Richard Patrick Tracey, (8 February 1943 – 19 March 2020), was a British Conservative Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

. He was the Member of Parliament for

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

from 1983 to 1997, and served as Minister for Sport between 1985 and 1987. He later became a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, in which he represented the constituency of Merton and Wandsworth, from 2008 to 2016, when he retired. He was the Deputy Leader of the London Assembly's Conservative group.

Early life and education

Tracey was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Stratford-upon-Avon, and studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, graduating with an LLB (Hons) degree. From 1964 to 1966, Tracey was a leader writer for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

''. From 1966 to 1978, he worked as a

presenter Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a news program * Sports commentator, an announcer who presents analysis of a sporting event * Radio personality, presenter or announcer on a radio show * Television ...

and

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for the

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, involved in major TV and radio current affairs programmes and documentaries. He was a public affairs

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

between 1978 and 1983, and between 1997 and 2008. He was the author of ''World of Motor Sport'' (with Richard Hudson-Evans), published in 1971, and ''Hickstead – The First Twelve Years'' (with Michael Clayton), published in 1972. After unsuccessfully contesting

Northampton North Northampton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lucy Rigby, a member of Labour. The constituency is a considered a bellwether, as it has reflected the national result at every general ...

in October 1974, he became chairman of Putney Conservative Association, then Deputy Chairman of the Greater London Area of the Conservative Party. He was President of Tooting Conservative Association.

Political career

Parliament

Tracey was Member of Parliament (MP) for

from

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

until 1997, when the constituency was abolished owing to boundary changes. He served as Environment and Sports Minister combatting football hooliganism from 1985 to 1987, opposing sports sponsorship by tobacco companies, and was a main supporter of the National Lottery from 1991 to 1992; a member of the Select Committee for Televising the House from 1987 to 1989; and on the Public Accounts Committee from 1993 to 1997. He was Chairman of the London Conservative MPs Group from 1990 to 1997. At the 1997 general election, he unsuccessfully contested

Kingston and Surbiton Kingston and Surbiton () is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Greater London created in 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 and represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of C ...

. He was on the Executive Committee of the Association of Former Members of Parliament.

London Assembly

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Tracey was elected a Member of the

representing Merton and Wandsworth, later becoming Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group and Conservative lead on transport. He campaigned to tighten the law on London transport strikes and celebrated the completion of the Overground rail line to Clapham Junction as well as striving to reduce pollution from buses and HGVs in Putney High Street and elsewhere. He also worked on extending the Wimbledon Tramlink to

Morden Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...

and

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

. He was Vice-Chairman of the

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA) from 2000 to 2018. It was established with the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It replaced the ...

(2010–2012), and Member of the

Metropolitan Police Authority The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...

(2008–10). In 2008, he was appointed Mayor's Ambassador for the River by

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

, in which he pushed successfully to extend the fast river transport service upstream to

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

in 2013 and got new piers at

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

, Battersea Reach and

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms, Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of ...

. He was Chairman of the London Waste and Recycling Board from 2012 to 2016, with strategies to increase London recycling. He retired in 2016, and his former Merton and Wandsworth seat was then won by Labour's Leonie Cooper. Tracey was a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

from 1984 onwards, a Freeman of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen, President of Kingston Regatta, and of Kingston RFC, a Justice of the Peace, and a Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust from 1985.

Controversies

The role and extent of non-party organisations in social media advertising during the UK general election of 2019 was examined by

journalist Rory Cellan-Jones. Tracey was identified as the sponsor of a Facebook advert, which opposed the Labour Party's 2019 pledge to remove charitable status and tax exemptions from private schools in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

His wife Katharine Tracey, formerly Katharine Gardner, became a senior councillor on

Wandsworth London Borough Council Wandsworth London Borough Council, also known as Wandsworth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour m ...

for 29 years, and received the OBE for services to education. They had four children and eight grandchildren. Tracey died peacefully at home on 19 March 2020, aged 77. Kathy Tracey died in 2021.

References

* ''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Limited, 1997

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracey, Richard 1943 births 2020 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Alumni of the University of Birmingham People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon Conservative Members of the London Assembly English justices of the peace London AMs 2008–2012 London AMs 2012–2016