Bernard Braine
- Bernard Weatherill
4 October 1967 – 15 June 1970
for Castle Point
South East Essex (1955–1983)
26 May 1955 – 16 March 1992
for Billericay
23 February 1950 – 6 May 1955
Ealing, London[1]
Southend, Essex[1]
Bernard Richard Braine, Baron Braine of Wheatley, PC (24 June 1914 – 5 January 2000)[2] was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 42 years, from 1950 to 1992, representing constituencies in Essex.
Early life
He was educated at Hendon County Grammar School,[3] and served with the North Staffordshire Regiment in the Second World War, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
Political career
In 1948, Braine opposed GATT, arguing that it limited imperial preference.[4]
Having stood unsuccessfully for Leyton East in 1945, Braine was elected as MP for Billericay at the 1950 general election. When constituency boundaries were revised for the 1955 election he was returned for the new South East Essex constituency, and when that constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, he was elected for the new Castle Point constituency, becoming Father of the House of Commons in 1987 after James Callaghan's elevation to the House of Lords.
During his long parliamentary career, Braine served as a junior Minister variously for Pensions, Commonwealth Relations and Health.[1]
He was chairman of the National Council on Alcoholism, and author of the report Alcohol and Work (1977), widely known as the Braine Report.[5] He was a member of the Parliamentary Groups on Human Rights and against abortion. For many years he served as an unofficial ambassador of HM's government to the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. He was knighted in the 1972 New Year Honours, and appointed as a Privy Counsellor in 1985.
Braine championed many causes involving oppressed people. Among them was the Campaign for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted, of which he was President and later Chairman during 1980–1987.[6] In this capacity and in collaboration with the exiled journalist Josef Josten, he campaigned vigorously for the release from prison of the dissident playwright Vaclav Havel, who later became President of the Czech Republic. He was decorated by Havel at a ceremony in Prague Castle on 28 October 1995.
Later life
Braine stepped down from Parliament at the 1992 general election, and on 10 August that year he was made a life peer as Baron Braine of Wheatley, of Rayleigh in the County of Essex.[7] He died in January 2000 at the age of 85.
Arms
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References
- ^ a b c "Tory Stalwart dies". BBC News. 5 January 2000. Archived from the original on 16 January 2006. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
- ^ Roth, Andrew (7 January 2000). "Lord Braine of Wheatley". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ "Lord Braine of Wheatley". The Times. 6 January 2000. p. 21.
- ^ Kahler, Miles (1984). Decolonization in Britain and France: The Domestic Consequences of International Relations. Princeton University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-4008-5558-2.
- ^ Institute of Alcohol Studies: 'In Memoriam Bernard Braine', 2000.
- ^ Polišenska, Milada (2009). "Zapomenutý Nepřitel (Forgotten Enemy) – Josef Josten". Prague: Libri. pp. 582 ff. ISBN 978-80-7277-432-6.
- ^ "No. 53017". The London Gazette. 13 August 1992. p. 13717.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage. 2000.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Bernard Braine
- "In Memoriam Bernard Braine". Institute of Alcohol Studies. January 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Parliamentary Archives, The papers of Baron Braine of Wheatley, 1947–1994
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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New constituency | Member of Parliament for Billericay 1950–1955 | Succeeded by |
New constituency | Member of Parliament for South East Essex 1955–1983 | Constituency abolished |
New constituency | Member of Parliament for Castle Point 1983–1992 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Father of the House 1987–1992 | Succeeded by |
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