- Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross
Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross (
10 December 1924 –19 October 2006 ) was a Britisheconomist . He was head of theInstitute of Economic Affairs from 1957 to 1987. The IEA's brand offree market liberal economics was deeply unpopular when it was founded, but, some 20 years later, Harris was considered to be an architect ofThatcherism .Biography
Harris was the son of a
tram ways inspector. He was born in northLondon and was educated atTottenham Grammar School . He read economics atQueen's College, Cambridge , graduating with a first-class degree. He married in 1949, and was survived by his wife and his daughter. Two sons predeceased him.After working at the Conservative Political Centre at
Conservative Central Office , Harris was a lecturer inpolitical economy atSt Andrews University from 1949 to 1965. He was an unsuccessful Conservative Party candidate for Kirkcaldy in 1951 and for Edinburgh Central in 1955, and became a leader writer for the "Glasgow Herald " in 1956.Harris became general director of the
Institute of Economic Affairs in 1957. He remained in this post until 1987, when he stepped down to become its chairman and was replaced byGraham Mather . Harris was then a founder president of the IEA from 1990 to his death. The IEA was set up byAntony Fisher andOliver Smedley in 1955.Friedrich Hayek had suggested that an intellectual counterweight was necessary to combat the prevailingKeynesian consensus "Butskellism " of R. A. Butler andHugh Gaitskell . Harris, together with editorial directorArthur Seldon , built the IEA into a bastion offree market liberal economics. The IEA developed links with economists such as Hayek,Gottfried Haberler , Harry Johnson,Milton Friedman ,George Stigler and James Buchanan, and published many pamphlets and papers on public finance issues, such as taxation, pensions, education, health, transport, and exchange rates.In 1979, during
Margaret Thatcher 's first few months in power, he was made alife peer as Baron Harris of High Cross, of Tottenham in the County ofGreater London . He was one of her first appointments and sat on the crossbenches in theHouse of Lords to show his independence from political parties.He deeply respected
Adam Smith 's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments " and "The Wealth of Nations "; declining agrant of arms after his peerage on the grounds that theinvisible hand could not beblazon ed.He served on the council of the
University of Buckingham from 1980 until 1995. It was founded in 1976 following a call from Harris and Seldon in 1968 for an independent university. Harris was Secretary of theMont Pelerin Society from 1967, and its President from 1982 to 1984. He did not like to be described as a "Thatcherite", but was a founder of theNo Turning Back group in 1985. He became a Eurosceptic, and was chairman of theBruges Group from 1989 to 1991. He was a director ofRupert Murdoch 'sTimes Newspapers company from 1988 to 2001, although he read and wrote for "The Daily Telegraph ". He helped set up a fighting fund so Neil Hamilton could sueMohamed Al Fayed forlibel in 1999. He was chairman ofCIVITAS from 2000.A pipe smoker, he was a chairman of smokers' rights campaigners,
FOREST , and its president in 2003. He was not convinced thatpassive smoking was dangerous, publishing and campaigning against the banning of smoking on trains from Brighton to Victoria station in 1995, although he admitted that he rarely travelled by train himself. He died of a massive heart attack in London.In the media
Harris was interviewed about his work at the IEA and the rise of
Thatcherism for the 2006BBC TV documentary series "Tory! Tory! Tory! ".Works
*"Politics without prejudice" (1956)
*"Hire purchase in a free society" (1958; 1959; 1961; withArthur Seldon andMargot Naylor )
*"Choice in Welfare 1965" (1965)
*"The Urgency of an Independent University" (1968; 1969; withArthur Seldon )
*"Choice in Welfare 1970" (1971) ISBN 0-255-36009-6
*"Down with the Poor" (1971)
*"Not from Benevolence" (1977, withArthur Seldon ) ISBN 0-255-36090-8
*"Overruled on Welfare (1979)" ISBN 0-255-36122-X
*"No, Prime Minister!" (1994)
*"Murder a Cigarette" (1998, withJudith Hatton ) ISBN 0-7156-2891-7References
* [http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/index.php/blog/lord_harris_of_high_cross/ Obituary] ,
Adam Smith Institute ,19 October 2006
* [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/183b294e-5f99-11db-a011-0000779e2340.html Obituary] , "Financial Times ",19 October 2006
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2412256,00.html Obituary] , "The Times ",20 October 2006
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1926684,00.html Obituary] , "The Guardian ",20 October 2006
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=AHGU0YFSCVZN5QFIQMFSFGGAVCBQ0IV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2006/10/20/db2001.xml Obituary] , "The Daily Telegraph ",20 October 2006
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article1916349.ece Obituary] , "The Independent ",23 October 2006 External links
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitextlo/int_ralphharris.html Interview with Ralph Harris] on
PBS
* [http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-publication25pdf?.pdf A Conversation with Harris and Seldon] , The Institute of Economic Affairs, 2001 (PDF, 96 pages)
* [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/minutes/061023/ldminute.htm Announcement of his death at the House of Lords] House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 23 October 2006
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