Joseph Kenneth Hargreaves, MBE, KSG (1 March 1939 – 23 June 2012) was the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington and covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Ha ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

between 1983 and 1992, when he lost his seat to

Greg Pope Gregory James Pope (born 29 August 1960) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hyndburn from 1992, until retiring at the general election of 2010. He was a government whip from 1997 until 2001. Early ...

of Labour. A chartered secretary and company administrator by profession, he served as a local

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

and was the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Hyndburn in 1979, four years before his election to Parliament. In 1990, Hargreaves, together with

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

MP David Alton (now Lord Alton of Liverpool), founded the Movement for Christian Democracy (now the

Christian Peoples Alliance The Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) is a Christian rightist political party in the United Kingdom. The party was founded in its present form in 1999, having grown out of a cross-party advocacy group called the Movement for Christian Democracy. ...

) and served as Vice-Chairman. After his defeat at the 1992 general election, he worked for

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

as a liaison with local Conservative Clubs. In the 2005 general election, he supported the unsuccessful candidate for the Conservatives, James Mawdsley, a human rights campaigner. Hargreaves was given an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services to the community in

in Queen Elizabeth II’s

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

on 29 December 2006. Shortly before his death in 2012, Hargreaves was honoured with a Papal Knighthood of the

Order of St Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

. He died on 23 June 2012 at the East Lancashire Hospice in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

. A devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, he was a parishioner of St Mary’s RC Church in

Oswaldtwistle Oswaldtwistle ( "ozzel twizzel") is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England, southeast of Blackburn, contiguous with Accrington and Church. The town has a rich industrial heritage, being home to James Hargreaves, inventor of the ...

in his former constituency.

Affiliations

* Pro-life lobby group
Right to Life.
* President: ''Accrington and District Blind Society'' * President: ''Hyndburn Arthritis Care'' * Chairman of the Trustees
Maundy Relief
* ''Disabled Association for Sport in Hyndburn''.

References

External links

* * 1939 births 2012 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English activists English Roman Catholics Knights of St. Gregory the Great Mayors of places in Lancashire Members of the Order of the British Empire Politics of Hyndburn UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1930s-stub