View source for Jim Prior

{{Short description|British politician (1927–2016)}}
{{for multi|the Irish hurler|Jim Prior (hurler)|the Irish surgeon and writer|James Prior (surgeon)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|name             = The Lord Prior
|honorific-suffix = {{postnom|country=UK|size=100|PC}}
|image            = James-Michael-Leathes-Prior-Baron-Prior.jpg
|office           = [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]
|term_start       = 14 September 1981
|term_end         = 27 September 1984
|predecessor      = [[Humphrey Atkins]]
|primeminister    = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
|successor        = [[Douglas Hurd]]

|office1          = [[Secretary of State for Employment]]
|predecessor1     = [[Albert Booth]]
|primeminister1   = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
|successor1       = [[Norman Tebbit]]
|term_start1      = 4 May 1979
|term_end1        = 14 September 1981

|office2          = {{ubl|[[Leader of the House of Commons]]|[[Lord President of the Council]]}}
|primeminister2   = [[Edward Heath]]
|term_start2      = 5 November 1972
|term_end2        = 4 March 1974
|predecessor2     = [[Robert Carr]]
|successor2       = [[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]]
|office3          = [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
|primeminister3   = [[Edward Heath]]
|term_start3      = 20 June 1970
|term_end3        = 5 November 1972
|predecessor3     = [[Cledwyn Hughes]]
|successor3       = [[Joseph Godber]]
|office4          = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)|Waveney]]<br />{{nobold|([[Lowestoft (UK Parliament constituency)|Lowestoft]], 1959–1983)}}
|term_start4      = 8 October 1959
|term_end4        = 18 May 1987
|predecessor4     = [[Edward Evans (politician)|Edward Evans]]
|successor4       = [[David Porter (British politician)|David Porter]]{{Collapsed infobox section begin|[[Shadow Cabinet]] positions}}
|office5          = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections|Shadow Secretary of State for Employment]]
|leader5          = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
|term_start5      = 29 October 1974
|term_end5        = 4 May 1979
|predecessor5     = [[Reg Prentice]]
|successor5       = [[Albert Booth]]
|office6          = [[Shadow Home Secretary]]
|leader6          = [[Edward Heath]]
|term_start6      = 11 March 1974
|term_end6        = 13 June 1974
|predecessor6     = [[Roy Jenkins]]
|successor6       = [[Keith Joseph]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
|birth_name       = James Michael Leathes Prior
|birth_date       = {{birth date|1927|10|11|df=y}}
|birth_place      = [[Norwich, Norfolk]], England
|death_date       = {{death date and age|2016|12|12|1927|10|11|df=y}}
|death_place      = [[Brampton, Suffolk]], England
|party            = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|spouse           = {{marriage|Jane Lywood|1954|2015|end = died}}
|children         = 4 (including [[David Prior, Baron Prior of Brampton|David]])
|education        = [[Charterhouse School]]
|alma_mater       = [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]]
}}

'''James Michael Leathes Prior, Baron Prior''', {{postnom|country=UK|size=100|PC}} (11 October 1927 – 12 December 2016) was a British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician. A [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] from 1959 to 1987, he represented the [[Suffolk]] constituency of [[Lowestoft (UK Parliament constituency)|Lowestoft]] until 1983 and then the renamed constituency of [[Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)|Waveney]] from 1983 to 1987, when he stood down from the House of Commons and was made a [[life peer]]. He served in two Conservative cabinets, and outside parliament was Chairman of the [[Arab British Chamber of Commerce]] from 1996 to 2004, and [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of [[Anglia Ruskin University]] from 1992 to 1999.

Under [[Edward Heath]], Prior was [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]] from 1970 to 1972, then [[Leader of the House of Commons]] until Heath lost office in the wake of the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 election]]. His party returned to power under [[Margaret Thatcher]] in 1979, and Prior was [[Secretary of State for Employment]] from 1979 to 1981, disagreeing with some of her views on trade unions and her monetarist economic policies generally. This made him a leader of the so-called [[Wets and dries|"wet"]] faction in the Conservative ranks. In 1981 he was moved to the less pivotal role of [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], from which he stood down in 1984; he never returned to government.<ref>[[Hugo Young|Young, Hugo]], ''One of Us'' (1989), pp. 193–199</ref>

== Early life and career ==
Prior was born in [[Norwich]], the son of solicitor Charles Bolingbroke Leathes Prior (1883–1964) and Aileen Sophia Mary (1893–1978), daughter of barrister Charles Storey Gilman.<ref>''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'', 107th edition, vol. 3, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3222</ref><ref name = Garnett>{{Cite ODNB |entry-url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-111592 |entry-url-access=subscription |entry=Prior, James Michael Leathes [Jim], Baron Prior |year = 2020|last1 = Garnett|first1 = Mark|isbn = 978-0-19-861412-8 |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111592 }}</ref> Charles Prior's uncle was head of the family of Prior of [[Adstock]] Manor, [[Bletchley]], Buckinghamshire; the family was closely related to the [[Lake baronets#Lake baronets, of Edmonton (1711)|Lake baronets]], the [[Stuart-Menteth baronets]], the [[Blackett of Wylam|Blackett]] family of [[Wylam]], Northumberland, and the Prideaux-Brune family of [[Prideaux Place]], Cornwall.<ref>''Burke's Landed Gentry'', 17th edition, ed. L.G. Pine, 1952, p. 2085</ref> Prior was educated at [[Orwell Park School]], then at [[Charterhouse School]] before going on to [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]], where he earned a first class honours degree in [[Estate management|Land economy]]. Also prior to entering university, he performed his two-year [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|National Service]] as an officer in the [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] of the British Army, serving in Germany and India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/12/lord-prior-obituary|title = Lord Prior obituary|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 12 December 2016}}</ref>

He was first elected to Parliament in 1959, and was [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]] from 1970 to 1972, then [[Leader of the House of Commons]] and [[Lord President of the Council]] until March 1974. He was one of several unsuccessful candidates in the [[1975 Conservative Party leadership election|Conservative Party's 1975 leadership election]], entering at the second round and gaining 19 votes to [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s 146.<ref name = Garnett/>

== Cabinet years ==
Under [[Margaret Thatcher]] he was [[Secretary of State for Employment]] from May 1979 to 14 September 1981. Thatcher said of their relationship, "we agreed that trade unions had acquired far too many powers and privileges. We also agreed that these must be dealt with one step at a time. But when it came down to specific measures, there was deep disagreement about how fast and how far to move."<ref>[[Thatcher, Margaret]], ''[[The Downing Street Years]]'', [[HarperCollins]], 1993, p. 28.</ref>

Prior is believed to have annoyed Thatcher by being too friendly with trade union leaders, with Thatcher writing,
 
{{blockquote|"He [Prior] had forged good relations with a number of trade union leaders whose practical value he perhaps overestimated."}} 

During his period in the Cabinet, he is believed to have angered the right wing of his party and the Prime Minister for not pressing far enough with anti-trade union legislation. In the September 1981 [[cabinet reshuffle]] Prior was moved from the Employment portfolio to become [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]],<ref name="Kehoe">{{cite web |last=Kehoe |first=Emmanuel |title=Charity queens and their subjects |url=http://www.thepost.ie/archives/2006/0702/charity-queens-and-their-subjects-15305.html |work=[[The Sunday Business Post]] |date=2 July 2006 |access-date=20 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001050259/http://www.thepost.ie/archives/2006/0702/charity-queens-and-their-subjects-15305.html |archive-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> an office he held until September 1984.<ref>{{cite web |last=Parkhouse |first=Geoffrey |title=Thatcher in sombre mood over pit talks |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rMtAAAAAIBAJ&pg=6085,1400087&dq=jim-prior+northern-ireland&hl=en |work=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |page=1 |date=8 September 1984 |access-date=20 November 2010}}</ref> At the time of the reshuffle, it was reported that Prior considered following the sacked [[Ian Gilmour]] to the back benches to oppose the Thatcher Government's economic policies. However, Prior ultimately decided to accept being moved to the Northern Ireland Office after consulting cabinet colleagues [[William Whitelaw]], then [[Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party]], and [[Francis Pym]].<ref name="GH16091981">{{cite news |last=Parkhouse |first=Geoffrey |title=Sacked rebel hits out as Thatcher purges the 'Wets' |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19810915&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=24 January 2020 |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=15 September 1981 |page=1}}</ref> This transfer was widely seen as a move by Thatcher to isolate Prior, who disagreed with her on a number of economic issues. The post of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was seen as a dumping ground to marginalise ministers. However, when Prior resigned, Thatcher revealed that she was going to offer him another Cabinet post during the reshuffle, which would have very likely been a non-economic one.<ref name = Garnett/>

== Later years ==
In 1986, he collaborated with John Cassels and [[Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark|Pauline Perry]] to create the [[Council for Industry and Higher Education]] (CIHE), which would become the [[National Centre for Universities and Business]] in 2013. He also released a memoir, ''A balance of power''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/prior-james-michael-leathes-jim-a10336 | title=Prior, James Michael Leathes ('Jim') &#124; Dictionary of Irish Biography }}</ref>

He retired from Parliament in 1987, and was created a [[life peer]] as '''Baron Prior''', of [[Brampton, Suffolk|Brampton]] in the [[County of Suffolk]], on 14 October 1987.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=51097 |date=21 October 1987 |page=12971}}</ref>

He was chairman and later vice-president of the Rural Housing Trust from 1990 to 1999.<ref name = Garnett/>

In 1992 he was appointed [[Chancellor (education)|chancellor]] of [[Anglia Ruskin University]] and held that position until 1999. He was made Honorary Doctor of the University at Anglia Ruskin University in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rt Hon James Prior – ARU |url=https://www.aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2/the-rt-hon-james-prior |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.aru.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rt Hon James Prior – ARU |url=https://www.aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2/the-rt-hon-james-prior |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=www.aru.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref>

Following his retirement from politics he was much sought after in the world of business: he served as chairman of both [[General Electric Company|GEC]] and [[Allders]], and had directorships at [[Barclays]], [[Sainsbury's]] and [[United Biscuits]].<ref name = Garnett/>

Prior was interviewed about the rise of [[Thatcherism]] for the 2006 [[BBC]] TV documentary series ''[[Tory! Tory! Tory!]]'' and in 2012 as part of [[The History of Parliament]]'s oral history project.<ref name='HoPPrior'>{{cite web |title=Oral history: PRIOR, James (b.1927) |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/oral-history/member/prior-james-1927 |publisher=[[The History of Parliament]] |access-date=14 July 2016}}</ref><ref name='BLPrior'>{{cite web |title=Lord James Prior interviewed by Mike Greenwood |url=http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=kM1klLjMyp/WORKS-FILE/190390041/9 |publisher=[[British Library Sound Archive]] |access-date=14 July 2016}}</ref>

== Personal life and death ==
In January 1954, Prior married Jane Primrose Gifford Lywood, daughter of [[Air Vice-Marshal]] Oswyn George William Gifford Lywood, [[Order of the Bath|CB]], [[Order of the British Empire#Current classes|CBE]], a developer of the [[Typex]] cypher machines, of a landed gentry family of Woodlands, near [[Sevenoaks]], Kent.<ref>''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'', 107th edition, vol. 3, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3222</ref><ref>''Burke's Landed Gentry'', 17th edition, ed. L.G. Pine, 1952, p. 1602</ref> They were married until her death in 2015, and had four children.<ref name = Garnett/> Their eldest son [[David Prior (UK politician)|David Prior]] held the seat of [[North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|North Norfolk]] between 1997 and 2001, and was appointed Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State for NHS Productivity; he was later, in May 2015, elevated to the peerage in his own right as Baron Prior of Brampton.<ref name = Garnett/>

Lord Prior lived at the Old Hall in [[Brampton, Suffolk]], where he died from cancer on 12 December 2016, at the age of 89.<ref name = Garnett/><ref>{{cite news |title=Former Conservative minister Lord Prior dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38292549 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=MacDonald |first=Henry |title=Jim Prior, former Conservative cabinet minister, dies aged 89 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/12/jim-prior-former-conservative-cabinet-minister-dies-89-northern-ireland |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref>

Following Prior's death, [[Keith Simpson (politician)|Keith Simpson]] MP said of him: "In many ways he was a larger than life figure. He had a ruddy face, he played up to being the farmer. People underestimated him because he didn't claim to be a [[Keith Joseph]] or [[Enoch Powell]] parading their intellectualism. But he was somebody who was well-loved by the grassroots and was a decent man who was in politics out of a sense of public service."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dickson |first=Annabelle |title=Former Suffolk MP and member of Margaret Thatcher's cabinet Lord (Jim) Prior has died |url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/former_suffolk_mp_and_member_of_margaret_thatcher_s_cabinet_lord_jim_prior_has_died_1_4813994?usurv=skip |work=[[East Anglian Daily Times]] |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220190429/http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/former_suffolk_mp_and_member_of_margaret_thatcher_s_cabinet_lord_jim_prior_has_died_1_4813994?usurv=skip |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-james-prior | James Prior }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Evans (politician)|Edward Evans]]}}
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{{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished}}
|-
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for [[Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)|Waveney]]|years=[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]–[[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]|years=1970–1972}}
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{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Lord President of the Council]]|years=1972–1974}}
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{{s-end}}

{{Leader of the House of Commons}}
{{Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland}}
{{Shadow Home Secretaries}}
{{Heath Ministry}}
{{Thatcher Ministry}}
{{1975 Conservative Party leadership election}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prior, James}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Norwich]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:British secretaries of state for employment]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) life peers]]
[[Category:Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Lord presidents of the Council]]
[[Category:Agriculture ministers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:People from the Borough of Waverley]]
[[Category:Royal Norfolk Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1959–1964]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1964–1966]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]