27 Facts About Peter Lilley

Peter Lilley served as Trade and Industry Secretary from July 1990 to April 1992.

Peter Lilley has been a long-term critic of the European Union and backed Brexit in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.

Peter Lilley has since been supportive of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.

Peter Lilley, whose father was a personnel officer for the BBC, was born at Hayes in Kent.

Peter Lilley was educated at Dulwich College and Clare College, Cambridge, where he studied natural sciences before switching to economics.

Peter Lilley was the chairman of the Conservative think tank the Bow Group from 1973 to 1975.

Shortly after his appointment, Peter Lilley entertained the Conservative Party's annual conference by outlining his plan to "close down the something for nothing society", delivered in the form of a pastiche of the Lord High Executioner's "little list" song from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan:.

In 1995, Peter Lilley introduced Incapacity Benefit in the hope of checking the rise in sickness benefit claims.

Peter Lilley was among the front bench Conservative ministers who threatened to join the Maastricht Rebels in voting against his government over the signing of the Maastricht Treaty.

Peter Lilley changed the words of "Land of Hope and Glory" to create a song "Land of Chattering Classes", in condemnation of the purported abandonment of British values and history by Tony Blair's New Labour.

Peter Lilley joked that a Labour version of Land and Hope and Glory had been "leaked" to him.

Peter Lilley contested the 1997 Conservative Party leadership election, placing fourth in a field of five.

Peter Lilley was sacked by Conservative Party leader William Hague in June 1999 as part of a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle.

Peter Lilley is known for being an advocate of marijuana legalisation.

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

Peter Lilley produced a report for the Bow Group 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, Peter Lilley was appointed Chairman of the Globalisation and Global Poverty policy group, part of Cameron's extensive 18-month policy review.

In November 2012, it was reported that Peter Lilley had been selected by the Conservative Party to join the House of Commons Select Committee on Climate Change.

Peter Lilley was at that time vice chairman and senior independent non-executive director of Tethys Petroleum and had received options to buy over $400,000 of shares at a price above their then market value.

Peter Lilley resigned from the board in 2014 without exercising those options.

Peter Lilley was seen by some as being unsuitable for the position because of this role and a perceived conflict of interest.

Peter Lilley was one of only five MPs to oppose the Climate Change Act 2008.

On 19 May 2016, Peter Lilley, backed by other Eurosceptic Tory MPs as well as the other parties proposed a rebel amendment to the Queen's Speech, over fears that the US-EU pact would lead to the privatisation of the NHS by paving the way for American health providers in the UK.

Peter Lilley said that the Investor state dispute settlement provision in TTIP would grant American multinationals the right to sue the British government over any regulations which affected their profits, and questioned why the British government had not tried to exclude the NHS from TTIP.

Peter Lilley had earlier committed to supporting withdrawal from the EU during the referendum campaign.

Peter Lilley married Gail Ansell, a dress designer turned artist, on 24 May 1979.

Peter Lilley was created a Life Peer on 18 June 2018 taking the title of Baron Peter Lilley, of Offa in the County of Hertfordshire.