Wikipedia

Kenneth Clarke

This article is about the politician. For the art historian, seeKenneth Clark.For other people, seeKenneth Clark (disambiguation).

Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham,CH,PC,KC(born 2 July 1940)[1]is a British politician who served asHome Secretaryfrom 1992 to 1993 andChancellor of the Exchequerfrom 1993 to 1997. A member of theConservative Party,he wasMember of Parliament(MP) forRushcliffefrom1970to2019and wasFather of the House of Commonsbetween 2017 and 2019. The President of theTory Reform Groupsince 1997, he is aone-nation conservativewho identifies witheconomicallyandsocially liberalviews.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Clarke of Nottingham
CHKCPC
Kenneth Clarke in 2017
Official portrait, 2017
Secretary of State for Justice
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
In office
12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byJack Straw
Succeeded byChris Grayling
Minister without Portfolio
In office
4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byThe Baroness Warsi
Succeeded byRobert Halfon(2015)
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byNorman Lamont
Succeeded byGordon Brown
Home Secretary
In office
10 April 1992 – 27 May 1993
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byKenneth Baker
Succeeded byMichael Howard
Secretary of State for Education and Science
In office
2 November 1990 – 10 April 1992
Prime Minister
Preceded byJohn MacGregor
Succeeded byJohn Patten(Education)
Secretary of State for Health
In office
25 July 1988 – 2 November 1990
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byJohn Moore(Social Services)
Succeeded byWilliam Waldegrave
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
13 July 1987 – 25 July 1988
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byNorman Tebbit
Succeeded byTony Newton
Ministerial offices
1974–1987
Minister of State for Trade and Industry
In office
13 July 1987 – 25 July 1988
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byGiles Shaw
Succeeded byEric Forth
Paymaster General
In office
2 September 1985 – 13 July 1987
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byJohn Gummer
Succeeded byPeter Brooke
Minister of State for Employment
In office
2 September 1985 – 13 July 1987
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byPeter Morrison
Succeeded byJohn Cope
Minister of State for Health
In office
5 March 1982 – 2 September 1985
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byGerard Vaughan
Succeeded byBarney Hayhoe
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport[a]
In office
7 May 1979 – 5 March 1982
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byJohn Horam
Succeeded byLynda Chalker
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
8 January 1974 – 4 March 1974
Prime MinisterEdward Heath
Preceded byHugh Rossi
Succeeded byDonald Coleman
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
In office
19 January 2009 – 11 May 2010
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byAlan Duncan(Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)
Succeeded byPat McFadden
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997
LeaderJohn Major
Preceded byGordon Brown
Succeeded byPeter Lilley
Parliamentary offices
Father of the House of Commons
In office
26 February 2017 – 6 November 2019
Speaker
Preceded byGerald Kaufman
Succeeded byPeter Bottomley
Member of theHouse of Lords
Lord Temporal
as alife peer
17 September 2020
Member of Parliament
forRushcliffe
In office
18 June 1970 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byAntony Gardner
Succeeded byRuth Edwards
Personal details
Born
Kenneth Harry Clarke

(1940-07-02)2 July 1940(age 84)
Langley Mill,England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Gillian Edwards
​
​
(m.1964; died2015)​
Children2
Alma materGonville and Caius College, Cambridge(BA,LLB)

Clarke served in theCabinetsofMargaret ThatcherandJohn MajorasChancellor of the Duchy of Lancasterfrom 1987 to 1988,Health Secretaryfrom 1988 to 1990, andEducation Secretaryfrom 1990 to 1992. He held two of theGreat Offices of StateasHome SecretaryandChancellor of the Exchequer.He contested theConservative Party leadershipthree times—in1997,2001and2005—being defeated each time. Opinion polls indicated he was more popular with the general public than with his party, whose generallyEuroscepticstance did not chime with his pro-European views. Under thecoalition governmentofDavid Cameron,he returned to the Cabinet asJustice SecretaryandLord Chancellorfrom 2010 to 2012 andMinister without Portfoliofrom 2012 to 2014. He was also theUnited Kingdom Anti-Corruption Championfrom 2010 to 2014.

The Conservative whip was withdrawnfrom him in September 2019 because he and 20 other MPs voted with the Opposition on a motion; for the remainder of his time in Parliament he sat as anindependent,though still on the government benches. He stood down as an MP at the2019 general electionand was thereafter made a Conservativelife peerin theHouse of Lordsin 2020.[2]

Clarke is President of theConservative Europe Group,Co-President of the pro-EU bodyBritish Influenceand Vice-President of theEuropean Movement UK.[3]Described by the press as a 'Big Beast' of British politics, his total time as a minister is the fifth-longest in the modern era. He has spent over 20 years serving underPrime MinistersEdward Heath,Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. He was one of only five ministers (Tony Newton,Malcolm Rifkind,Patrick MayhewandLynda Chalkerare the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Thatcher–Major governments, which represents the longest uninterrupted ministerial service in Britain sinceLord Palmerstonin the early 19th century.

Early life and education

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Clarke was born inLangley Mill,Nottinghamshire, and was christened with the same name as his father, Kenneth Clarke, a Nottinghamshire mining electrician and later a watchmaker and jeweller.[4]The younger Clarke won a scholarship to attend the independentNottingham High School[5]before going to read for alaw degreeatGonville and Caius College, Cambridge,where he graduated with anupper second honours degree.[6]Clarke initially heldLaboursympathies, and his grandfather was aCommunist,but while at Cambridge he joined theConservative Party.

As Chairman of theCambridge University Conservative Association(CUCA), Clarke invited former British Fascist leaderSir Oswald Mosleyto speak for two years in succession, prompting some Jewish students (including his future successor at the Home Office,Michael Howard) to resign from CUCA in protest.[7]Howard then defeated Clarke in one election for the presidency of theCambridge Union,but Clarke becamePresident of the Cambridge Uniona year later, being elected on 6 March 1963 by a majority of 56 votes. Clarke opposed the admission of women to the Union, and is quoted as saying upon his election, "The fact that Oxford has admitted them does not impress me at all. Cambridge should wait a year to see what happens before any decision is taken on admitting them."[8]

In an early-1990s documentary, journalistMichael Cockerellplayed to Clarke some tape recordings of Clarke speaking at the Cambridge Union as a young man, and he displayed amusement at hearing his then-stereotypical upper class accent. Clarke is deemed one of theCambridge Mafia,a group of prominent Conservative politicians who were educated at Cambridge in the 1960s. After leaving Cambridge, Clarke wascalled to the barin 1963 atGray's Inn,and was madeQueen's Counselin 1980.[9]

Parliamentary career

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Clarke sought election to the House of Commons almost immediately after leaving university. His political career began by contesting the Labour stronghold ofMansfieldat the1964and1966elections. InJune 1970,just before his 30th birthday, he won theEast Midlandsconstituency ofRushcliffein Nottinghamshire, south ofNottingham,from Labour MPTony Gardner.

Clarke was soon appointed a Governmentwhip,and served as such from 1972 to 1974; he, with the assistance of Labour rebels, helped ensure Edward Heath's government won key votes on British entry into theEuropean Communities(which later evolved into theEuropean Union). Even though Clarke opposed the election of Margaret Thatcher as Conservative Party Leader in 1975, he was appointed as her Industry Spokesman from 1976 to 1979, and then occupied a range of ministerial positions during her premiership.

From 2017 to 2019 he wasFather of the House.Following his expulsion from theConservative Partyin September 2019, he became the first Independent MP to hold the position of Father of the House sinceClement Tudway,who died in office as MP forWellsin 1815.

Clarke is the subject of aportraitin oilcommissioned by Parliament.[10][11]

Early ministerial positions

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Clarke first served in the government of Margaret Thatcher asParliamentary SecretaryforTransport(1979–81) andParliamentary Under-Secretary of StateforTransport(1981–82), and thenMinister of StateforHealth(1982–85).

Clarke joined the Cabinet asPaymaster Generaland Employment Minister (1985–87) (his Secretary of State,Lord Young of Graffham,sat in the Lords), and served asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancasterand Minister of theDTI(1987–88) with responsibility for Inner Cities. While in that position, Clarke announced the sale toBritish Aerospaceof theRover Group,a new name forBritish Leyland,which had been nationalised in 1975 by the Government ofHarold Wilson.[12]

Health Secretary

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Clarke was appointed the first Secretary of State forHealthwhen the department was created out of the formerDepartment of Health and Social Securityin July 1988.[13]Clarke, with backing from John Major, persuaded Thatcher to accept the controversial "internal market"concept to theNHS.[14][15]Clarke claimed that he had persuaded Thatcher to introduce internal competition in the NHS as an alternative to her preference for introducing a system of compulsory health insurance, which he opposed.[16]

He told his biographer Malcolm Balen: "John Moorewas pursuing a line which Margaret [Thatcher] was very keen on, which made everything compulsory medical insurance. I was bitterly opposed to that...TheAmerican systemis...the world's worst health service – expensive, inadequate and with a lot of rich doctors ".[17]In her memoirs Thatcher claimed that Clarke, although "a firm believer in state provision", was "an extremely effective Health minister – tough in dealing with vested interests and trade unions, direct and persuasive in his exposition of government policy".[18]

In January 1989, Clarke's White PaperWorking for Patientsappeared; this advocated giving hospitals the right to become self-governingNHS Trusts,taxpayer-funded but with control over their budgets and independent of theregional health authorities.[19]It also proposed that doctors be given the option to become "GP fundholders".This would grant doctors control of their own budgets in the belief that they would purchase the most effective services for their patients. Instead of doctors automatically sending patients to the nearest hospital, they would be able to choose where they were treated. In this way, money would follow the patient and the most efficient hospitals would receive the greatest funding.[20]

This was not well received by doctors and their trade union, theBritish Medical Association,launched a poster campaign against Clarke's reforms, claiming that the NHS was "underfunded, undermined and under threat". They also called the new GP contracts "Stalinist". A March 1990 opinion poll commissioned by the BMA showed that 73% believed that the NHS was not safe in Conservative hands.[20]Clarke later claimed that the BMA was "the most unscrupulous trade union I have ever dealt with and I've dealt with every trade union across the board".[20]Although Thatcher tried to halt the reforms just before they were introduced, Clarke successfully argued that they were necessary to demonstrate the government's commitment to the NHS. Thatcher told Clarke: "It isyouI'm holding responsible ifmyNHS reforms don't work ".[20]

By 1994 almost all hospitals had opted to become trusts but GP fundholding was much less popular.[21]There were allegations that fundholders received more funding than non-fundholders, creating a two-tier system. GP fundholding was abolished by Labour in 1997 and replaced by Primary Care Groups.[22]According toJohn Campbell,by "the mid-1990s the NHS was treating more patients, more efficiently than in the 1980s...the system was arguably better managed and more accountable than before".[22]Studies suggest that while the competition introduced in the "internal market" system resulted in shorter waiting times it also caused a reduction in the quality of care for patients.[23][24]

Clarke has been the subject of criticism over the decades for his involvement in thecontaminated blood scandal.[25][26][27]It was the largest loss-of-life disaster in Britain since the 1950s and claimed the lives of thousands ofhaemophiliacs.[28]Theresa Mayordered apublic inquiryinto the contaminated blood scandal in July 2017.[29]In July 2021, Clarke gave oral evidence to the inquiry with his demeanour being widely branded "arrogant, pompous and contemptuous" by the press. It was reported that he argued with inquiry counsel, refused to apologise and at one point even walked out while the chairman, SirBrian Langstaff,was speaking.[30][31][32]

TheMSFtrade union claimed that Clarke's exclusion of NHS medical laboratory staff from the pay review body in 1984 led to massive staff shortages and a crisis in medical laboratory testing by 1999.[33]

Later ministerial positions

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Just over two years later he was appointed Secretary of State forEducation and Sciencein the final weeks of Thatcher's Government, followingNorman Tebbit's unwillingness to return to Cabinet following the resignation of SirGeoffrey Howe.Clarke was the first Cabinet Minister to advise Thatcher to resign after her victory in the first round of the November 1990leadership contestwas less than the 15% winning margin required to prevent a second ballot; she referred to him in her memoirs as acandid friend:"his manner was robust in the brutalist style he has cultivated: the candid friend".[34]

Clarke came to work with John Major very closely, and quickly emerged as a central figure in his government. After continuing as Education Secretary (1990–92), where he introduced a number of reforms, he was appointed asHome Secretaryin the wake of the Conservatives' victory at the1992 general election.In May 1993, seven months after the impact of "Black Wednesday"had damagedNorman Lamont's credibility asChancellor of the Exchequer,Major sacked Lamont and appointed Clarke in his place.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

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At first, Clarke was seen as the dominant figure in Cabinet, and at the October 1993 Conservative Party Conference he defended Major from his critics by pronouncing "any enemy of John Major is an enemy of mine."

In the party leadership contest of 1995, when John Major beatJohn Redwood,Clarke kept faith in Major and commented: "I don't think the Conservative Party could win an election in 1,000 years on this ultra right-wing programme".[35]

Clarke enjoyed an increasingly successful record as Chancellor, as the economy recovered from the recession of the early 1990s and a new monetary policy was put into effect after Black Wednesday. He reduced the basic rate of income tax from 25% to 23%, reduced UK Government spending as a percentage of GDP, and reduced the budget deficit from £50.8 billion in 1993 to £15.5 billion in 1997. Clarke's successor, theLabourChancellorGordon Brown,continued these policies, which eliminated the deficit by 1998 and allowed Brown to record a budget surplus for the following four years. Interest rates, inflation and unemployment all fell during Clarke's tenure atHM Treasury.Clarke's success was such that Brown felt he had to pledge to keep to Clarke's spending plans and these limits remained in place for the first two years of the Labour Government that was elected in 1997.[15]

Single Currency: free hand and referendum pledge

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The matter of areferendumon Britain joining the plannedeuro– first raised by Margaret Thatcher in 1990 – was, after much press speculation, raised again at Cabinet byDouglas Hoggin the spring of 1996, very likely (in Clarke's view) with Major's approval; Clarke records that Heseltine spoke "with passionate intensity" at Cabinet against a referendum, believing both that referendums were pernicious and that no concession would be enough to please the Eurosceptics. Clarke, who had already threatened resignation over the issue, also opposed the measure and, although Clarke and Heseltine were in a small minority in Cabinet, Major once again deferred a decision.

Major, Heseltine and Clarke eventually reached agreement in April 1996, in what Clarke describes as "a tense meeting... rather like a treaty session", that there would be a commitment to a referendum before joining the euro, but that the pledge would be valid for one Parliament only (i.e. until the general election after next), with the Government's long-term options remaining completely open; Clarke threatened to resign if this formula were departed from.[36]

Clarke, writing in 2016 after theBrexit Referendum,comments that he and Heseltine later agreed that they had separately decided to give way because of the pressure Major was under, and that the referendum pledge "was the biggest single mistake" of their careers, giving "legitimacy" to such a device.[36]

In December 1996, after Foreign SecretaryMalcolm Rifkindhad commented that it was unlikely that the government would join the euro, Clarke and Heseltine took to the airwaves – in apparent unison – to insist that the government retained a free choice as to whether or not to join, angering Eurosceptics.[37]When Tory Party Chairman,Brian Mawhinney,was understood to have briefed against him, Clarke declared: "tell your kids to get their scooters off my lawn" – an allusion toHarold Wilson's rebuke of Trades Union leaderHugh Scanlonin the late 1960s.

Role as a backbencher

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After the Conservatives entered opposition in 1997, Clarke contested the leadership of the Party for the first time. In1997,the electorate being solely Tory Members of Parliament, he topped the poll in the first and second rounds. In the third and final round he formed an alliance with Eurosceptic John Redwood, who would have becomeShadow Chancellorand Clarke's deputy, were he to have won the contest. However, Thatcher endorsed Clarke's rivalWilliam Hague,who proceeded to win the election comfortably. The contest was criticised for not involving the rank-and-file members of the Party, where surveys showed Clarke to be more popular. Clarke rejected the offer from Hague of a Shadow Cabinet role, opting instead to return to thebackbenches.

Clarke contested the party leadership for a second time in2001.Despite opinion polls again showing he was the most popular Conservative politician with the British public,[15]he lost in a final round among the rank-and-file membership, a new procedure introduced by Hague, to a much less experienced, but strongly Eurosceptic rival,Iain Duncan Smith.This loss, by a margin of 62% to 38%, was attributed to the former Chancellor's strong pro-European views being increasingly out-of-step with the party members'Euroscepticism.[15]His campaign was managed byAndrew Tyrie.

Clarke opposed the2003 invasion of Iraq.After choosing not to stand for the leadership after Duncan Smith departed in2003in the interests of party unity, he returned to fight the 2005 leadership election. He still retained huge popularity among voters, with 40% of the public believing he would be the best leader.[38]He was accused byNorman Tebbitof being "lazy" whilst leadership rivalSir Malcolm Rifkindsuggested that Clarke's pro-European views could have divided the Conservative Party had Clarke won.[39]In the event, Clarke was eliminated in the first round of voting by Conservative MPs. Eventual winner David Cameron appointed Clarke to head a Democracy Task Force as part of his extensive 18-month policy review in December 2005, exploring issues such as the reform of theHouse of Lordsand party funding. Clarke is President of theTory Reform Group,a liberal, pro-Europeanginger groupwithin the Conservative Party.

Clarke became known as "aneconomicandsocial liberal,an internationalist and a strong supporter of the European idea ".[40]

In 2006, he described Cameron's plans for a British Bill of Rights as "xenophobicand legal nonsense ".[41]

Expenses scandal

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Main article:United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal

On 12 May 2009,The Daily Telegraphreported that Clarke had "flipped" hisCouncil Tax.He had told the Parliamentary authorities that his main home was in the Rushcliffe constituency, enabling him to claim a second-home allowance on his London residence, leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill for Council Tax due on that property. However, he toldRushcliffe Borough Councilin Nottinghamshire that he spent so little time at his constituency address that his wife Gillian should qualify for a 25% Council Tax (single person's) discount, saving the former Chancellor around £650 per year. Land Registry records showed that Clarke no longer had a mortgage on his Nottinghamshire home where he has lived since 1987. Instead he held a mortgage on his London property, which was being charged to the taxpayer at £480 per month.[42]

Return to the frontbench

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In 2009, Clarke became Shadow Business Secretary in opposition to the then-Business Secretary,Lord Mandelson.David Cameron described Clarke as about the only one able to challenge Mandelson and Brown's economic credibility. Two days later it was revealed that Clarke had warned in a speech a month earlier that PresidentBarack Obamacould see David Cameron as a "right-wing nationalist" if the Conservatives maintained Eurosceptic policies and that Obama would "start looking at whoever is in Germany or France if we start beingisolationist".[43]TheFinancial Timessaid "Clarke has in effect agreed to disagree with the Tories' official Eurosceptic line".[44]

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary

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Clarke's portrait as Lord Chancellor, 2011

On 12 May 2010, Clarke's appointment asSecretary of State for JusticeandLord Chancellorwas announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in theCoalition Governmentformed between the Conservative andLiberal Democratparties.[45]James Macintyre, political editor ofProspect,argued that in this ministerial role he had instigated a process of radical reform.[46]

In June 2010, Clarke signalled an end to short prison sentences after warning it was "virtually impossible" to rehabilitate any inmate in less than 12 months. In his first major speech after taking office, Clarke indicated a major shift in penal policy by saying prison was not effective in many cases. This could result in more offenders being handed community sentences. Clarke, who described the current prison population of 85,000 as "astonishing", received immediate criticism from some colleagues in a Party renowned for its tough stance on law and order. He signalled that fathers who fail to pay child maintenance, disqualified drivers and criminals fighting asylum refusals could be among the first to benefit and should not be sent to prison.[47]

Clarke announced in February 2011 that the Government intended to scrutinise the relationship between theEuropean Court of Human Rightsand national parliaments.[48]

In May 2011, controversy related to Clarke's reported views on sentencing for those convicted of rape resurfaced after an interview on the radio stationBBC 5 Live,where he discussed a proposal to increase the reduction of sentences for criminals, including rapists, who pleaded guilty pre-trial, from a third to a half.[49]In the interview he incorrectly[50]asserted that the reason for the low average sentence of those convicted of rape was that legal definition of "rape" in England and Wales included such less serious offences as consensual sex between a 17 year old and a 15 year old.

In 2011 and 2012, Clarke faced criticism for his Justice and Security Bill, in particular those aspects of it that allow secret trials when "national security" is at stake.[51][52]The Economiststated: "the origins of the proposed legislation lie in civil cases brought by former Guantánamo detainees, the best-known of whom wasBinyam Mohamed,alleging that government intelligence and security agencies (MI6 and MI5) were complicit in their rendition and torture ".[53][54]Prominent civil liberties and human rights campaigners argued: "the worst excesses of the war on terror have been revealed by open courts and a free media. Yet the Justice and Security Green Paper seeks to place Government above the law and would undermine such crucial scrutiny."[55]

Minister without Portfolio

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Clarke in 2012

Following the 2012 Cabinet reshuffle, Clarke was moved fromJustice SecretarytoMinister without Portfolio.It was also announced that he would assume the role of rovingTrade Envoywith responsibility for promoting British business and trade interests abroad, a position which he enjoyed.

In the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, after more than 20 years serving as a Minister, it was announced that Clarke had stepped down from government, to return to the backbenches.[56]Clarke was honoured with appointment as aMember of the Order of the Companions of Honour,upon the Prime Minister's recommendation, in July 2014.[57]His total time as agovernment ministeris the fifth-longest in the modern era afterWinston Churchill,Arthur Balfour,Rab Butler,andThe Duke of Devonshire.[58]

Return to the backbench

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Clarke was opposed toBrexitduring the2016 referendumon the United Kingdom's continuedmembership of the European Union,and opposed theholding of the referendumin the first place.[59]He was the sole Conservative MP to vote against the triggering ofArticle 50.[60]

During the2016 Conservative Party leadership electionClarke was interviewed by Sky News on 5 July 2016 and made negative comments to Sir Malcolm Rifkind,[61]about the "fiasco" (leadership contest) and about three of the candidates. In a widely circulated video clip, he referred toTheresa Mayas a "bloody difficult woman", joked thatMichael Gove,who was "wild", would "go to war with at least three countries at once" and characterised some of the utterances ofAndrea Leadsomas "extremely stupid". Clarke added that Gove "did us all a favour by getting rid of Boris. The idea of Boris as prime minister is ridiculous."[62]

In February 2017, following the death ofSir Gerald Kaufman,Clarke becameFather of the House.He was re-elected as an MP in the2017 general election.

In December 2017, he voted along with fellow ConservativeDominic Grieveand nine other Conservative MPs against the government, and in favour of guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful vote"on anyBrexitdeal Britain agrees with the European Union.[63]

Clarke endorsedRory Stewartduring the2019 Conservative leadership election.[64]

In September 2019, after Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost a number of key votes in the House of Commons, Clarke stated that it would be "not inconceivable" for him to become Prime Minister leading agovernment of national unityin order to revoke Article 50 and prevent Brexit. Other politicians who were suggested for such a role at the time includedHarriet Harman,his female counterpart as Mother of the House of Commons. Lib Dem leaderJo Swinsonsupported the proposal, though Boris Johnson andJeremy Corbyn,theLeader of the Opposition,both dismissed the suggestion.[65]As it turned out, a vote of no-confidence was not in fact tabled against Boris Johnson's government and no such government of national unity was formed or took office.

Sitting as an Independent

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Clarke on the backbench withTheresa May,Sir Alan DuncanandLiam Fox,19 October 2019
Main article:2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs

On 3 September 2019, Clarke joined 20 other rebel Conservative MPs to vote against the Conservative government of Boris Johnson.[66]The rebel MPs voted against a Conservative motion which subsequently failed. Effectively, they helped block Johnson'sno-deal Brexitplan from proceeding on 31 October.[67]Subsequently, all 21 were advised that they had lost the Conservative whip[68][69]and were expelled as Conservative MPs, requiring them to sit as independents.[70][71]If they decided to run for re-election in a future election, the party would block their selection as Conservative candidates, though Clarke opted not to do so.[67]

On the edition of 3 September ofBBC'sNewsnight,Clarke discussed the situation, saying that he no longer recognised the Conservative Party, referring to it as "theBrexit Party,rebadged ". His rationale was" It's been taken over by a rather knockabout sort of character, who's got this bizarre crash-it-through philosophy... a Cabinet which is the most right-wing Cabinet any Conservative Party has ever produced. "[72]In an interview on 7 September, Clarke rejected the suggestion that, like other former Conservative MPs, he could join the Liberal Democrats, but noted that, if he were to cast "a protest vote", he would "follow the Conservative tradition of voting Lib Dem."[73]

In his capacity as Father of the House, Clarke presided over the House of Commons during the2019 Speakership election.[74]He then retired from the House of Commons at the2019 general election.SinceDennis Skinnerlost his seat in the election,Sir Peter Bottomleybecame Father of the House.

Peerage

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In early 2020, Clarke was nominated for a peerage by Boris Johnson.[75]On 4 September he was createdBaron Clarke of Nottingham,of West Bridgford in the County of Nottinghamshire.[76]Taking the Conservative whip, he made his maiden speech on 28 September 2020.[77]

Corporate, media and other work

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Whilst serving as a backbench MP and as a Shadow Cabinet Minister, Clarke accepted several non-executive directorships:

Also as a backbencher, Clarke declared engagement in non-political media work:

Personal life

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In 1964, Clarke married Gillian Edwards, a Cambridge contemporary.[89]They had a son and a daughter.[15]Edwards died of cancer in July 2015.[90]

Clarke's enthusiasm for cigars,jazzand motor racing is well known,[15]and he enjoysbirdwatchingas well as reading political history. He is also popularly recognised for his affection for suedeHush Puppies,a brand of shoe, which became a "trademark" of his during his early ministerial days.[91]His autobiography denies he wore Hush Puppies and says these suede shoes were hand-made by Crockett & Jones.[92]

Clarke is a sports enthusiast, being a supporter of both local football clubsNotts County[93][94]andNottingham Forest,who offered him a chair,[95]and a former President ofNottinghamshire County Cricket Club.He is President of bothRadcliffe Olympicand the Radcliffe on Trent Male Voice Choir, and a keen follower ofFormula Onemotorsport. He was involved with tobacco giantBritish American Tobacco's Formula One teamBritish American Racing(BAR) and has attendedGrands Prixin support of the BAR team. BAR was sold toHondain 2005. He also appeared on the podium of the2012 British Grand Prixto present the first-place trophy toMark Webber.

Clarke attended the1966 FIFA World Cup Finaland jokingly claims to have been influential in persuading the linesman,Tofiq Bahramov,to award a goal toGeoff Hurstwhen theEnglandstriker had seen his shot hit the crossbar of opponentsWest Germany,leaving doubt as to whether the ball had crossed the line. Clarke's position in theWembleycrowd was right behind the linesman at the time and he shouted at the official to award a goal.[96]

Clarke is a lover ofreal aleand has been an active member of theCampaign for Real Ale(CAMRA).[97]

His memoir,Kind of Blue,was published in October 2016.[98]

Honours

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Insignia of a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour

Notes

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  1. ^Parliamentary Secretary (1979–81)

References

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  1. ^"Mr Kenneth Clarke (Hansard)".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).Archivedfrom the original on 13 April 2021.Retrieved11 May2021.
  2. ^"Queen confers Peerages: 31 July 2020".Government of the United Kingdom.Retrieved7 October2024.
  3. ^"Structure of the European Movement UK".Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2009.Retrieved22 October2009.
  4. ^"The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP – GOV.UK".Government of the United Kingdom.Archivedfrom the original on 18 July 2014.Retrieved15 July2014.
  5. ^"My School Days: Ken Clarke".Nottingham Post.9 June 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 11 August 2014.
  6. ^"BBC NEWS | the Tory Leadership contest | Candidate Profiles".
  7. ^Anthony, Andrew (27 March 2005)."Howard's way".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2006.Retrieved24 September2008.
  8. ^"News in Brief".The Times.No. 55643. London. 7 March 1963. p. 5.
  9. ^"Kenneth Clarke".Conservative Party. Archived fromthe originalon 12 February 2013.Retrieved19 January2009.
  10. ^"Artwork – Portrait of Kenneth Clarke MP".Archivedfrom the original on 28 July 2014.Retrieved28 July2014.
  11. ^Murphy, Joe (13 January 2014)."MPs splash out £250,000 of public money on vanity portraits".London Evening Standard.Retrieved13 January2014.
  12. ^"Rover Group (Privatisation)".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).29 March 1988.Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2014.Retrieved22 March2014.
  13. ^John Campbell,Margaret Thatcher, Volume Two: The Iron Lady(London: Jonathan Cape, 2003), p. 552.
  14. ^Campbell, p. 552.
  15. ^abcdef"Contender: Kenneth Clarke".BBC News.2 August 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2007.Retrieved24 September2008.
  16. ^Rawnsley, Andrew(19 July 2014)."Kenneth Clarke: I had a lot of views, but they didn't coincide with No 10's".The Observer.London.Archivedfrom the original on 20 July 2014.Retrieved20 July2014.
  17. ^Malcolm Balen,Kenneth Clarke(London: Fourth Estate, 1994), p. 166.
  18. ^Margaret Thatcher,The Downing Street Years(London: HarperCollins, 1993), p. 614.
  19. ^Campbell, pp. 552–553.
  20. ^abcdCampbell, p. 553.
  21. ^Campbell, pp. 553–554.
  22. ^abCampbell, p. 554.
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  50. ^"Ken Clarke clarifies 'serious rape' remarks".BBC News.18 May 2011.Retrieved12 September2023.BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said Mr Clarke had, in any case, not been correct to suggest consensual sex with a 15-year-old would be rape – under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 children under 13 are presumed to be incapable of giving their consent to sex. Sex with a 15-year-old would amount to another sexual offence which carries a lower penalty.
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