Geoffrey Hirst
|
Geoffrey Hirst TD |
|
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Shipley |
|
|
In office 23 February 1950 – 18 June 1970 |
|
| Preceded by | Arthur Creech Jones |
| Succeeded by | Marcus Fox |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 December 1904 |
| Died | 18 June 1984 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservatives |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Profession | Industrialist |
Geoffrey Audus Nicholson Hirst TD (14 December 1904 – 18 June 1984) was a British industrialist and politician who was a maverick Conservative Member of Parliament.
Hirst, from a Yorkshire military family, was educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, University of Cambridge. He went into industry, becoming President of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce; he was also Chairman of the East and West Ridings Yorkshire Regional Council of the Federation of British Industries.
During the Second World War, Hirst served with the Royal Artillery (he had been a member of the Territorial Army before it). At the 1950 general election, Hirst was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Shipley. He remained on the backbenches, although he did become Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Trade and Industry Committee. He often raised the issue of the textiles industry.
Hirst was a right-winger and supported an aggressive policy over the Suez Canal in 1956. When the Treasury Ministers Peter Thorneycroft, Enoch Powell and Nigel Birch resigned in 1958 after failing to win backing for spending cuts, Hirst said he was considering resigning the Conservative whip in sympathy with them. He did not go through with this idea, but his constituency association gave backing to him.
...
Wikipedia