Sir David Austin Trippier, RD, DL (born 15 May 1946) is a British Conservative Party politician and author.

Early life

Trippier was born on 15 May 1946. He was educated at Bury Grammar School.

Political career

Trippier fought

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in a by election in 1972, coming third. In the elections in February and October 1974, he stood at

Oldham West Oldham West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham in the north-west of Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constitue ...

, but was beaten each time by future Labour Cabinet Minister,

Michael Meacher Michael Hugh Meacher (4 November 1939 – 21 October 2015) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Ol ...

. He was the

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for

Rossendale Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district *Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency), a former parliamentary constitu ...

from 1979 to 1983, and for

Rossendale and Darwen Rossendale and Darwen is a constituency in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Jake Berry, the former Chairman of the Conservative Party. Boundaries 1983 to 1997: The Borough of Rossenda ...

from 1983, until he lost his seat in 1992, by 120 votes to Labour's

Janet Anderson Janet Anderson (born 6 December 1949) is a former Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen from 1992 until 2010, when she lost her seat. Her time as MP is remembered for her role as Minister for ...

. Trippier was appointed his PPS by

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

while he was

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

for Health at the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. Hi ...

from 1982 to 1983. He then served as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister o ...

for Trade and Industry, 1983 to 1985,

for Employment, 1985 to 1987,

for the Environment, 1987 to 1989, and then

for the Environment and Countryside at the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

from 1989 to 1992.

Later life

He was knighted after he lost his seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

, and appointed

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lancas ...

for 1997. He subsequently became the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party's Northern Board. He married barrister Ruth Worthington in 1975.

Freemasonry

He was initiated in to

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in 1968, at the age of 21. In 2011, he became the

Provincial Grand Master Provincial Grand Master (abbreviated PGM or PrGM), sometimes called District Grand Master or Metropolitan Grand Master, is a fraternal office held by the head of a Provincial Grand Lodge, who is directly appointed by the organisation's Grand Master ...

for the Masonic Province of East Lancashire. He was invested on 22 February 2012. He retired as Provincial Grand Master on 18 November 2021.

References

*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'',

Times Newspapers Ltd News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...

, 1992 *''Lend Me Your Ears 9781841041780 published by The Memoir Club''

External links

* 1945 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Bury Grammar School UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 Politics of Blackburn with Darwen Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire High Sheriffs of Lancashire Knights Bachelor Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1940s-stub