Peter Lilley

The Right Honourable Peter Lilley MP
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 11 June 1997 – 2 June 1998
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Kenneth Clarke
Succeeded by	Francis Maude
Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security
In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997
Leader	John Major
Preceded by	Harriet Harman
Succeeded by	Iain Duncan Smith
Secretary of State for Social Security
In office 8 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Tony Newton
Succeeded by	Harriet Harman
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
In office 14 July 1990 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Nicholas Ridley
Succeeded by	Michael Heseltine (President of the Board of Trade)
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 24 July 1989 – 28 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Norman Lamont
Succeeded by	Francis Maude
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office 11 June 1987 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Ian Stewart
Succeeded by	Richard Ryder
Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden St Albans (1983-1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Victor Goodhew
Majority	15,271 (27.9%)
Personal details
Born	23 August 1943 (1943-08-23) Hayes, Kent, England
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Clare College, Cambridge

Peter Bruce Lilley MP (born 23 August 1943) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament MP since 1983. He currently represents the constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden and, prior to boundary changes, represented St Albans. He was a Cabinet minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, serving as Trade and Industry Secretary from July 1990 to April 1992, and as Social Security Secretary from April 1992 to May 1997.

Early life

Lilley, whose father was a personnel officer for the BBC, was born at Hayes in Kent. He was educated at Dulwich College and Clare College, Cambridge, where he studied Economics and Physics. His Cambridge contemporaries included Kenneth Clarke, Michael Howard and Norman Lamont. Before entering Parliament, he was an energy analyst at the City of London stockbroker, W. Greenwell & Co.

Member of Parliament

Having been selected and elected for St. Albans, a safe Conservative seat, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nigel Lawson, then as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and Financial Secretary to the Treasury before joining the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to replace Nicholas Ridley in mid-1990 after the latter was forced to resign over an anti-German remark. After the 1992 General Election he became Secretary of State for Social Security.

He contested the 1997 Conservative Party leadership election, placing fourth in a field of five. In opposition, he held the post of Shadow Chancellor from 1997 to 1998 and was Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 1998 to 1999.

In 2001, Lilley provoked some controversy in his party and Britain more widely by calling for cannabis to be legalised in a Social Market Foundation pamphlet.

Lilley produced a report for the Bow Group centre-right think tank in 2005 that was highly critical of Government plans to introduce national identity cards.

When David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservatives in December 2005, Lilley was appointed Chairman of the Globalisation and Global Poverty policy group, part of Cameron's extensive 18-month policy review.

Satirist

Peter Lilley has twice given singing performances at Conservative Party conferences. In 1992 as Secretary of State at the DSS, he sang a riff on the Lord High Executioner's "little list" song from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan:

"I've got a little list / Of benefit offenders who I'll soon be rooting out / And who never would be missed / They never would be missed. / There's those who make up bogus claims / In half a dozen names / And councillors who draw the dole / To run left-wing campaigns / They never would be missed / They never would be missed. / Young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing queue / And dads who won't support the kids / of ladies they have ... kissed / And I haven't even mentioned all those sponging socialists / I've got them on my list / And there's none of them be missed / There's none of them be missed.

In September 2007 former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett named this speech, on BBC2's The Daily Politics, as one of his all-time favourite Conference moments.

In 1998, he changed the words of "Land of Hope and Glory", singing "Land of Chattering Classes", in condemnation of the purported abandonment of British values and history by Tony Blair's New Labour.

Lilley often used the phrase 'We have to carry out a deep and far-reaching review' to the extent that it became something of a personal catchphrase. By his own estimate, Lilley has spoken this line in the region of 130 times in Commons debates. Often the line would be delivered whilst Lilley raised an eyebrow and gave a knowing grin. The salacious undertones thus conveyed would often provoke wry amusement from many of the Tory backbenchers.

Television

Peter Lilley was a fixture of 90s TV show "Drop The Dead Donkey", being permanently affixed to the "Slimey Git of the Week" wall.

Family

He is married to Gail, an artist.

External links

• The Rt Hon Peter Lilley MP official constituency website
• Profile at the Conservative Party
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Peter Lilley profile at BBC News, 22 October 2002
• BBC article about Lilley's legalise cannabis proposal 6 July 2001
• Lilley speaks about his work as Chair of the Globalisation and Global Poverty policy group Clare Politics

Offices held

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Victor Goodhew	Member of Parliament for St Albans 1983–1997	Succeeded by Kerry Pollard
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden 1997–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Ian Stewart	Economic Secretary to the Treasury 1987–1989	Succeeded by Richard Ryder
Preceded by Norman Lamont	Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1989–1990	Succeeded by Francis Maude
Preceded by Nicholas Ridley	Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 1990–1992	Succeeded by Michael Heseltine as President of the Board of Trade
Preceded by Tony Newton	Secretary of State for Social Security 1992–1997	Succeeded by Harriet Harman