Jeremy Hanley

Sir Jeremy James Hanley, KCMG (born 17 November 1945) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and a chartered accountant.

He stood unsuccessfully at the Lambeth Central by-election, 1978 before becoming Member of Parliament for Richmond and Barnes in 1983. On his first day in the House of Commons he ended up sitting next to Ian Paisley. He introduced himself, saying: "How do you do? I did not realise that you were on our side." To which Paisley famously replied: "Never confuse sitting on your side with being on your side." [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm199091/cmhansrd/1990-11-07/Debate-2.html]

During the John Major government, he served as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office, then from 1994 to 1995 as Conservative Party Chairman with the Cabinet sinecure of Minister without Portfolio, and subsequently as Minister of State at the Foreign Office until 1997. He has been a member of the Privy Council since 1994.

Hanley's Richmond and Barnes constituency was abolished ahead of the 1997 election. He stood as the Conservative candidate for the new constituency of Richmond Park, but was defeated by the Liberal Democrat candidate Jenny Tonge.

Hanley is the son of the actor Jimmy Hanley (1918–1970) and the actress Dinah Sheridan (born 1920). His sister, Jenny Hanley, became an actress and TV presenter in the 1970s.

References

Times Guide to the House of Commons 1997