Peter Temple-Morris

Peter Temple-Morris, Baron Temple-Morris (12 February 1938 – 1 May 2018) was a British politician. He was elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Leominster in 1974; he stood down in 2001 after changing parties. He sat in the House of Lords as a Labour peer.

Early life

Born in Cardiff, Temple-Morris attended Llandaff Cathedral School and Hillstone School (Malvern College's preparatory school) in Malvern, then Malvern College.<ref name = ODNB>Template:Cite ODNB</ref> He went to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, gaining a BA in Law in 1958. He became a barrister, like his father, from 1962 at the Inner Temple, practising until 1989.<ref name = ODNB/> His family home was in Cardiff, as his father Sir Owen Temple-Morris was MP for Cardiff East.<ref name = ODNB/>

Parliamentary career

Temple-Morris was selected as the Conservative candidate for Newport (Monmouthshire) in 1964 and 1966 and Norwood in 1970.<ref name = ODNB/> In February 1974, he was elected for Leominster, having been selected for the seat in March 1973.<ref name = ODNB/> That same year, he was appointed vice-chairman, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (UK Branch). In 1979, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Norman Fowler, Executive Member, Inter-Parliamentary Union (British Group) and Founding Co-Chairman, British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body. He was a member of the Select Committees on Agriculture (1982–83) and on Foreign Affairs (1987–90). Temple-Morris was a strong supporter of Michael Heseltine.<ref name = ODNB/>

Crossing the floor

Temple-Morris resigned after he was suspended from the Conservative Party in 1997 because Tory officials said he had "repeatedly and publicly questioned his continued commitment to the Conservative Party."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Speaking after his resignation, the MP told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm not surprised in all the circumstances and not a little bit relieved in view of the unhappy state of politics of the Conservative Party for some years now."

The BBC reported that Conservative leader William Hague's action would be seen as an attempt to deflect attention from disappointing by-election results in Winchester and in Beckenham. As for Temple-Morris, his disaffection toward his old party grew due to their hard-line stance on the euro.<ref name = ODNB/>

From 1997 to 1998, Temple-Morris sat on the government Labour benches, but did not take the whip, instead sitting as a one-man 'Independent One-Nation Conservative' group. However, on Saturday 20 June 1998 he joined the Labour Party but stood down as an MP at the 2001 general election. He is the only person ever to serve as a Labour MP representing Herefordshire, though he was never elected as a member of that party.

House of Lords

Temple-Morris was made a life peer on 22 June 2001 as Baron Temple-Morris, of Llandaff in the County of South Glamorgan and of Leominster in the County of Herefordshire.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He sat in the House of Lords as a Labour peer.

Outside politics, Temple-Morris was appointed Chairman of the Macleod Group, an association of left-of-centre Conservative MPs, in 1979. In 1995, he became President of the British-Iranian Business Association Society.

Temple-Morris contributed to the book What next for Labour? Ideas for a new generation in September 2011, his piece being entitled "Labour: Progressive Politics".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Temple-Morris's father, Owen Temple-Morris, was also a Conservative MP.<ref name="Dod" /> His son, Eddy Temple-Morris, is a DJ, Virgin Radio presenter, record producer and former MTV presenter.<ref>Why Boris Johnson Playing the Hitler Card Was So, So Wrong Template:Webarchive, The Huffington Post UK, 15 May 2016</ref><ref>Our Ambassador Template:Webarchive, British Tinnitus Association</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Temple-Morris married Taheré Khozeimé-Alam (the daughter of Amir-Hossein Khozeimé Alam of Dezashib, Tehran, who fled to London from Iran in 1979)<ref>Obituary: Amir Hossein Khozeimé-Alam Template:Webarchive, Daily Telegraph, 25 May 2002</ref> in 1964 in London.<ref name="BBC">End of uneasy Tory marriage of beliefs , BBC News, 20 June 1998</ref> The couple had two sons and two daughters.<ref name="Dod">Dod's Parliamentary Companion Template:Webarchive, Charles Roger Dod, Vacher Dod Publishing, Limited, Robert Phipps Dod, Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited, 2004, page 737</ref> Lady Temple-Morris died in Template:Year, aged 86.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref>

When he was an MP, Temple-Morris was known for his love of shooting, wine and food.<ref name="BBC" />

Temple-Morris died from cancer in London on 1 May 2018, at the age of 80.<ref name = ODNB/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Lord Temple-Morris - UK Parliament
• Template:Hansard-contribs
• They Work For You