George Barrington "Barry" Porter (11 June 1939 – 3 November 1996) was a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician who was the MP for Bebington and Ellesmere Port from 1979 to 1983, and then for Wirral South from 1983 until his death.

Early life

A native of

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

, Porter was educated at Birkenhead School and went on to

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, where he earned a degree in

philosophy, politics and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

. He became a solicitor, working as a partner and later a consultant at Fanshaw Porter & Hazlehurst Solicitors in Birkenhead.

Political career

Porter was elected to the Birkenhead Borough Council in 1967, which was subsumed into the

Wirral Council Wirral Council, or Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, is the Local government in England, local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan borough council, metropolitan district council with Bo ...

after 1974. He remained a councillor until 1979.

Member of Parliament

Porter contested a number of parliamentary constituencies before he found success. He was the Conservative candidate at a by-election for Liverpool Scotland in 1971, Newton in the February 1974 general election, and Chorley in October 1974. Ahead of the 1979 general election, he unsuccessfully sought selection in the safe Conservative seat of Morecambe and Lonsdale. Instead, he was elected in 1979 as the MP for Bebington and Ellesmere Port. After boundary changes for the 1983 election, he was returned for the new constituency of Wirral South. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said about Porter's politics: Porter believed that his role in Thatcher's downfall would end his political career, and there was an effort to deselect him ahead of the 1992 general election, but it was unsuccessful. Porter was a member of the

Transport Select Committee The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport The D ...

from 1979 to 1983. In 1985, he joined the Trade and Industry Select Committee. In 1980, he was mailed a

letter bomb A letter bomb is an explosive device sent via the postal service, and designed with the intention to injure or kill the recipient when opened. They have been used in terrorist attacks such as those of the Unabomber. Some countries have agenc ...

after speaking out against the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

during a parliamentary debate, but it was intercepted before delivery.

Personal life and death

Porter married Susan James in 1965, and they had five children. His wife worked as his secretary in the Commons, which she continued to do even after they separated in 1989. Porter, who was described as a heavy smoker and "sometimes hard-drink r, died from

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

in London on 3 November 1996, at the age of 57. His death eliminated the majority of one enjoyed by the government of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, and the consequent February 1997 by-election was won by Labour's Ben Chapman.

Legacy

A caricature of Porter hangs in the lounge bar of the Cask and Glass Public House in Victoria, London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Barry 1939 births 1996 deaths 20th-century English lawyers Alumni of University College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Cheshire Deaths from throat cancer in England English solicitors Members of Wirral Council People educated at Birkenhead School Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997