Peter Temple-Morris, Baron Temple-Morris (12 February 1938 – 1 May 2018) was a British politician. He was elected as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

in 1974; he stood down in 2001 after changing parties. He sat in the

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 ...

as a Labour peer.

Early life

Born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Temple-Morris attended Llandaff Cathedral School and Hillstone School (Malvern College's preparatory school) in Malvern, then

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

. He went to

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, gaining a BA in Law in 1958. He became a barrister, like his father, from 1962 at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, practising until 1989. His family home was in Cardiff, as his father Sir Owen Temple-Morris was MP for

Cardiff East Cardiff East () is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, first contested at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. It is currently represented by Jo St ...

Parliamentary career

Temple-Morris was selected as the Conservative candidate for Newport (Monmouthshire) in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and Norwood in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. In February 1974, he was elected for

, having been selected for the seat in March 1973. That same year, he was appointed vice-chairman,

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head ...

(UK Branch). In 1979, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Transport,

Norman Fowler Peter Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, (born 2 February 1938) is a British politician who served as a member of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major's ministries during the 1980s and 1990s. He held the office of Lord Speaker from 1 September 201 ...

, Executive Member,

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

(British Group) and Founding Co-Chairman, British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body. He was a member of the Select Committees on Agriculture (1982–83) and on Foreign Affairs (1987–90). Temple-Morris was a strong supporter of

Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...

Crossing the floor

Temple-Morris resigned after he was suspended from the Conservative Party in 1997 because Tory officials said he had "repeatedly and publicly questioned his continued commitment to the Conservative Party." Speaking after his resignation, the MP told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm not surprised in all the circumstances and not a little bit relieved in view of the unhappy state of politics of the Conservative Party for some years now." The BBC reported that Conservative leader

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

's action would be seen as an attempt to deflect attention from disappointing by-election results in Winchester and in Beckenham. As for Temple-Morris, his disaffection toward his old party grew due to their hard-line stance on the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

. From 1997 to 1998, Temple-Morris sat on the government Labour benches, but did not take the whip, instead sitting as a one-man 'Independent One-Nation Conservative' group. However, on Saturday 20 June 1998 he joined the Labour Party but stood down as an MP at the 2001 general election. He is the only person ever to serve as a Labour MP representing Herefordshire, though he was never elected as a member of that party.

House of Lords

Temple-Morris was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 22 June 2001 as Baron Temple-Morris, of

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

in the County of South Glamorgan and of

in the

County of Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire and Powys to the west. The c ...

. He sat in the

as a Labour peer. Outside politics, Temple-Morris was appointed Chairman of the Macleod Group, an association of left-of-centre Conservative MPs, in 1979. In 1995, he became President of the British-Iranian Business Association Society. Temple-Morris contributed to the book '' What next for Labour? Ideas for a new generation'' in September 2011, his piece being entitled "Labour: Progressive Politics".

Personal life

Temple-Morris's father, Owen Temple-Morris, was also a Conservative MP. His son, Eddy Temple-Morris, is a DJ,

Virgin Radio Virgin Radio is a branding of radio stations broadcast in Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. As of April 2024, there were over 40 stations globally. The stations ...

presenter, record producer and former MTV presenter. Temple-Morris married Taheré Khozeimé-Alam (the daughter of

Amir-Hossein Khozeimé Alam Amir Hossein Khozeimé-Alam (c. 1919 – 2002) was the eldest son of Amir Ma'soum Khan Khozeiméh (Hessamodolleh III), the last ruling Amir of Qaenat and Sistan, in what is now south-eastern Iran. He was a cousin of Amir Asadollah Alam and was m ...

of Dezashib, Tehran, who fled to London from Iran in 1979) in 1964 in London.End of uneasy Tory marriage of beliefs
,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 20 June 1998 The couple had two sons and two daughters.''Dod's Parliamentary Companion''
, Charles Roger Dod, Vacher Dod Publishing, Limited, Robert Phipps Dod, Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited, 2004, page 737 Lady Temple-Morris died in , aged 86. When he was an MP, Temple-Morris was known for his love of shooting, wine and food. Temple-Morris died from cancer in London on 1 May 2018, at the age of 80.

References

External links

Lord Temple-Morris - UK Parliament
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They Work For You
{{DEFAULTSORT:Temple-Morris, Peter 1938 births 2018 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deaths from cancer in England Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at Malvern College People educated at The Cathedral School, Llandaff Politicians from Cardiff Politics of Herefordshire UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001