William John Biffen, Baron Biffen, (3 November 1930 – 14 August 2007), was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of parliament from 1961 to 1997, and served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet; he then served in the House of Lords.

Early life and education

The son of Victor William Biffen, a tenant farmer, of Hill Farm, Otterhampton, Bridgwater, Somerset, and his wife Edith Annie ('Tish'), John Biffen was born in Bridgwater in 1930. He was educated firstly at Combwich village school, followed by Dr. Morgan's Grammar School, Bridgwater. He then earned a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first class honours degree in history. From 1953 to 1960 he worked for Tube Investments Ltd. In the 1960s he joined the Mont Pelerin Society.

In 1981, he allowed Rupert Murdoch to buy The Times and The Sunday Times without reference to the Monopolies Commission. According to Woodrow Wyatt, who helped persuade Thatcher to ensure this, the Commission "almost certainly would have blocked it".

As Leader of the House, Biffen used the guillotine to cut short debate on the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1986. Edward Pearce has written that Biffen "was widely thought the best post-war floor leader".

Biffen's image as an economic "dry" mellowed during his time in government, and he made blunt public calls for greater moderation in government policy. In 1980 he warned the country to prepare for "three years of unparalleled austerity".

On 9 February 1986, he said that Toryism was "not a raucous political faction" This alienated him from Thatcher and resulted in his being dropped from the Cabinet following the 1987 general election. His dismissal was no surprise, in that Thatcher's press secretary Bernard Ingham had already famously called him a "semi-detached" member of the Cabinet. Thatcher in her memoirs described Biffen's desire for a balanced ticket as "foolish" and "a recipe for paralysis." Nevertheless, Thatcher later admitted that Biffen's departure from the Cabinet was "a loss in some ways", because of his Euroscepticism and his "sound instincts on economic matters". In the month after his sacking Biffen likened Thatcher's governing style to that of a "Stalinist regime".

Despite his right-wing views on economic policy, he was very much to the left of Thatcher on social policy. Similarly to Powell, he completely opposed capital punishment and was very supportive of equal gay rights but wanted less immigration. Biffen also opposed the tightening of laws restricting abortion and voted in 1990 to preserve the limit at 28 weeks.

Brian Walden noted that Biffen was the "most honest" politician he had interviewed.

Return to the Backbench

On the backbenches Biffen voted against the Local Government Finance Act 1988 which introduced the Community Charge (the poll tax). He voted against the Maastricht Treaty and was in favour of a referendum on the EU Constitution so he could vote "No".

House of Lords

On 3 June 1997 he was created a life peer, as Baron Biffen, of Tanat in the County of Shropshire.

Personal life

Biffen married Sarah Wood in 1979. He had one stepson, Nicholas Wood, a correspondent with The New York Times and International Herald Tribune, and a stepdaughter, Lucy. The family lived at Tanat House, Llanyblodwel.

Biffen died from heart failure at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 14 August 2007, aged 76.

Biffen was portrayed by Roger Brierley in the 2004 BBC production of The Alan Clark Diaries.

Notes

Bibliography

  • John Biffen, Nation in Doubt (Conservative Political Centre, 1976).
  • John Biffen, Political Office, or Political Power?: Six Speeches on National and International Affairs (Centre for Policy Studies, 1977).
  • John Biffen, 'The Conservatism of Labour', in Maurice Cowling (ed.), Conservative Essays (Cassell, 1978), pp. 155–167.
  • John Biffen, 'Inside the House of Commons', (1989).
  • John Biffen, Inside Westminster (Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1996).
  • The Papers of John Biffen held at Churchill Archives Centre
  • Obituary, The Guardian, 15 August 2007
  • Obituary, The Independent, 15 August 2007
  • Obituary, The Times, 15 August 2007

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-