John Butcher (British politician)

John Patrick Butcher (born 13 February 1946 - died Lake District 25 December 2006), was a British Conservative politician.

Butcher was born in Doncaster but grew up in Huntingdonshire where he was educated at Huntingdon Grammar School and the University of Birmingham. He fought the seat of Birmingham Northfield in February 1974 and was a Birmingham councillor from 1972 until 1978.

He was Member of Parliament for Coventry South West from 1979 until 1997, when the seat was abolished by boundary changes. He was later chairman of Texas Instruments (1990-98) and the Institute of Directors (1997-2001).

He was married with three children and despite living in Solihull was a common sight in recent years at the Carlton Club in London.

Westminster

Following his election in 1979, Butcher was appointed PPS to Leon Brittan in 1981 and became an Parliamentary Under-Secretary in 1982 at the Department of Trade. Butcher also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Education and Science between 1988 and 1989, after being moved from what was then called the Department of Trade and Industry.

During his time as minister at the Department of Trade and Industry during the eighties he deregulated the mobile telephone market in the UK. [cite web | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/01/04/db0402.xml | title = John Butcher (obituary) | publisher = Telegraph.co.uk | author = | date = 2007-01-04 | accessdate = 2007-01-05] After he left ministerial office he introduced the Property Misdescriptions Act, which aimed to curb "the more extravagant claims of estate agents". [ibid.] He was also a euro-sceptic and was one of the Maastricht rebels who voted against the Government in 1993.

After politics

When he left politics due to heart problems which would eventually take his life, he became chairman of the Institute of Directors . He was also director of a number of successful businesses in the West Midlands.

He died of heart failure at the age of 60, on Christmas day 2006, at 1500 feet, beside Alcock Tarn in the Lake District with his three children.

The initial John Butcher Memorial lecture will be held at University of Warwick on March 19th 2008. The first guest speaker will be Michael Howard QC MP

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