Graham Page

Sir (Rodney) Graham Page (30 June 1911 – 1 October 1981) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Page was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford and the University of London and became a solicitor. He was a Privy Council appeal agent and a company and building society director.

Page contested Islington North in 1950 and 1951 was first elected Member of Parliament at a by-election in 1953, for Crosby. He chaired the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments 1964-66. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1972 and was a Minister of State at the Department of Environment until 1974 when the Conservative Government lost the February 1974 general election. He took a particular interest in Government administration playing a significant part in the reorganisation of local government and water authorities in the early 1970s. When he was re-elected for the second time in 1974 he had a majority of over 19,000 votes.

Page won his last general election victory at the 1979 general election. He died in office in 1981 and was replaced in parliament by the first Social Democratic Party member to be elected, the former Labour Education Minister Shirley Williams

With W.J. Leaper Page wrote a book called "Rent Act 1965" in 1966. He corresponded with Winston Churchill and Enoch Powell. He was a governor of St. Thomas's Hospital in London and chairman of the Pedestrians' Association.

Page's death caused a high-profile by-election in which Shirley Williams became the first Social Democratic Party MP to be elected in Britain. It was a shock result which overturned a 19,272 Conservative majority Sir Graham had won in 1979. However, the Conservatives regained the seat in 1983.

References

*"Times Guide to the House of Commons", 1966, 1979 and 1983 editions
*rayment