19 Facts About Dudley Smith

Sir Dudley Gordon Smith was a British Conservative politician who served as a junior minister under Edward Heath.

Dudley Smith was a Member of Parliament for a total of 35 years, latterly for Warwick and Leamington, which he represented for almost 30 years before he lost his seat in the Labour landslide in the 1997 general election.

Dudley Smith attended Chichester High School in West Sussex but left at the age of 16 to pursue in career in journalism which he started by joining the local paper.

Eager to become a politician, Dudley Smith unsuccessfully fought Peckham in 1955, losing to incumbent Freda Corbet by 13,768.

Dudley Smith went onto serve on the Middlesex county council, becoming its youngest member.

Dudley Smith served as the Conservative council's Chief Whip, alongside his parliamentary duties, until 1965.

Dudley Smith claimed that Enahoro could not be deported as he would potentially face execution.

However, his climb in power was cut short by the Labour victory in the 1964 general election, and then Dudley Smith losing his seat in 1966 to Labour's Michael Barnes by 607 votes.

Dudley Smith played a key role in the passage of the controversial Industrial Relations Bill.

Dudley Smith never returned to government, spending his time as vice-chairman of the Select Committee on Race Relations and Immigration between 1978 and 1979.

Dudley Smith had been an early admirer of Mrs Thatcher, evidenced by his verbal support of the Public Bodies Act 1960, which she had drawn up and introduced her maiden speech.

Dudley Smith found himself in controversy in 1995 when a Greek Cypriot claimed that a holiday home in Northern Cyprus, which Dudley Smith has leased for twelve years, had in fact been his property prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion.

Dudley Smith was a Freeman of the City of London and was Chairman from 1985 to 1990 for the United and Cecil Club.

Dudley Smith was a governor Mill Hill School for three decades.

Dudley Smith believed in hanging, thought life imprisonment should mean at least 25 years, was against anti-homosexual law reform and was for curbs on abortion.

Dudley Smith opposed allowing immigrant women who had British citizenship to bring in their partners.

Dudley Smith was married twice, first in 1958 Anthea Higgins with whom he had three children, a son, Russell, and two daughters, Charlotte and Antonia.

In 1976, Dudley Smith married again, this time to a management consultant called Catherine Amos.

Dudley Smith died in Warwickshire on 14 December 2016, at the age of 90.