Sir Spencer Le Marchant | |
|---|---|
| Comptroller of the Household | |
| In office 7 May 1979 – 30 September 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | James Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Berry |
| Member of Parliament forHigh Peak | |
| In office 18 June 1970 – 9 June 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Hawkins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1931-01-15)15 January 1931 Edmonton, London, England |
| Died | 7 September 1986(1986-09-07) (aged 55) Isle of Wight, England |
| Party | Conservative |
Sir Spencer Le Marchant (15 January 1931 – 7 September 1986) was a BritishConservative Party politician.
Born inEdmonton, London, Le Marchant was educated atEton College and was a member of theLondon Stock Exchange. He served as a councillor onWestminster City Council from 1956.
Le Marchant unsuccessfully contestedVauxhall, a Londonsafe seat held by theLabour Party'sGeorge Strauss since its formation in 1950, at the1966 general election. He was elected to theHouse of Commons asmember of parliament for the marginal Derbyshire constituency ofHigh Peak at the1970 general election, and held the seat until he retired fromParliament at the1983 general election. He was appointedComptroller of the Household whenMargaret Thatcher came to power in 1979.
Le Marchant received note in Thatcher's memoirs as "famous for his intake ofchampagne", 6 foot and 6 inches tall, and "could be heard booming out the result" when the thenLabour government lost amotion of no confidence by one vote, causing the1979 general election.
Le Marchant retired from the House of Commons at the1983 general election, and died at the age of 55 in 1986 on theIsle of Wight.
In 1955 he married Lucinda GayeLeveson-Gower, daughter of Brigadier General Hugh Nugent Leveson-Gower, RA and his first wife, Avril Joy Mullens (later fourth wife ofErnest Aldrich Simpson, himself the second husband ofWallis, Duchess of Windsor, whose love affair with KingEdward VIII led to the1936 abdication crisis).
In 2006,Michael Brown, a former Conservative MP from 1979 to 1997, stated that Le Marchant had tried unsuccessfully to seduce him.[1] According to former-MP-turned-journalistMatthew Parris, Le Marchant was a "repressed homosexual".[2]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHigh Peak 1970–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Comptroller of the Household 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
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