Sir Peter Maudslay Hordern, DL, PC (18 April 1929 – 18 April 2024) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Early life

Hordern was born on 18 April 1929, and was the son of Captain Charles Hubert Hordern MBE and grandson of Rt. Rev. Hugh Maudslay Hordern (Bishop of Lewes). He was educated at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

, Australia and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He served with the

60th Rifles The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

from 1947 to 1949, joining the regiment of his father and great-uncle, Brig. General Gwyn Venables Hordern CB, CMG, JP. He then became a Member of the

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...

Political career

Hordern served as member of parliament for

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

from 1964 to 1974, for Horsham and Crawley from 1974 to 1983 and for Horsham once again from 1983 to 1997. He was appointed to the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

in 1993. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant for West Sussex. Hordern was a member of the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

from 1970 to 1987, Chairman of the Finance Committee from 1970 to 1972 and Chairman of the

Public Accounts Commission The Public Accounts Commission is a UK body created under the National Audit Act 1983 to audit the National Audit Office, i.e., to watch the watchers.

from 1988 to 1997. He was appointed to the Executive of the

1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, or sometimes simply the 22, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party in the British House of Commons of the United Kingdom, H ...

in 1967, later becoming Secretary of the 1922 Committee and Chairman of the Conservative backbench Committee on Europe. Colin Welch described Hordern as "the ablest Tory never to have been a minister".

Andrew Roth Andrew Roth (23 April 1919 – 12 August 2010) was a biographer and journalist known for his compilation of ''Parliamentary Profiles'', a directory of biographies of British Members of Parliament, a small sample of which is available online ...

's ''Parliamentary Profiles'' (1987–1991) describes him as "Widely respected, well-connected, principled Rightwing, monetarist City gent; a hard-headed long term thinker; a devout believer in sanctity of tight money" and as saying "I was not only one of the first in this House to be a monetarist...I confidently expect to be about the last." Ahead of the high inflation of the mid-1970s, he attacked (with some prescience) 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 ...

in 1970 for insufficient monetary restraint and (while Chairman of the Finance Committee) both publicly opposed Chancellor

Anthony Barber Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber, Baron Barber, (4 July 1920 – 16 December 2005) was a British Conservative politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1970 to 1974. After serving in both the Territorial Army and the Royal A ...

's over-expansion of monetary supply in April 1971 and attacked the

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

Government's "absurd" proposals for a statutory prices and incomes policy.

Other work

Hordern was appointed a director of

Petrofina Petrofina was a Belgium, Belgian oil company. It merged with Total S.A., Total in 1999 to form TotalFina, which after subsequent mergers has changed its name back to Total. In the United States, Fina's former refining and marketing operations ...

UK PLC in 1973 and chairman in 1987. He was appointed a director of F&C Smaller Companies Investment Trust, plc in 1978, and as chairman in 1986. He was appointed a director of TR Technology Investment Trust in 1985 (formerly Atlas Electric and General Trust). In 1982 he was appointed a consultant to

Fisons Fisons plc was a British Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical, scientific instruments and horticultural chemicals company headquartered in Ipswich, United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a cons ...

PLC and a consultant to

House of Fraser House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

PLC and Pannell Kerr Forster in 1984.

Personal life and death

Hordern married Elizabeth Susan Chataway (sister of Sir

Christopher Chataway Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster and Conservative politician. Education Chataway was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Deny ...

) in 1964. They had two sons and one daughter: Andrew Charles Hugh Hordern (1965–2009); James Peter Hordern (born 1967); and Sara Victoria Margaret (born 1971). Hordern died on 18 April 2024, his 95th birthday.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hordern, Peter Maudslay 1929 births 2024 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor King's Royal Rifle Corps officers People educated at Geelong Grammar School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Free Foresters cricketers UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Deputy lieutenants of West Sussex