Sir Edward MacMillan Taylor (18 April 1937 – 20 September 2017), known as Teddy Taylor, was a British Conservative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for forty years, from 1964 to 1979 for Glasgow Cathcart and from 1980 to 2005 for Southend East.

He professed Euroscepticism all his life and was a leading member and vice-president of the Conservative Monday Club.

Early life and career

Taylor was born in Glasgow. After being educated at the High School of Glasgow and the University of Glasgow, which he attended with future Labour leader John Smith, he worked as a journalist on the Glasgow Herald and served on Glasgow City Council from 1960. He fought Glasgow Springburn at the 1959 general election, but lost to Labour's John Forman. In any case, he was back in Parliament within a year of his defeat, although he would never serve in government.

Monday Club

He was a leading and early (pre-1966) young member of the old Conservative Monday Club, and was on the platform at the Club's very successful rally at the Scottish Conservative Party's annual conference at Perth on 17 May 1968. He was first co-opted onto the Club's Executive Council on 9 September 1968.

The Club long campaigned for the restoration of hanging and Taylor sought leave to introduce a bill in Parliament in October 1974 to restore capital punishment. The following January, referring to the murder of a London policeman by a Provisional Irish Republican Army gunman, he said that "the answer was return of capital punishment" and added that "if the police want arms, no government could now refuse".

Teddy Taylor was listed in a Club circular as one of its members standing for Parliament in the General Election on 9 June 1983, for Southend East, and was elected deputy Chairman of the Club on 23 June that year. He consistently opposed the EEC and the EU and campaigned for the UK to leave. He was a leading campaigner against joining the euro and had also campaigned against metrication. Throughout his career he fought hard for the interests of British fishermen. He was on the editorial board that prepared the Club's October 1985 Conservative Party Conference issue of their newspaper, Right Ahead, to which he contributed a lengthy article entitled "How Tories Are Subsidising the Soviet War Machine." In the mid-1980s he said, "Nelson Mandela should be shot." On 30 March 1990, he was the guest speaker at the Club's Surrey branch 21st Anniversary Dinner and was still a Vice-President in 1992. He was guest-of-honour at the South East Essex Monday Club's Annual Dinner on 4 July 1997.

Change of seats

At the 1979 election, Scotland bucked the British trend by showing a slight swing from Conservative to Labour, and Taylor lost his seat, the only Conservative MP at that election (other than by-election victors) to do so. He had been widely expected to become the Secretary of State for Scotland. Taylor re-entered Parliament at a 1980 by-election for Southend East following the death of Stephen McAdden and, from the 1997 general election, represented Rochford and Southend East. He did not serve in government following his return but received a knighthood in 1991.

Prior to being selected to fight the Southend by-election, Taylor had been a candidate for the Rectorship of the University of Dundee. He was a favourite to win but pulled out of the election at the last minute to contest the parliamentary seat.

During John Major's government, he was one of the Maastricht Rebels and was temporarily expelled from the parliamentary party, although he was later reinstated. Taylor stood down at the 2005 general election.

Later life

In 1968 Taylor published a novel entitled Hearts of Stone.

Taylor was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project. Taylor campaigned for a 'leave' vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.

In 1996 the US industrial metal band Ministry released the album Filth Pig, which derives its name from Taylor describing the band's singer Al Jourgensen as a "filthy pig" in the Houses of Parliament.

Personal life and death

In 1970, Taylor married Sheila Duncan, and they had three children.

Taylor's health declined at the end of his life due to Alzheimer's disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was a heavy smoker.

References

Sources

  • Copping, Robert, The Monday Club – Crisis and After, Current Affairs Information Service, Ilford, Essex, May 1975, (P/B), pps: 17, 20, 22
  • Taylor, Teddy, MP, and David Storey, The Conservative Party & The Common Market, published by the Conservative Monday Club, July 1982, (P/B)
  • Taylor, Teddy, MP, Proposals to Rescue the British Fishing Industry, Monday Club Policy Paper, December 1982
  • Taylor, Teddy, MP, "How Tories Are Subsidising the Soviet War Machine", in Right Ahead newspaper published by the Conservative Monday Club, October 1985 Conservative Party Conference issue
  • Taylor, Teddy, MP, "The EEC – The Other Side of the Coin", in Right Ahead newspaper published by the Conservative Monday Club, October 1989 Conservative Party Conference issue
  • Facts about Teddy Taylor TheyWorkForYou.com
  • Guardian obituary