Sir Leslie Arthur Plummer (2 June 1901 – 15 April 1963), known to his friends as Dick Plummer,Letter from John Strachey, ''The Times'', 19 April 1963. was a British farmer, newspaper executive and politician. He was in charge of the Overseas Food Corporation during the disastrous

Tanganyika groundnut scheme The Tanganyika groundnut scheme, or East Africa groundnut scheme, was a failed attempt by the British government to cultivate tracts of its African trust territory Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) with peanuts. Launched in the aftermath of W ...

in the late 1940s; later he became a Labour Party Member of Parliament where he pioneered attempts to outlaw racial discrimination.

Newspaper business

Plummer was born in

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, where his father was working. He was educated at

Tottenham Grammar School Tottenham Grammar School (TGS) was a grammar school in North London, with local football connections. Its history goes back beyond the 1631 Sarah, fourth duchess of Somerset Seymour, bequest by the Duchess of Somerset. It closed in 1988, but ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, and first worked on the managerial staff of the '' Daily Herald'' from 1919. In 1922 he became general manager for the ''

New Leader ''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine. History ''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It w ...

'', a paper edited by H. N. Brailsford as the party journal of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

. Plummer shared the left-wing sentiments of the ILP. In 1923 Plummer married Beatrice Lapsker. They had no children. Plummer was selected as Labour Party candidate for

Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Edgbaston is a constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Preet Gill, a Labour Co-op MP. The most high-profile MP for the constituency was former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1937–19 ...

in the mid-1920s but gave up the candidacy in May 1927.''The Times'', 4 May 1927. He left the ''New Leader'' to set up ''The Miner'',British Library catalogue (registration required)
/ref> a journal for the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

, in 1926.

Beaverbrook newspapers

He became an executive of 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 ...

'' group, and was a Director by 1941.He is listed as attending the memorial service for Charles McCurdy, KC as Director of the ''Daily Express'' in ''The Times'' of 19 November 1941. In 1943 he was general manager of the company.See list of attendees at the requiem mass for the

Earl of Kenmare The title of Earl of Kenmare was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1801. It became extinct upon the death of the 7th Earl in 1952. All of the Earls bore the subsidiary titles of Viscount Castlerosse (1801), Viscount Kenmare (1798), and Baron ...

in ''The Times'' of 29 September 1943. Plummer prospered at the ''Daily Express'' group despite disagreeing on politics with the proprietor

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century ...

because of his own skill as an administrator and Beaverbrook's known liking for talent-spotting among left-wingers.

Overseas Food Corporation

Plummer left the ''Daily Express'' when he was named by John Strachey as chairman-designate of the Overseas Food Corporation at the end of 1947. However the appointment was not confirmed until February 1948. The Corporation was created to take charge of the

, a massive project to cultivate peanuts on 325 million acres (1,320,000 km²) of scrubland in

Tanganyika Territory Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various forms from 1916 until 1961. It was initially administered under military occupation. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a League o ...

. The scheme was well advanced by the time Plummer moved in, but he was an enthusiastic supporter. In January 1949 he went out to take personal charge of the scheme."Mr. Plummer flying to East Africa", ''The Times'', 19 January 1949.

Groundnuts scheme scandal

In the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

list of June 1949, Plummer was appointed as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

. However, by the summer of 1949 it was clear that the

groundnut scheme The Tanganyika groundnut scheme, or East Africa groundnut scheme, was a failed attempt by the British government to cultivate tracts of its African trust territory Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) with peanuts. Launched in the aftermath of W ...

was in trouble, having gone over budget. The Conservative Party 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 ...

moved a motion to reduce the estimate in respect of the scheme on 27 July 1949."Parliament", ''The Times'', 28 July 1949. In November, one member of the Overseas Food Corporation board, A.J. Wakefield, became so critical of the management of the scheme that the Minister determined to dismiss him. Wakefield offered to resign only if Plummer did so as well; this was unacceptable to Strachey and Wakefield was dismissed. Plummer and Wakefield had a lengthy exchange of public statements, in which Wakefield accused Plummer of suppressing his suggestions."Groundnut Plan Statements", ''The Times'', 21 November 1949. Plummer was criticised in an editorial in ''

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 ...

'' for "failing to restore confidence (even among his staff) in the higher conduct of the scheme"."Responsibility For Groundnuts", ''The Times'', 21 November 1949. His appointment was called into question by

Alan Lennox-Boyd Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL (18 November 1904 – 8 March 1983), was a British Conservative politician. Background, education and military service Lennox-Boyd was the son of Alan Walter Lennox-Boyd by h ...

because Strachey had been an old colleague of his in the Independent Labour Party."Inquiry into Groundnuts Refused", ''The Times'', 22 November 1949. The next month, Plummer was also criticised by the Conservatives for giving a contract for air transport to the nationalised

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...

rather than two private airlines which had submitted lower tenders, one of whom subsequently went out of business."House of Commons", ''The Times'', 14 December 1949. A

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

debate on the groundnut scheme on 14 December 1949 resulted in a vote of censure of the government, after the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, held by a branch of the Cecil family. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over t ...

attacked Plummer for being an entirely inappropriate choice to run it."Government Defeat on Groundnuts", ''The Times'', 15 December 1949. The author Alan Wood, who had headed the Information Unit of the Overseas Food Corporation, resigned to publish a book on the serious failures in Tanganyika, ''The Groundnut Affair'' (1950). In March 1950, in the House of Commons

John Boyd-Carpenter John Archibald Boyd-Carpenter, Baron Boyd-Carpenter, PC, DL (2 June 1908 – 11 July 1998) was a British Conservative politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Thames from 1945 to 1972, when he was made a life peer. He ser ...

asked the Minister of Food to make a statement about attempts made by Plummer to stop the publication of the book.

Resignation

Plummer announced his resignation in May 1950, with the new Minister of Food Maurice Webb explaining that the role of the Overseas Food Corporation had changed fundamentally in practice compared with the basis on which Plummer had accepted it."Sir L. Plummer To Resign", ''The Times'', 25 May 1950. The announcement was said to have ''"brought the biggest cheer from the Opposition benches that has been heard in the House of Commons for a long time"''."Comments on the Change", ''The Times'', 25 May 1950.

Deptford MP

In 1951 Plummer was adopted as Labour Party candidate for

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

. During the campaign, his local opponents brought up the large amount of money wasted on the Groundnuts scheme. Plummer responded by saying that all his money was invested in a 900-acre (4 km²) farm in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and that although he despised the capitalist system, he had been "extremely fortunate under it and benefited from it"."In the constituencies", ''The Times'', 22 October 1951. He won the seat easily in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. Plummer's

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 4 March 1952 was on the subject of economic development in Africa."Politics and Parliament", ''The Times'', 5 March 1952. He made an early mark by proposing to make illegal the

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

of any body of persons, including a race."Debate on Defamation Bill", ''The Times'', 19 March 1952. Plummer was critical of the policies of the Churchill government in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

where he felt the

Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...

was rooted in poverty"Parliament", ''The Times'', 8 November 1952. and

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: *Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya * Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cen ...

prisoners were mistreated."Labour M.P.'s motion on Kikuyu prisoners", ''The Times'', 20 March 1953. Another preoccupation of Plummer was slum landlords in his constituency."House of Commons", ''The Times'', 15 December 1953.

Television

Plummer firmly opposed commercial television, distrusting the motives of

advertisers Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. He claimed television companies would be tempted to use "the cheap stuff from America"."Parliament", ''The Times'', 28 July 1954. During the controversy over the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's broadcast of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's ''1984'' in 1954, Plummer helped to sponsor a motion deploring the attacks on the BBC for putting on ''"programmes capable of appreciation by adult minds"''."Political Notes", ''The Times'', 15 December 1954.

Racial discrimination

During the 1955 general election campaign, Plummer was embarrassed when he turned up to give a speech in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

to find that the caretaker had not unlocked the hall. A second meeting nearby had been cancelled when only five people turned up."Sir Leslie Plummer Unlucky", ''The Times'', 18 May 1955. In June 1956 he was taken ill while in the

, being attended to by Doctor MPs Dr Charles Hill and Dr

Barnett Stross Sir Barnett Stross (25 December 1899 – 13 May 1967) was a British doctor and politician. He served twenty years as a Labour Party Member of Parliament, famously led the humanitarian campaign "Lidice Shall Live" and pushed for reforms in in ...

."Sir L. Plummer Taken Ill in Commons", ''The Times'', 22 June 1956. He introduced the Racial Discrimination Bill in 1957, aiming to make discrimination on racial grounds illegal; the Bill was talked out by Conservative MP Ronald Bell."No Colour Bar in Britain", ''The Times'', 11 May 1957.

Bank rate leak

In November 1957 Plummer caused uproar on the Conservative benches of the House of Commons by accusing the government of leaking changes to the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

interest rate to the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' and ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''. A judicial inquiry was set up"Lord Justice Parker To Head "Leak" Inquiry", ''The Times'', 15 November 1957. but found no evidence of any impropriety."Bank Rate Tribunal Find Allegations Unjustified", ''The Times'', 22 January 1958.

Police guard

Plummer accused the National Labour Party, a far right-wing group, of being behind a rise of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

in London. The party demanded he substantiate the charge or withdraw it."Party's challenge to Sir L. Plummer", ''The Times'', 29 January 1960. Plummer maintained his challenge. In August 1960 it was revealed that Plummer had received threatening phone calls and eventually a death threat in a letter from the "Adolf Hitler Memorial League". At the end of April 1960 the police put an armed guard on his flat in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

."12-Day Guard on M.P.", ''The Times'', 6 August 1960. The threatening letters continued."Threatening letters to M.P. again", ''The Times'', 7 April 1961.

Libel case

The

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...

nominated candidates in local elections in

in 1961, who issued an election address which attacked Plummer under the heading "Your Pro-Black M.P." and accused him of " omingdown solidly on the side of coloured spivs and their vice dens as opposed to the white people of Deptford". Plummer sued for libel, and was awarded £2,000 in damages."£2,000 For Sir Leslie Plummer", ''The Times'', 25 October 1962.

Death

In the 1960s Plummer became interested in promoting East-West trade. He was elected Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary group on this subject in March 1961."East-West Group", ''The Times'', 29 March 1961. He was forced to apologise to Sir Robert Grimston, a Deputy Speaker, when he wrongly accused him of joining a pressure group for commercial radio."Apology To Sir R. Grimston", ''The Times'', 23 May 1962. He also often took up issues of human rights abuses in Spain. On 15 April 1963, Plummer died suddenly in New York City, where he had gone for a lecture tour.

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *"Sir Leslie Plummer" (Obituary), ''The Times'', 17 April 1963.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Leslie 1901 births 1963 deaths Knights Bachelor 20th-century British newspaper publishers (people) Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Tottenham Grammar School Spouses of life peers UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964