The Lord Dykes | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 21 June 2004 Life Peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forHarrow East | |
| In office 18 June 1970 – 8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Roebuck |
| Succeeded by | Tony McNulty |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1939-05-17)17 May 1939 (age 85) |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats Conservative (until 1997) |
| Spouse | Susan Margaret Smith (dissolved) |
Hugh John Maxwell Dykes, Baron Dykes, (born 17 May 1939) is a British politician and member of theHouse of Lords.[1] He served as aConservativeMember of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1997, and later defected to theLiberal Democrats.
Dykes was educated atWeston-super-Mare Grammar School,Somerset, followed byPembroke College, Cambridge.He married Susan Margaret Smith in 1966 and they had three sons; Oliver, Jonathan and Jethro. The couple divorced in 2000. Dykes has been in a relationship with Sarah Allder since 2003.
After unsuccessfully contesting thesafeLabour seat ofTottenham in1966, Dykes served as aConservativeMember of Parliament forHarrow East from1970 until he lost his seat at the1997 general election. Having served as an MP for 27 years, he was one of the most senior casualties of the election. He also served as aMember of the European Parliament between 1974 and 1977. While an MP, Dykes served in theMinistry of Defence and theCabinet Office inEdward Heath's government.
Following the defeat ofKenneth Clarke inthe Conservative leadership contest following the 1997 general election, Dykes joined theLiberal Democrats. Within a year of joining the party, he came to serve as an adviser toPaddy Ashdown onEuropean Union affairs.
He has served as chairman of theEuropean Movement-UK and as vice president of theBritish-German Association. In 1991 he was awarded theGerman Order of Merit, followed by the Luxembourg Médaille pour l'Europe in 1993.
In 2004, Dykes was raised to the peerage asBaron Dykes, ofHarrow Weald in theLondon Borough of Harrow.[2] The same year he received the FrenchLégion d'Honneur.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHarrow East 1970 –1997 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Dykes | Followed by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
