The Lord Cormack
Official portrait, 2019
Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee
In office
2005  12 April 2010
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLaurence Robertson
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
In office
1 June 1997  1 January 2000
LeaderWilliam Hague
Succeeded byJames Cran
Shadow Minister for Constitutional Affairs
In office
1 June 1997  1 January 2000
LeaderWilliam Hague
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
21 December 2010
Life peerage
Member of Parliament
for South Staffordshire
South West Staffordshire (1974–1983)
In office
28 February 1974  12 April 2010
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byGavin Williamson
Member of Parliament
for Cannock
In office
18 June 1970  8 February 1974
Preceded byJennie Lee
Succeeded byGwilym Roberts
Personal details
Born (1939-05-18) 18 May 1939
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseKathleen Mary MacDonald
EducationSt James's Choir School
Havelock School
Alma materUniversity of Hull

Patrick Thomas Cormack, Baron Cormack, DL, FSA, FRHistS (born 18 May 1939) is a British politician, historian, journalist and author. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 40 years, from 1970 to 2010. Cormack is a member of the Conservative Party and is seen as a one-nation conservative.

Before entering Parliament, Cormack was a teacher. He was elected for Cannock at the 1970 general election. Following boundary changes he was elected for South West Staffordshire in 1974, renamed South Staffordshire in 1983. He was elected chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee in 2005. He was also twice a candidate for the Speakership of the House of Commons. Since standing down from the House of Commons in 2010, he has served as an active life peer in the House of Lords.

Early life and career

Cormack was born to Thomas Charles and Kathleen Mary Cormack in Grimsby just before the outbreak of World War II.[1][2] He was educated locally at the St James's Choir School and the Havelock School, before attending the University of Hull, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961.

He was a teacher at his former school, St James's Choir School, in 1961. Cormack contested the safe Labour parliamentary seat of Bolsover at the 1964 general election, where he lost to the sitting MP Harold Neal, who won with a majority of 23,103 votes. At the 1966 general election, Cormack contested his hometown seat of Grimsby, but again was defeated, this time by the secretary of state for education and science, Anthony Crosland, who had a majority of 8,126. Cormack became a training and education officer with Ross Ltd in 1966. In 1967, he was appointed an assistant house master at the Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire for two years, after which he became the head of history at Brewood Grammar School in 1969.[1]

Prior to 1970, Cormack was a member of the Bow Group and the Conservative Monday Club, resigning from both at the end of 1971.[3]

Parliamentary career

At the 1970 general election, Cormack stood for the seat of Cannock, and this time was elected, narrowly defeating the incumbent Labour MP Jennie Lee. Cormack won with a majority of 1,529.

From 1970 to 1973, Cormack served as a parliamentary private secretary to the Department of Health and Social Security. He moved constituencies at the February 1974 general election, leaving the marginal seat of Cannock and instead contesting the adjacent newly drawn seat of South West Staffordshire, which he won comfortably with a majority of 9,758.

Cormack became chairman of the editorial board of The House magazine in 1976, and editor of the magazine in 1979.[4]

Cormack was a member of the Education Select Committee for the duration of the 1979 parliament.[5]

On 7 October 1981, with national unemployment approaching 3,000,000 (compared to 1,500,000 two years previously), Cormack urged Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to change her economic policies, namely monetarism, to tackle inflation, if Britain was to avoid economic disaster.[6]

In 1983, his constituency changed its name to its present one, South Staffordshire, and after the 1983 general election, In 1997, after 27 years as an MP on the backbenches, he was promoted by the then leader of the Opposition, William Hague, to become the opposition's Deputy Leader of the House of Commons.

He resigned from this position in 2000 in order to stand for the position of Speaker of the House of Commons (following the retirement of Betty Boothroyd). However, he was unsuccessful in his bid for the speakership, with the House instead choosing Labour MP Michael Martin for the role. During the 2005–10 parliament, Cormack was the chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee.

Cormack became life president of The House magazine in 2005.[4]

The vote in South Staffordshire was postponed at the 2005 general election due to the death of the Liberal Democrat candidate Jo Harrison. When the election did take place on 23 June 2005, Cormack won comfortably. In February 2007, it was announced that Cormack had failed to win the re-adoption of his constituency party for the next general election. This vote was later declared invalid as the number of votes recorded exceeded the number of people present at the meeting.[7][8] In July 2007, the South Staffordshire Conservatives' executive council voted on the matter, but it resulted in a tie. Consequently, a vote of all local party members was held to decide whether Cormack should remain the party's candidate at the next general election.[9] In the vote, held on 14 September, Cormack was readopted as the Conservative candidate, receiving the backing of over 75% of participating party members. Cormack expressed his gratitude and called the victory a "great relief".[10] Subsequently, on 1 December 2009, Cormack announced his intention to stand down at the 2010 general election.[11]

Cormack was created a life peer on 18 December 2010, as Baron Cormack, of Enville in the County of Staffordshire.[12][13] He sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords. Cormack opposed the Coalition's plans to reform the House of Lords, speaking out against them numerous times in the chamber.

Cormack is seen as a One Nation Tory. He was a Heathite, and was a frequent rebel under Margaret Thatcher – one of the so-called "wets".[14]

Other interests

Cormack takes an active interest in historical issues, particularly those related to English Heritage. He is also a knowledgeable Parliamentary historian. He has written many books on subjects ranging from the history of Parliament, British castles, English cathedrals, and a book on William Wilberforce.[1]

Cormack has been a trustee of the Churches Preservation Trust since 1972. He has been a council member of British Archaeology since 1979, and is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass for the same length of time. From 1983 to 1993, he was Trustee on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. He is a consultant and adviser to FIRST, an international affairs organisation, since 1985. He is a vice-president of the Royal Stuart Society and the Heritage Crafts Association.[1]

A committed Christian, Cormack was a rector's warden at Parliament's parish church, St Margaret's, Westminster, from 1978 to 1990.

Cormack became president of the British Association of Friends of Museums in 2023.[15]

He is a longstanding Vice President of the National Churches Trust.[16]

Personal life

Cormack married Kathleen Mary MacDonald in 1967. They have two sons. He lists his recreations in Who's Who as "fighting philistines, walking, visiting old churches, avoiding sitting on fences". He is a member of the Athenaeum and Lincolnshire clubs.[1]

Honours

Insignia of a Knight Bachelor

Arms

Coat of arms of Patrick Cormack
Crest
A demi-lion Vert winged and grasping in the dexter paw a quill Or.
Escutcheon
Per pale Or and Vert on a chevron between three cod bendwise sinister three portcullises chained each upper bar set with a Stafford Knot all counterchanged.
Supporters
On either side a goose Or that to the dexter holding in the beak a bluebonnet flower slipped Proper and that to the sinister holding in the beak a flax flower slipped Proper both resting the interior foot on a lamp with three flames Gules.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cormack, Baron, (Patrick Thomas Cormack) (born 18 May 1939)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u11910. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. "Sir Patrick Cormack (Hansard)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. Copping, Robert, The Story of The Monday Club – The First Decade, Current Affairs Information Unit, London, April 1972: 21 & 28
  4. 1 2 "Experience for Lord Cormack". UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  5. "Your representative: Patrick Cormack". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  6. "Those were the days". expressandstar.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  7. "MP Cormack fails to get readopted". BBC News. 13 February 2007. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
  8. "Cormack ousting vote is invalid". BBC News. 23 February 2007. Archived from the original on 25 February 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
  9. "Tories fail to decide on Cormack". BBC News. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  10. "Cormack 'resoundingly readopted'". BBC News. 14 December 2007. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  11. "Veteran Tory MP Sir Patrick Cormack to stand down". BBC News. 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  12. "No. 59641". The London Gazette. 22 December 2010. p. 24505.
  13. Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Lords. "Lords Hansard text for 21 Dec 201021 Dec 2010 (pt 0001)". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (1 January 2002). The Almanac of British Politics. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415268332.
  15. Adgar, David (2023). "BAFM News & Highlights". BAFM Journal (131): 4.
  16. "Our Presidents and Patrons". Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  17. "Lord Patrick Cormack". The Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  18. "No. 54058". The London Gazette. 9 June 1995. p. 8075.
  19. "Fellows" (PDF). The Royal Historical Society. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  20. "Honorary Fellows of the Historical Association" (PDF). The Historical Association. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  21. "Deputy Lieutenant Commissions Lieutenancy of the County of Staffordshire". The London Gazette. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  22. "Honorary Degrees Conferred by The Catholic University of America" (PDF). The Catholic University of America. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  23. Jaines, Daniel (18 March 2022). "Lincoln arts champion to be presented with Freedom of the City". The Lincolnite. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  24. Debrett's Peerage. 2019.
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