Michael Cocks, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe

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Michael Francis Lovell Cocks, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe , PC (born August 19, 1929 in Leeds , † March 26, 2001 in Bristol ) was a British politician and life peer .

life and career

First steps

Cocks was the youngest of three children of Congregational Pastor Harry F. Lovell Cocks and his wife, who worked as an accountant. He attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh and then the Silcoates School in Wakefield . At the latter school he belonged to the corps of school cadets and was a member of the chess team . He then did his military service in the Royal Navy before completing a teaching degree in geography and mathematics at the University of Bristol .

After graduating with a bachelor's degree , he taught at Filton High School from 1954 to 1968 before returning to Bristol University and lecturing. In 1955 he joined the Labor Party and soon afterwards joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament . He became chairman of the Bristol Local Authority of his party and ran in the general election in 1959 in the constituency of Bristol West , where he had no chance against Robert Cooke . In the elections in 1964 and in 1966 he went to South Gloucestershire at the start and was both times against Frederick Corfield inferior, although not as clearly as yet 1959th

Initially in parliament and government whip

Cocks finally made the leap into the House of Commons in the 1970 elections , when he was able to prevail against the future cabinet minister of the Conservative Party , David Hunt , in the Bristol South constituency . In Parliament he stood up for the interests of Bristol and pushed for Bristol to be made a Metropolitan County , a campaign that failed by five votes against. Soon Cock's discipline in attendance at election processes and his willingness to be present even during long parliamentary sessions were widely noticed, and so the future Prime Minister Harold Wilson appointed him Assistant Whip in 1973 ; So he was now responsible for bringing the other members of parliament of the Labor Party on the party line when voting and to warn them to be present.

Cocks stayed with his party even after Wilson took over the government in 1974 as Whip and was even appointed Chief Whip under Wilson's successor James Callaghan . During this time he worked closely with Walter Harrison , the two were nicknamed the fatal duo in parliamentary circles , probably due to their sometimes brutal methods of getting members to vote. For example, they did not shy away from visiting the private apartments of absent MPs and shouting threats through the mailbox.

So it is probably also thanks to Cock that Callaghan's government was able to last until 1979 despite a minority in parliament. In the run-up to the 1979 vote of no confidence in Callaghan, he learned that Labor MP Alfred Broughton , though terminally ill, was willing to take part in the vote, but his doctors had serious concerns about whether he would survive transport to Parliament. In agreement with Callaghan, Cocks instructed the dutiful Broughton to stay clear of the vote. The vote of no confidence was ultimately lost with a one vote difference for Callaghan, Broughton died five days later.

Rivalry with the left wing

During the following time in the opposition, Cocks found himself exposed to increasing attacks from the left wing of his party. In 1979 the left-wing Martin Flannery tried to replace him as Whip, but clearly failed in the elections. Four years later, Cocks needed three ballots to be confirmed in office.

Cocks showed a particular dislike for the party left Tony Benn . In the run-up to the 1983 elections, he had tried to dispute his candidacy in Bristol South , but failed and, to the satisfaction of Cocks, missed entry into the House of Commons. In the 1989 book Labor and the Benn factor , Cocks made further serious allegations against Benn, whom he regarded as naive and untrustworthy .

In 1985, the Labor Party finally decided with 71 to 56 votes to run the politically more left-wing Dawn Primarolo in Bristol South instead of Cocks in the 1987 general election. He then resigned from his position as Whip to challenge his party's decision. However, this was unsuccessful and Cocks resigned from the House of Commons in 1987.

Late years

In 1987, Cocks was elevated to the status of a life peer . He has since officially held the title of Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe, of Chinnor in the County of Oxfordshire and took a place in the House of Lords . There, too, he took part very actively in the meetings and dealt primarily with Middle East policy.

In 1988 Margaret Thatcher appointed him chairman of the London Docklands Development Corporation , and from 1993 to 1998 he was vice chairman of the BBC's Board of Governors .

Cocks was married twice and had four children from his first marriage. He died of a heart attack at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

Fonts

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e f g h i Walter Harrison: Cocks, Michael Francis Lovell, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004, accessed August 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d Obituary on telegraph.co.uk (English) accessed on March 3, 2015
  3. ↑ Robert Cooke in Hansard (English)
  4. ↑ Frederick Corfield in Hansard (English)
  5. ↑ a b Obituary on theguardian.com (English) accessed on March 3, 2015
  6. ↑ Obituary on heraldscotland.com (English), accessed on March 4, 2015
  7. ↑ Michael Francis Lovell Cocks, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe on thepeerage.com , accessed September 11, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Cocks, Michael, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cocks, Michael Francis Lovell, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, Member of the House of Commons, Life Peer
DATE OF BIRTH August 19, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Leeds
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 2001
Place of death Bristol