Sir John Hannam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Exeter | |
| In office 18 June 1970 –8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Gwyneth Dunwoody |
| Succeeded by | Ben Bradshaw |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 August 1929 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Vanessa Hannam (1983–present) |
Sir John Gordon Hannam (born 2 August 1929) is a British Conservative politician. [1] He was the last Conservative MP for Exeter to date,from 1970 until his retirement in 1997.
Hannam attended Yeovil Grammar School,where he matriculated. He served in the army,where he completed his National Service in the Middle East,and then in the Territorial Army. A keen sportsman,Hannam played hockey and tennis for Somerset,and was Singles Champion in 1953. Later,in Parliament,he Captained the Lords and Commons Tennis and Ski Teams,and is a Member of the All England Lawn Tennis and International Clubs.
John built up his own business in Tourism and Hotels in the West Country which led him to maintain a strong interest in Small Businesses throughout his Parliamentary career. He was a member of the English Tourist Board and President of the British Motels Federation 1967–1980.
He won the marginal Exeter seat from Gwyneth Dunwoody in 1970 and held it through seven General Elections. Once in Parliament he helped to launch the first backbench Energy and Small Businesses Committees and organized visits to coalmines,oil rigs and nuclear power stations as well as visits to research establishments in France and USA. He was elected Chairman of the Conservative Energy Committee 1974–1992. He was elected Secretary of the Conservative 1922 Committee,a position he held 1987–1997.
John's interest in the Arts stemmed from a love of music and singing (training as a singer and commanding several leading roles in light opera in his 20s) and he was elected Chairman of the Bow Group Arts Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Arts Committee. In 1980 the Government appointed him as a Trustee-Director of the National Theatre,where he was one of the longest serving members.
In 1989 he became a trustee-director of a newly created opera training company named British Youth Opera and took over chairmanship in 1997. [2] Over a thousand young opera singers have developed their professional careers following training by BYO.
He stood down after 27 years in Parliament at the 1997 election. He disassociated himself from the bitter,homophobic campaign of his Conservative successor Adrian Rogers,who was a leading member of the religious right. For this he received praise from his successor,Labour's Ben Bradshaw,during his maiden speech in Parliament. [3]
The other main interest John Hannam developed in his 27 years in Parliament was as a leading campaigner for disability rights and the promotion of legislation to provide opportunities in education,employment,access to buildings and transport for people with disabilities. He was elected an officer of the All Party Disablement Group in 1974 and chairman from 1987 to 1997. He was appointed to the Government Transport Advisory Committee,the Snowdon Working Party on Disability,The Access Committee for England and Deputy Chairman of Rehabilitation International.
As a Council Member of Action Research he was a founder member of the Snowdon Trust [4] which was created to financially assist severely physically disabled students in higher education and served as chairman from 1997 –2012. He is currently a vice-president.
As part of the campaign for anti-discrimination he initiated several debates in the Commons and took a leading role in the passage of the Government 1995 Act which created the platform for many advances subsequently achieved.
He has been involved for many years with the Alzheimers Society and is currently a vice-president. He is also a Vice-President of the Disabled Motorists Association.
In 1986 John Hannam piloted his own Private Members Bill –The Corneal Tissue Act –through all stages and so made it possible for a thousand more people to retain their sight.
Then he followed in 1993 with another Bill to allow Disabled Drivers to become Driving Instructors. In 1995 he succeeded in passing a third Bill –The Proceeds of Crime Act –which enabled the Courts to recover the ill-gotten gains from criminal actions.
In 1986 John was awarded an Honorary Degree at the Open University for Services to the Disabled and in 1994 he received the Harding Award for Parliamentary Work for the Disabled. [5]
He was knighted in the 1992 New Year Honours.
He received the Freedom of the City of Exeter in 1998. [6]
In 1983 he married Vanessa Wauchope née Anson,who,as Vanessa Hannam,is an author and journalist. [7] Lady Hannam has four children from her first marriage to John Wauchop,a second cousin of the Earl of Snowdon.
Sir William Nigel Paul Cash is a British politician who has served as a member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. A member of the Conservative Party,he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. Cash is a prominent Eurosceptic. Following his tenth election victory in the 2019 general election,aged 79,Cash became the oldest sitting member of the House of Commons.
Sir Graham Stuart Brady is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010,except for a brief period in 2019.
William Richard Fletcher-Vane,2nd Baron Inglewood,,usually called Richard Inglewood,is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Lord Inglewood is a non-affiliated member of the House of Lords,a barrister and a chartered surveyor. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 2004,and a junior minister in the UK government from 1995 to 1997.
Sir Nicholas Raymond Winterton is a retired British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Macclesfield from 1971 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election.
Michael Bruce Forsyth,Baron Forsyth of Drumlean,Kt. PC is a British financier and Conservative politician,who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997.
Jonathan Peter Evans FRSA is a Welsh lawyer,businessman and former politician. He has been Chairman of the British Insurance Brokers Association since 1 January 2020.
Sir Roger James Gale is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for North Thanet since 1983. He had a career in journalism and broadcasting from 1964,around the same time as he joined the Conservative Party,until 1983. He was knighted in 2012. He was a prominent and vocal critic of Boris Johnson during his leadership of the Conservative Party.
John Robert Greenway is a former British politician who sat as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Ryedale from 1987 until the constituency's abolition in 2010.
Sir Oliver Heald is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hertfordshire,formerly North Hertfordshire,since 1992.
Charles Hendry is a British Conservative Party politician. Formerly the member of parliament for High Peak between the 1992 and 1997 general elections,he was returned as the MP for Wealden in 2001. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and served until 2012. He stood down at the 2015 general election.
Robert "Bob" John Walter is a British-Turkish Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dorset from 1997 until he stood down at the 2015 general election.
John Mark Taylor was a British solicitor and Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Solihull from 1983 to 2005,when he lost his seat to Lorely Burt of the Liberal Democrats by a margin of 279 votes in the 2005 general election. He had previously been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and leader of West Midlands County Council. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1983,and served as a junior minister under John Major.
John Ernest Townend was a British politician who was a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party.
David Lockhart-Mure Renton,Baron Renton,was a British politician who served for over 60 years in Parliament,34 in the House of Commons and then 28 in the House of Lords.
Phillip Whitehead was a British Labour politician,television producer and writer.
Timothy John Robert Kirkhope,Baron Kirkhope of Harrogate is a British lawyer and politician who previously served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East,he was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. Between December 2004 and November 2010 he was leader of the Conservative delegation for a total of six years. He was the chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel's Europe grouping,the European Conservatives Spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs,and a member of the European Parliament's U.S Delegation. In 2016,he was created a life peer.
John Russell Carlisle was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for the Luton West constituency and later Luton North constituency in Bedfordshire. Carlisle was Public Affairs Director of the UK Tobacco Manufacturers' Association from 1997 until 2001,even though he was a non-smoker.
Sir Clive Bossom,2nd Baronet,was a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament (MP).
Robert Antony Hayward,Baron Hayward,is a British Conservative Party politician and media commentator.
Alan Lee WilliamsOBE is a former president of the Atlantic Treaty Association,a British Labour Party politician,writer and visiting professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.