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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Former minister Lord Gilmour dies | Former minister Lord Gilmour dies |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Gilmour has died aged 81. | The former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Gilmour has died aged 81. |
| His eldest son David Gilmour said he died at London's West Middlesex Hospital following a short illness. | |
| Lord Gilmour served as defence secretary in Edward Heath's Cabinet before becoming Lord Privy Seal in Margaret Thatcher's first government. | Lord Gilmour served as defence secretary in Edward Heath's Cabinet before becoming Lord Privy Seal in Margaret Thatcher's first government. |
| He was sacked by Mrs Thatcher in 1981 and remained a prominent critic of what he regarded as extreme Thatcherite policies. | He was sacked by Mrs Thatcher in 1981 and remained a prominent critic of what he regarded as extreme Thatcherite policies. |
| He went on to the back benches where he remained until he went to the House of Lords as Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar in 1992. | He went on to the back benches where he remained until he went to the House of Lords as Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar in 1992. |
| Thatcher critic | Thatcher critic |
| Pro-Europe, against hanging, opposed to the poll tax and unhappy with monetarist economics, Lord Gilmour was a leading Conservative "wet" who became a persistent and outspoken critic of Thatcherism. | |
| He became the first minister to be sacked by Margaret Thatcher and responded by issuing a statement declaring that she was steering "full speed ahead for the rocks". | He became the first minister to be sacked by Margaret Thatcher and responded by issuing a statement declaring that she was steering "full speed ahead for the rocks". |
| Douglas Hurd, who later became Foreign Secretary, observed: "One wonders how he was invited to serve in her Cabinet, and why he agreed." | |
| Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour was born on 8 July 1926 and was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford. | |
| Wealthy and well connected, he was editor and proprietor of the Spectator magazine for a time in the 1950s, when he backed homosexual law reform and called the then prime minister, Sir Anthony Eden, a "liar" over the Suez invasion. | |
| Back-bench rebellion | |
| He went on to serve in the House of Commons as Conservative MP for Norfolk Central from 1962 to 1974 and Chesham and Amersham from 1974 until his retirement in 1992. | |
| He became Army Under-Secretary in 1970 and Defence Procurement Minister the following year. He later entered the Cabinet as Defence Secretary. | |
| After Margaret Thatcher's election as Conservative leader, he warned that a shift to the right could cost the party the next general election. | |
| After his appointment as Lord Privy Seal in her government, Gilmour continued to criticise Mrs Thatcher's policies, opposing monetarism and the dismantling of the welfare state. | |
| Mrs Thatcher was left with no alternative but to sack him in 1981. | |
| From the back benches, Gilmour continued to rebel against Thatcherism, opposing the abolition of the Greater London Council, the poll tax and dental and eye test charges. | |
| Peerage | Peerage |
| He was once quoted as saying: "Socialists may look forward to some grim Utopia. Conservatives have no such illusions about the future or the past. | He was once quoted as saying: "Socialists may look forward to some grim Utopia. Conservatives have no such illusions about the future or the past. |
| "For them there has never been a 'golden age' and there never will be. Similarly there is no fixed or golden policy to which the Conservative Party could or should turn." | "For them there has never been a 'golden age' and there never will be. Similarly there is no fixed or golden policy to which the Conservative Party could or should turn." |
| Lord Gilmour retired from the Commons in 1992 and was given a peerage. | Lord Gilmour retired from the Commons in 1992 and was given a peerage. |
| The leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords, Lord Strathclyde said: "Sir Ian Gilmour had a lifetime of service to the public and the Conservative Party. | The leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords, Lord Strathclyde said: "Sir Ian Gilmour had a lifetime of service to the public and the Conservative Party. |
| "He will be greatly missed by his friends from all sides of the political spectrum." | "He will be greatly missed by his friends from all sides of the political spectrum." |
| He leaves four sons and a daughter. | He leaves four sons and a daughter. |