesday" had damagedNorman Lamont's credibility asChancellor of the Exchequer, Major sacked Lamont and appointed Clarke in his place.
At first, Clarke was seen as the dominant figure in Cabinet, and at the October 1993 Conservative Party Conference he defended Major from his critics by pronouncing "any enemy of John Major is an enemy of mine."
In the party leadership contest of 1995, when John Major beatJohn Redwood, Clarke kept faith in Major and commented: "I don't think the Conservative Party could win an election in 1,000 years on this ultra right-wing programme".[38]
Clarke enjoyed an increasingly successful record as Chancellor, as the economy recovered from the recession of the early 1990s and a new monetary policy was put into effect after Black Wednesday. He reduced the basic rate of income tax from 25% to 23%, reduced UK Government spending as a percentage of GDP, and reduced the budget deficit from £50.8 billion in 1993 to £15.5 billion in 1997. Clarke's successor, theLabourChancellorGordon Brown, continued these policies, which eliminated the deficit by 1998 and allowed Brown to record a budget surplus for the following four years. Interest rates, inflation and unemployment all fell during Clarke's tenure atHM Treasury. Clarke's success was such that Brown felt he had to pledge to keep to Clarke's spending plans and these limits remained in place for the first two years of the Labour Government that was elected in 1997.[18]
The matter of areferendum on Britain joining the plannedeuro – first raised by Margaret Thatcher in 1990 – was, after much press speculation, raised again at Cabinet byDouglas Hogg in the spring of 1996, very likely (in Clarke's view) with Major's approval; Clarke records that Heseltine spoke "with passionate intensity" at Cabinet against a referendum, believing both that referendums were pernicious and that no concession would be enough to please the Eurosceptics. Clarke, who had already threatened resignation over the issue, also opposed the measure and, although Clarke and Heseltine were in a small minority in Cabinet, Major once again deferred a decision.
Major, Heseltine and Clarke eventually reached agreement in April 1996, in what Clarke describes as "a tense meeting ... rather like a treaty session", that there would be a commitment to a referendum before joining the euro, but that the pledge would be valid for one Parliament only (i.e. until the general election after next), with the Government's long-term options remaining completely open; Clarke threatened to resign if this formula were departed from.[39]
Clarke, writing in 2016 after theBrexit Referendum, comments that he and Heseltine later agreed that they had separately decided to give way because of the pressure Major was under, and that the referendum pledge "was the biggest single mistake" of their careers, giving "legitimacy" to such a device.[39]
In December 1996, after Foreign SecretaryMalcolm Rifkind had commented that it was unlikely that the government would join the euro, Clarke and Heseltine took to the airwaves – in apparent unison – to insist that the government retained a free choice as to whether or not to join, angering Eurosceptics.[40] When Tory Party Chairman,Brian Mawhinney, was understood to have briefed against him, Clarke declared: "tell your kids to get their scooters off my lawn" – an allusion toHarold Wilson's rebuke of Trades Union leaderHugh Scanlon in the late 1960s.
After the Conservatives entered opposition in 1997, Clarke contested the leadership of the Party for the first time. In1997, the electorate being solely Tory Members of Parliament, he topped the poll in the first and second rounds. In the third and final round he formed an alliance with Eurosceptic John Redwood, who would have becomeShadow Chancellor and Clarke's deputy, were he to have won the contest. However, Thatcher endorsed Clarke's rivalWilliam Hague, who proceeded to win the election comfortably. The contest was criticised for not involving the rank-and-file members of the Party, where surveys showed Clarke to be more popular. Clarke rejected the offer from Hague of a Shadow Cabinet role, opting instead to return to thebackbenches.
Clarke contested the party leadership for a second time in2001. Despite opinion polls again showing he was the most popular Conservative politician with the British public,[18] he lost in a final round among the rank-and-file membership, a new procedure introduced by Hague, to a much less experienced, but strongly Eurosceptic rival,Iain Duncan Smith. This loss, by a margin of 62% to 38%, was attributed to the former Chancellor's strongpro-European views being increasingly out-of-step with the party members'Euroscepticism.[18] His campaign was managed byAndrew Tyrie.
Clarke opposed the2003 invasion of Iraq. After choosing not to stand for the leadership after Duncan Smith departed in2003 in the interests of party unity, he returned to fight the 2005 leadership election. He still retained huge popularity among voters, with 40% of the public believing he would be the best leader.[41] He was accused byNorman Tebbit of being "lazy" whilst leadership rivalMalcolm Rifkind suggested that Clarke's pro-European views could have divided the Conservative Party had Clarke won.[42] In the event, Clarke was eliminated in the first round of voting by Conservative MPs. Eventual winner David Cameron appointed Clarke to head a Democracy Task Force as part of his extensive 18-month policy review in December 2005, exploring issues such as the reform of theHouse of Lords and party funding. Clarke is President of theTory Reform Group, a liberal,pro-Europeanginger group within the Conservative Party.
Clarke became known as "aneconomic andsocial liberal, an internationalist and a strong supporter of theEuropean idea".[43]
In 2006, he described Cameron's plans for a British Bill of Rights as "xenophobic andlegal nonsense".[44]
On 12 May 2009,The Daily Telegraph reported that Clarke had "flipped" hisCouncil Tax. He had told the Parliamentary authorities that his main home was in the Rushcliffe constituency, enabling him to claim a second-home allowance on his London residence, leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill for Council Tax due on that property. However, he toldRushcliffe Borough Council in Nottinghamshire that he spent so little time at his constituency address that his wife Gillian should qualify for a 25% Council Tax (single person's) discount, saving the former Chancellor around £650 per year. Land Registry records showed that Clarke no longer had a mortgage on his Nottinghamshire home where he has lived since 1987. Instead he held a mortgage on his London property, which was being charged to the taxpayer at £480 per month.[45]
In 2009, Clarke became Shadow Business Secretary in Opposition to the then-Business Secretary,Peter Mandelson. David Cameron flattered Clarke as about the only one able to challenge Mandelson and Brown's economic credibility. Two days later it emerged that Clarke had warned in a speech a month earlier thatPresident Barack Obama could see David Cameron as a "right-wing nationalist" if the Conservatives maintained Eurosceptic policies and that Obama would "start looking at whoever is in Germany or France if we start beingisolationist".[46] TheFinancial Times said "Clarke has in effect agreed to disagree with the Tories' official Eurosceptic line".[47]
On 12 May 2010, Clarke's appointment asSecretary of State for Justice andLord Chancellor was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in theCoalition Government formed between the Conservative andLiberal Democrat parties.[48] James Macintyre, political editor ofProspect, argued that in this ministerial role he had instigated a process of radical reform.[49]
In June 2010, Clarke signalled an end to short prison sentences after warning it was "virtually impossible" to rehabilitate any inmate in less than 12 months. In his first major speech after taking office, Clarke indicated a major shift in penal policy by saying prison was not effective in many cases. This could result in more offenders being handed community sentences. Clarke, who described the current prison population of 85,000 as "astonishing", received immediate criticism from some colleagues in a Party renowned for its tough stance on law and order. He signalled that fathers who fail to pay child maintenance, disqualified drivers and criminals fighting asylum refusals could be among the first to benefit and should not be sent to prison.[50]
Clarke announced in February 2011 that the Government intended to scrutinise the relationship between theEuropean Court of Human Rights and national parliaments.[51]
In May 2011, controversy related to Clarke's reported views on sentencing for those convicted of rape resurfaced after an interview on the radio stationBBC Radio 5 Live, where he discussed a proposal to increase the reduction of sentences for criminals, including rapists, who pleaded guilty pre-trial, from a third to a half.[52] In the interview he incorrectly[53] asserted that the reason for the low average sentence of those convicted of rape was that legal definition of "rape" in England and Wales included such less serious offences as consensual sex between a 17 year old and a 15 year old.
In 2011 and 2012, Clarke faced criticism for his Justice and Security Bill, in particular those aspects of it that allow secret trials when "national security" is at stake.[54][55]The Economist stated: "the origins of the proposed legislation lie in civil cases brought by former Guantánamo detainees, the best-known of whom wasBinyam Mohamed, alleging that government intelligence and security agencies (MI6 and MI5) were complicit in their rendition and torture".[56][57] Prominent civil liberties and human rights campaigners argued: "the worst excesses of the war on terror have been revealed by open courts and a free media. Yet the Justice and Security Green Paper seeks to place Government above the law and would undermine such crucial scrutiny."[58]
Following the 2012 Cabinet reshuffle, Clarke was moved fromJustice Secretary toMinister without Portfolio. It was also announced that he would assume the role of rovingTrade Envoy with responsibility for promoting British business and trade interests abroad, a position which he enjoyed.
In the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, after more than 20 years serving as a Minister, it was announced that Clarke had stepped down from government, to return to the backbenches.[59] Clarke was honoured as aCompanion of Honour, upon the Prime Minister's recommendation, in July 2014.[60] His total time as agovernment minister is the fifth-longest in the modern era afterWinston Churchill,Arthur Balfour,Rab Butler, andthe Duke of Devonshire.[61]
Clarke was opposed toBrexit during the2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's continuedmembership of the European Union, and opposed theholding of the referendum in the first place.[62] He was the sole Conservative MP to vote against the triggering ofArticle 50.[63]
During the2016 Conservative leadership election Clarke was interviewed by Sky News on 5 July 2016 and made negative comments to Sir Malcolm Rifkind,[64] about the "fiasco" (leadership contest) and about three of the candidates. In a widely circulated video clip, he referred toTheresa May as a "bloody difficult woman", joked thatMichael Gove, who was "wild", would "go to war with at least three countries at once" and characterised some of the utterances ofAndrea Leadsom as "extremely stupid". Clarke added that Gove "did us all a favour by getting rid of Boris. The idea of Boris asprime minister is ridiculous."[65]
In February 2017, following the death ofGerald Kaufman, Clarke succeeded asFather of the House, continuing after his re-election as an MP at the2017 general election.
In December 2017, Clarke voted along with fellow ConservativeDominic Grieve and nine other Conservative MPs against the government, and in favour of guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful vote" on anyBrexit deal Britain agrees with the European Union.[66]
Clarke endorsedRory Stewart during the2019 Conservative leadership election.[67]
In September 2019, after Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost a number of key votes in the House of Commons, Clarke stated that it would be "not inconceivable" for him to become Prime Minister leading agovernment of national unity in order to revoke Article 50 and prevent Brexit. Other politicians who were suggested for such a role at the time includedHarriet Harman, his female counterpart as Mother of the House of Commons. Lib Dem leaderJo Swinson supported the proposal, thoughBoris Johnson andJeremy Corbyn, theLeader of the Opposition, both dismissed the suggestion.[68] As it turned out, a vote of no-confidence was not in fact tabled against Boris Johnson's government and no such government of national unity was formed or took office.
On 3 September 2019, Clarke joined 20 other rebel Conservative MPs to vote against the Conservative government of Boris Johnson.[69] The rebel MPs voted against a Conservative motion which subsequently failed. Effectively, they helped block Johnson'sno-deal Brexit plan from proceeding on 31 October.[70] Subsequently, all 21 were advised that they had lost the Conservative whip[71][72] and were expelled as Conservative MPs, requiring them to sit as independents.[73][74] If they decided to run for re-election in a future election, the party would block their selection as Conservative candidates, though Clarke opted not to do so.[70]
On the edition of 3 September ofBBC'sNewsnight, Clarke discussed the situation, saying that he no longer recognised the Conservative Party, referring to it as "theBrexit Party, rebadged". His rationale was "It's been taken over by a rather knockabout sort of character, who's got this bizarre crash-it-through philosophy... a Cabinet which is the most right-wing Cabinet any Conservative Party has ever produced."[75] In an interview on 7 September, Clarke rejected the suggestion that, like other former Conservative MPs, he could join the Liberal Democrats, but noted that, if he were to cast "a protest vote", he would "follow the Conservative tradition of voting Lib Dem."[76]
In his capacity as Father of the House, Clarke presided over the House of Commons'2019 Speakership election.[77] He then retired from the House of Commons at the2019 general election. SinceDennis Skinner lost his seat in the election,Peter Bottomley succeeded as Father of the House.
Nominated in early 2020 for elevation to the peerage by Boris Johnson,[78] on 4 September he was createdBaron Clarke of Nottingham,of West Bridgford in the County of Nottinghamshire.[79] Taking the Conservative Whip, Lord Clarke made his maiden speech on 28 September 2020.[80]
Whilst serving as a backbench MP and as a Shadow Cabinet Minister, Clarke accepted severalnon-executive directorships:
Also as a backbencher, Clarke declared engagement in non-political media work:
In 1964, Clarke married Gillian Edwards, a Cambridge contemporary;[94] they had a son and a daughter.[18] She died of cancer in July 2015.[95]
Clarke's enthusiasm for cigars,jazz and motor racing is well known,[18] and he enjoysbirdwatching as well as reading political history. He is also popularly recognised for his affection for suedeHush Puppies, a brand of shoe, which became a "trademark" of his during his early ministerial days.[96] His autobiography denies he wore Hush Puppies and says these suede shoes were hand-made by Crockett & Jones.[97]
Clarke is a sports enthusiast, being a supporter of both local football clubsNotts County[98][99] andNottingham Forest, who offered him a chair,[100] and a former President ofNottinghamshire County Cricket Club. He is President of bothRadcliffe Olympic and the Radcliffe on Trent Male Voice Choir, and a keen follower ofFormula One motorsport. He was involved with tobacco giantBritish American Tobacco's Formula One teamBritish American Racing (BAR) and has attendedGrands Prix in support of the BAR team. BAR was sold toHonda in 2005. He also appeared on the podium of the2012 British Grand Prix to present the first-place trophy toMark Webber.
Clarke attended the1966 FIFA World Cup Final and jokingly claims to have been influential in persuading the linesman,Tofiq Bahramov, to award a goal toGeoff Hurst when theEngland striker had seen his shot hit the crossbar of opponentsWest Germany, leaving doubt as to whether the ball had crossed the line. Clarke's position in theWembleycrowd was right behind the linesman at the time and he shouted at the official to award a goal.[101]
Lord Clarke is a lover ofreal ale and has been an active member of theCampaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).[102]
His memoir,Kind of Blue, was published in October 2016.[103]
UK Baron,cr. 2020[104]
Companion of Honour (CH), 2014.svg)
Privy Counsellor (PC), 1985[105]Born in Nottingham on July 2, 1940, Kenneth Harry Clarke was educated at Nottingham High School before studying law at Cambridge.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said Mr Clarke had, in any case, not been correct to suggest consensual sex with a 15-year-old would be rape – under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 children under 13 are presumed to be incapable of giving their consent to sex. Sex with a 15-year-old would amount to another sexual offence which carries a lower penalty.
Mr Clarke subsequently explained that he and Mr Blair considered that they were attending the conference as representatives of the Government and the Opposition respectively, and stated that "I was quite confident that I was at the time meeting the rules applying to Ministers, and it did not occur to me that the new rules concerning registration could apply to this visit".
Ken Clarke, Peter Mandelson and former mandarin Lord Kerr were also among the select group of British figures at the gathering of politicians and tycoons.
The group, which includes luminaries such as Henry Kissinger and former UK chancellor Kenneth Clarke, does not even have a website.
5–8 June 2008, to Chantilly, Virginia, USA, to attend Bilderberg Conference. Hotel accommodation paid for by the conference sponsors. (I paid my travel costs.) (Registered 12 June 2008)
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRushcliffe 1970–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1985–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1987–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Health 1988–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Education and Science 1990–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Exchequer 1993–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Second Lord of the Treasury 1993–1997 | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform | Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Justice 2010–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Lord Chancellor 2010–2012 | ||
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Father of the House of Commons 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Clarke of Nottingham | Followed by |
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