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{{Short description|British politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Lord Baker of Dorking
| image = Official portrait of Lord Baker of Dorking 2020 crop 2.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2020
| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CH|PC}}
| office = [[Home Secretary]]
| primeminister = [[John Major]]
| term_start = 28 November 1990
| term_end = 10 April 1992
| predecessor = [[David Waddington]]
| successor = [[Kenneth Clarke]]
| office2 = [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
| primeminister2 = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start2 = 24 July 1989
| term_end2 = 28 November 1990
| predecessor2 = [[Tony Newton, Baron Newton of Braintree|Tony Newton]]
| successor2 = [[Chris Patten]]
| office3 = [[Chairman of the Conservative Party]]
| leader3 = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start3 = 24 July 1989
| term_end3 = 28 November 1990
| predecessor3 = [[Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville|Peter Brooke]]
| successor3 = [[Chris Patten]]
| office4 = [[Secretary of State for Education|Secretary of State for Education and Science]]
| primeminister4 = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start4 = 21 May 1986
| term_end4 = 24 July 1989
| predecessor4 = [[Keith Joseph]]
| successor4 = [[John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market|John MacGregor]]
| office5 = [[Secretary of State for the Environment]]
| primeminister5 = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start5 = 2 September 1985
| term_end5 = 21 May 1986
| predecessor5 = [[Patrick Jenkin]]
| successor5 = [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]]

{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Junior ministerial offices {{nobold|1981–1985}}
|cont = yes
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
|embed = yes
| office6 = [[Secretary of State for Environment|Minister of State for Local Government]]
| primeminister6 = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start6 = 11 September 1984
| term_end6 = 1 September 1985
| 1blankname6 = [[Secretary of State for Environment|Sec. of State]]
| 1namedata6 = [[Patrick Jenkin]]
| predecessor6 = [[Irwin Bellow, Baron Bellwin|The Lord Bellwin]]
| successor6 = [[William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill|William Waldegrave]]
| office7 = [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Minister of State for Industry and Information Technology]]{{ref label|aaa|a}}
| primeminister7 = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| 1blankname7 = [[Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy|Sec. of State]]
| 1namedata7 = [[Sir Keith Joseph]] [[Patrick Jenkin]] [[Cecil Parkinson]] [[Norman Tebbit]]
| term_start7 = 5 January 1981
| term_end7 = 10 September 1984
| predecessor7 = [[Thomas Trenchard, 2nd Viscount Trenchard|The Viscount Trenchard]]
| successor7 = [[Geoffrey Pattie]]
| office9 = [[Minister for the Civil Service|Parliamentary Secretary for the Civil Service Department]]
| alongside9 = {{Nowrap|[[Geoffrey Johnson-Smith|Geoff Johnson-Smith]] {{small|(1972–1974)}}}}
| primeminister9 = [[Edward Heath]]
| term_start9 = 7 April 1972
| term_end9 = 4 March 1974
| predecessor9 = [[David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford|David Howell]]
| successor9 = [[Robert Sheldon]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
}}

{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Parliamentary offices
|cont = yes
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
|embed = yes
| office10 = [[Member of the House of Lords]] [[Lord Temporal]]
| term_start10 = 18 June 1997 [[Life Peerage]]
| term_end10 =
| office11 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Mole Valley]]
| term_start11 = 9 June 1983
| term_end11 = 8 April 1997
| predecessor11 = [[Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)|''Constituency created'']]
| successor11 = [[Paul Beresford]]
| office12 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[St Marylebone (UK Parliament constituency)|St Marylebone]]
| term_start12 = 22 October 1970
| term_end12 = 13 May 1983
| predecessor12 = [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Quintin Hogg]]
| successor12 = [[Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)|''Constituency abolished'']]
| office13 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Acton (UK Parliament constituency)|Acton]]
| term_start13 = 28 March 1968
| term_end13 = 29 May 1970
| predecessor13 = [[Bernard Floud]]
| successor13 = [[Nigel Spearing]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1934|11|3|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]], Wales
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Iford, East Sussex]], England
| party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Elizabeth Gray-Muir|1963}}
| children = Oswin · Sophia · Amy
| education = [[Hampton Grammar School]] [[St Paul's School, London]]
| alma_mater = [[Magdalen College, Oxford]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[MSc]])
| signature = Kenneth Baker signature.png
| website = {{official website|https://members.parliament.uk/member/1028/contact|name=Official website}}
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Kenneth Baker promotes career colleges.ogg|title=Kenneth Baker's voice|type=speech|description=Baker promotes [[career colleges]] for 14 to 19 year olds Recorded 10 June 2015}}
| footnotes = a. {{note|aaa}}Minister of State for Industry: 5 January 1981 to 12 June 1983
}}

'''Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking''' (born 3 November 1934<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Baker of Dorking, Baron, (Kenneth Wilfred Baker) (born 3 Nov. 1934)|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-6215|access-date=12 June 2021|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|year=2007|language=en|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u6215|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4}}</ref>) is a British politician, [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Member of Parliament from 1968 to 1997, and a cabinet minister, including holding the offices of [[Home Secretary]], [[Secretary of State for Education|Education Secretary]] and [[Chairman of the Conservative Party]]. He is a life member of the [[Tory Reform Group]].

Baker stood down from the House of Commons at the 1997 election and was created a [[life peer]] as Baron Baker of Dorking, joining the [[House of Lords]].

==Early life==
The son of a civil servant, Baker was born in [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]]. He was educated at [[Hampton Grammar School]] between 1946 and 1948, a boys' [[voluntary aided school]] in West London (now Hampton School, an [[independent school]]). He then went on to study at [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]], and at [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], where he graduated in 1958 with a BA Degree in History. Whilst at Oxford, Baker served as Secretary of [[The Oxford Union]]. Four years later he graduated with a [[MSc]] degree in International Law and Regulations. He did [[National Service]] in the [[Royal Artillery]], reaching the rank of [[lieutenant]], and worked for [[Royal Dutch Shell]] before being elected as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] at a by-election in March 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.stpaulsschool.org.uk/about-opc/committee-list/biographies/lord-baker-of-dorking|title=OPC Committee list|work=St Paul's School Website |publisher=Old Pauline Club|access-date=3 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054859/http://old.stpaulsschool.org.uk/about-opc/committee-list/biographies/lord-baker-of-dorking|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Career==

===Political career===

==== Member of Parliament ====
Having unsuccessfully contested [[Poplar (UK Parliament constituency)|Poplar]] in [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964]] and [[Acton (UK Parliament constituency)|Acton]] in [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966]], Baker was first elected to Parliament when he won Acton at [[1968 Acton by-election|a March 1968 by-election]], gaining it from [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] following the suicide of [[Bernard Floud]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr Kenneth Baker (Hansard)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-kenneth-baker/index.html|access-date=11 May 2021|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> However, at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]] he was defeated by Labour's [[Nigel Spearing]]. At [[1970 St Marylebone by-election|an ensuing by-election, held on 22 October 1970]]—caused by the elevation to the Lords (as a life peer) of [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Quintin Hogg]], so that he could become [[Lord Chancellor]] following the surprise Conservative victory at the 1970 election—Baker was elected for the [[safe seat|safe Conservative seat]] of [[St Marylebone (UK Parliament constituency)|St Marylebone]] in central London. In the parliamentary seat redistribution of the early 1980s, St Marylebone was abolished and Baker was defeated by [[Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville|Peter Brooke]] for the Conservative nomination at the nearby new safe seat of [[Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Cities of London & Westminster]]. However he successfully obtained nomination at [[Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Mole Valley]], a safely-Conservative rural seat in [[Surrey]], which he held until his retirement in 1997. He was succeeded there by Sir [[Paul Beresford]].

==== Early ministerial career ====
Baker's first government post was in the [[Heath ministry]]; in 1972 he became [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State|Parliamentary Secretary]] at the Civil Service Department, and in 1974 [[parliamentary private secretary]] to [[Edward Heath]]. Having become closely associated with Heath, he was overlooked for office when [[Margaret Thatcher]] became Prime Minister in 1979, but in 1981 he was appointed Minister for Information Technology, in the then Department of Trade and Industry. Having been sworn of the [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Council]] in the [[1984 New Year Honours]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=49583 |date=30 December 1983 |page=1 |supp=y}}</ref> he entered the Cabinet as [[Secretary of State for the Environment]] in 1985.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|date=20 January 2013|title=Kenneth Baker: 'People told me to abandon Thatcher but I stood by her'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jan/20/kenneth-baker-abandon-margaret-thatcher-stood-by-her|access-date=12 June 2021|work=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

==== Education Secretary ====
Baker served as [[Secretary of State for Education]] from 1986 to 1989. His most noted action in his time at the Department of Education was the introduction of the controversial "[[National Curriculum]]" through the 1988 Education Act. He also introduced [[Inset day|in-service training days]] for teachers, which became popularly known as "Baker days".<ref name=":1" /> At this time Baker was often tipped as a future Conservative leader, including in the 1987 edition of [[Julian Critchley]]'s biography of [[Michael Heseltine]]. Critchley quoted one journalist's witticism "I have seen the future and it smirks" (a reference to the famous line "I have seen the future and it works" written by [[Lincoln Steffens]], an American visitor to Lenin's USSR in 1921). Baker's mannerisms were unpopular with some people: he dressed his hair with [[Brylcreem]], and by the late 1980s he had come to be portrayed by the satirical programme ''[[Spitting Image]]'' as a slimy slug.<ref name=Macdonald1996 >{{cite news |title=Baker spits back at 'Image' cartoonists |last=Macdonald |first=Marianne |date=15 May 1996 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/baker-spits-back-at-image-cartoonists-1347371.html |access-date=22 January 2010 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106043130/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/baker-spits-back-at-image-cartoonists-1347371.html |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Party Chairman ====
In the July 1989 reshuffle Baker was appointed [[Chairman of the Conservative Party]], with the intention that he should organise a fourth consecutive General Election victory for Margaret Thatcher. He managed to steer the government through the otherwise disastrous local elections of May 1990 by stressing the good results for Conservative "flagship" councils in Westminster and Wandsworth, i.e. supposedly demonstrating that the [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|poll tax]]—a source of great unpopularity for the government—could be a vote-winner for Conservative councils who kept it low. He was still Party Chairman at the time Margaret Thatcher resigned in November 1990.<ref name=":1" />

==== Home Secretary ====
After the change of regime, Baker was promoted to [[Home Secretary]], dealing with prison riots and introducing the [[Dangerous Dogs Act 1991|Dangerous Dogs Act]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.stpaulsschool.org.uk/about-opc/committee-list/biographies/lord-baker-of-dorking|title=Lord Baker of Dorking|website=St Paul's School Website|access-date=3 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054859/http://old.stpaulsschool.org.uk/about-opc/committee-list/biographies/lord-baker-of-dorking|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

After his term of office, Baker was found (''[[M v Home Office]]'' 1994) to have been in [[contempt of court]] for having deported a man back to [[Zaire]] in 1991,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/baker-rejects-contempt-ruling-former-minister-says-he-had-judicial-immunity-in-asylum-case-2322708.html |title=Baker rejects contempt ruling: Former minister says he had judicial |date=14 May 1993 |website=The Independent |access-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320223125/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/baker-rejects-contempt-ruling-former-minister-says-he-had-judicial-immunity-in-asylum-case-2322708.html |archive-date=20 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> in breach of an interim injunction and while proceedings were pending. "It would be a black day for the rule of law and the liberty of the subject", the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]] ruled, "if ministers were not accountable to the courts for their personal actions." This was the first time the courts had reached such a finding against a minister for exercise of Prerogative Powers, something previously thought to be impossible.

==== After 1992 ====
[[File:Official portrait of Lord Baker of Dorking crop 2.jpg|upright|thumb|Baker in 2018]]

After the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]] Baker left the government rather than accept demotion to the job of [[Welsh Secretary]].{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} He was appointed a member of the [[Order of the Companions of Honour]] (CH) on 13 April 1992.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=52911 |date=5 May 1992 |page=7755}}</ref> He proposed the Loyal Address in the Queen's Speech debate on 6 May 1992, following the general election. He chose not to stand for re-election to the House of Commons in 1997, and on 16 June was created a life peer as '''Baron Baker of Dorking''', ''of [[Iford, East Sussex|Iford]] in the [[East Sussex|County of East Sussex]]''.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54811 |date=19 June 1997 |page=7123}}</ref><ref name="hansard-bio">{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-baker-of-dorking/1028 |title=Lord Baker of Dorking – UK Parliament |publisher=www.parliament.uk |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311161241/http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-baker-of-dorking/1028 |archive-date=11 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Baker was interviewed in 2012 as part of [[The History of Parliament]]'s oral history project.<ref name='HoPBaker'>{{cite web|title=Oral history: BAKER, Kenneth (b.1934)|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/oral-history/member/baker-kenneth-1934|publisher=[[The History of Parliament]]|access-date=14 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707090546/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/oral-history/member/baker-kenneth-1934|archive-date=7 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name='BLBaker'>{{cite web|title=Baron Baker interviewed by Mike Greenwood|url=http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=7BqfKR0esX/WORKS-FILE/212900022/9|publisher=[[British Library Sound Archive]]|access-date=14 July 2016|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728124334/http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=7BqfKR0esX/WORKS-FILE/212900022/9|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Since 2019, Baker has campaigned for the abolition of [[General Certificate of Secondary Education]] (GCSE) examinations, which he introduced as Secretary of State for Education. Baker believes the certificate to be redundant as it fails in creating skills wanted by employers, is incompatible with the new age 18 [[school leaving age]] and causes poor mental health in the youth.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Kenneth|date=11 February 2019|title=Opinion: I introduced GCSEs in the 1980s – but now it's time to scrap them|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/gcses-exams-education-skill-shortages-business-schools-robert-halfon-a8774141.html|access-date=20 February 2022|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en}}</ref> When the annual GCSE examinations were cancelled twice during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]], Baker believed there to be increasing opposition to their return and considered it a "great opportunity" to abolish them.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mintz|first=Luke|date=24 April 2021|title=Lord Baker: The pandemic is a good opportunity to scrap my GCSE revolution|language=en-GB|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/schooling/lord-baker-pandemic-good-opportunity-scrap-gcse-revolution/|access-date=20 February 2022|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Baker also criticised government plans to replace [[Business and Technology Education Council]] (BTEC) qualifications with [[T-Level]]s as "vandalism", instead preferring to maintain the status quo where both BTECs and T-Levels are available to students.<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 July 2021|title=Kenneth Baker: plan to scrap BTecs is an act of vandalism|url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jul/29/kenneth-baker-scrapping-btecs-act-of-vandalism|access-date=20 February 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref>

In September 2019, Baker criticised attempts by Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] to deselect rebel Conservative MPs at the next general election.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://londonlovesbusiness.com/lord-kenneth-baker-slams-johnson-over-treatment-of-rebel-mps/|title=Lord Kenneth Baker slams Johnson over treatment of rebel MPs|date=4 September 2019|website=Londonlovesbusiness.com}}</ref>

== Baker Dearing Educational Trust ==
[[File:Kenneth Baker and Akshata Murty.jpg|thumb|Baker (left) attends a meeting with [[Akshata Murty]] and representatives of the [[London Design and Engineering UTC]], 2023]]
Baker was co-founder along with the late [[Ronald Dearing]] of the [[Baker Dearing Educational Trust]], an educational trust set up to promote the establishment of [[University Technical College]]s in England as part of the [[Free school (England)|free school programme]]. He is also Chair of the independent education charity Edge Foundation which campaigns for a coherent, unified and holistic education for all young people.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

==Personal life==
Until 1995 Baker lived in Station Road in the village of [[Betchworth]], {{convert|4|mi}} east of [[Dorking]]. He now lives in the hamlet of [[Iford, East Sussex|Iford]] near [[Lewes]], [[East Sussex]].

In 2005 he published a book on [[King George IV]], ''George IV: A Life in Caricature'', followed by ''[[King George III]]: A Life in Caricature'' in 2007 ([[Thames & Hudson]]). Other publications include several compilations of poetry,<ref name="FaberEnglishHistoryVerse">Faber Book of English History in Verse, 1989, {{ISBN|9780571150625}}</ref><ref name="FaberWarPoetry ">Faber Book of War Poetry, 1997, {{ISBN|9780571174546}}</ref><ref name="FaberChildrensEnglishHistoryVerse">Faber Book of Childrens English History in Verse, 1999, {{ISBN|9781422390122}}</ref><ref name="FaberLandscapePoetry">Faber Book of Landscape Poetry, 2000, {{ISBN|9780571200719}}</ref> a history of political cartoons and his autobiography.

In 2006 Lord Baker announced that he was introducing a [[bill (proposed law)|bill]] into the [[House of Lords]] to address the [[West Lothian question]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1508017/Baker-seeks-end-to-West-Lothian-question.html|title=Baker seeks end to West Lothian question|date=17 January 2006 | work=The Telegraph |access-date=12 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805010410/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1508017/Baker-seeks-end-to-West-Lothian-question.html|archive-date=5 August 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> This would prevent Scottish and Welsh [[Member of parliament|MPs]] from voting on legislation which affects England alone as a result of [[devolution]] to the [[Scottish Parliament]] or the [[Welsh Assembly]].

Baker's son, Oswin, is a leading member of the [[Greenwich and Woolwich]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/oct/11/1|title=Politics Diary|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 October 2002|access-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029174630/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/oct/11/1|archive-date=29 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to his entry in ''[[Who's Who]]'', Baker enjoys collecting books and political caricatures.<ref name=":0" />

==In the media==
Baker was interviewed about the rise of [[Thatcherism]] for the 2006 [[BBC]] TV documentary series ''[[Tory! Tory! Tory!]]''. Baker was portrayed as a slug in the political satire television show ''[[Spitting Image]]''.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

On 31 January 2023, Baker was invited on BBC ''[[Newsnight]]'' to comment on a forthcoming teachers strike and on [[Rishi Sunak|PM Rishi Sunak's]] management of his [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] appointments. At one point the presenter [[Victoria Derbyshire]] removed Baker's incessantly ringing mobile phone, which continually interrupted the latter part of the live studio interview, during which he quipped that the PM was insistent in attempting to reach him.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

== Honours ==
In 1994 Lord Baker was awarded an [[Honorary Doctorate]] from [[Richmond, The American International University in London]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Honorary Degree Recipients – Richmond University|url=https://www.richmond.ac.uk/about-richmond/honorary-degree-recipients/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930034044/https://www.richmond.ac.uk/about-richmond/honorary-degree-recipients/|archive-date=30 September 2018|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref>

In 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Education from [[Plymouth University]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lord Kenneth Baker|url=https://archivesit.org.uk/interviews/lord-kenneth-baker/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803130830/https://archivesit.org.uk/interviews/lord-kenneth-baker/|archive-date=3 August 2021|access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref>

He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Education from [[Brunel University]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary Graduates|url=https://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/people/Honorary-graduates|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221308/https://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/people/Honorary-graduates|archive-date=20 November 2018|access-date=4 December 2018|publisher=Brunel.ac.uk}}</ref>

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = [[File:Coronet of a British Baron.svg|centre|150px]] [[File:Arms of Baron Baker of Dorking.svg|centre|200px]]
|escutcheon = Gyronny of eight Gules and Azure a roundel also Azure surmounted by an annulet enfiling the rings of the chains of three portcullises in pairle points inwards Or.
|crest = Upon two closed books each fesswise the upper Azure the lower Gules both garnished and titled Or a cock also Or combed jelopped and legged Gules.
|supporters = On either side a male griffin reguardant Azure armed forelegged and rayed Or the dexter grasping in the beak a thistle flowered Gules slipped and leaved Or and the sinister a daffodil slipped and leaved Or.
|motto = Bene Tentare<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage |date=2000}}</ref>}}

==Bibliography==
* ''George IV: A Life in Caricature'' (2005 Thames & Hudson {{ISBN|0-500-25127-4}})
* ''George III: A Life in Caricature'' (2007 Thames & Hudson {{ISBN|0-500-25140-1}})
* ''14–18 – A New Vision for Secondary Education'' (2013 Bloomsbury Academic {{ISBN|978-1780938448}})

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{hansard-contribs | mr-kenneth-baker | Kenneth Baker }}
* [http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/oral-history/member/baker-kenneth-1934 Kenneth Baker interview at History of Parliament Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707090546/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/oral-history/member/baker-kenneth-1934 |date=7 July 2016 }}
*[https://www.ft.com/stream/56cf5544-61ab-4122-a674-44ae089f46c1 Kenneth Baker] at the ''[[Financial Times]]''

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Bernard Floud]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Acton (UK Parliament constituency)|Acton]]|years=[[1968 Acton by-election|1968]]–[[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Nigel Spearing]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Quintin Hogg]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[St Marylebone (UK Parliament constituency)|St Marylebone]]|years=[[1970 St Marylebone by-election|1970]]–[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]}}
{{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished}}
|-
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Mole Valley]]|years=[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]–[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Paul Beresford]]}}
|-
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Patrick Jenkin]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for the Environment]]|years=1985–1986}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Keith Joseph]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Education and Science]]|years=1986–1989}}
{{S-aft|after=[[John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market|John MacGregor]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Tony Newton, Baron Newton of Braintree|Tony Newton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]|years=1989–1990}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Chris Patten]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[David Waddington]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Home Secretary]]|years=1990–1992}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Kenneth Clarke]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville|Peter Brooke]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chairman of the Conservative Party]]|years=1989–1990}}
{{S-aft|after= [[Chris Patten]]}}
{{s-prec|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Douglas Hurd|The Lord Hurd of Westwell]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]]''' ''Baron Baker of Dorking'' '''}}
{{s-fol|after=[[John Patten, Baron Patten|The Lord Patten]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Home Secretaries}}
{{Secretaries of State for Education}}
{{Secretaries of State for Science}}
{{Secretary of State for Environment}}
{{Thatcher Ministry}}
{{Major Ministry}}
{{Conservative Party (UK)}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker of Dorking, Kenneth Baker, Baron}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
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[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]
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Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking - Revision history

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