Sir Harold Edward Gurden (28 June 1903 – 27 April 1989) was a British Conservative Party politician. Gurden was educated in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

at Lyttelton School and

Birmingham University 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 ...

. He married Lucy Isabella, ''née'' Izon, on 16 April 1929. He became a technician in the dairy and food industries, and was founder-president of the Birmingham and District Dairymen's Association (1947–1950) and chairman of the Society of Dairy Technology (Midland Division). He was sometime President of the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

Professional life

Gurden served as a councillor on

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

from 1946 to 1956, representing the ward of

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harbor ...

. He was member of parliament for

Birmingham Selly Oak Birmingham Selly Oak is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

from May 1955 to September 1974, before he lost the seat to Labour's Thomas Litterick. Gurden was a strong proponent of the

right to buy The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives Secure tenancy, secure tenants of Council house, councils and some housing associations the N ...

and a key figure in the campaign to compel local authorities to sell their council homes. In January 1972, he tabled a

Private Members Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

that proposed "to extend to the tenants of dwellings owned by local authorities and other housing bodies the right to acquire the ownership or leasehold of their home". Gurden was one of the first MPs to join the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...

. He was knighted in the

1983 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons October 1974'' *

External links

* Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the University of Birmingham 1903 births 1989 deaths RSPCA workers {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1900s-stub