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Denis Michael Keegan (26 January 1924 – 9 October 1993) was a British barrister and company manager who served a single term as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament. Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. He became known as a moderate politician who opposed capital punishment and restrictions on immigration. He left Parliament to represent small retailers who sold television and radio sets.

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Education

Keegan was the only son of Denis Francis Keegan, a member of the Indian Civil Service. The Indian Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym ICS, originated as the elite Civil service of the Indian Government under British colonial [1] He was sent to Oundle School in Northamptonshire; When he finished at school, instead of a British university Keegan went to Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario. Oundle School is a public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants Queen's University, generally referred to simply as Queen's, is a coeducational non-sectarian Public university located in Kingston, Ontario Kingston Ontario is a Canadian city located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake runs into the St In 1944 he returned from Canada to join the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot,[2] with a petty officer rank. The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships A Petty Officer is a noncommissioned officer or equivalent in many navies. [1]

Legal career

After leaving the Fleet Air Arm, Keegan trained in the law and in 1950 was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn. The Call to the Bar is a legal Term of art in most Common law jurisdictions The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court around the Royal Courts [1][3] He practised mainly in Nottingham, where he became politically active in the Conservative Party. Nottingham ( is a city in the Ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Keegan was elected as a Conservative to Nottingham City Council in 1953. Keegan's responsibilities on the council included serving on the National Council of Social Service. [4] He also became a member of the Home Office advisory panel on juvenile delinquency. The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for security and order [2]

1955 general election

For the 1955 general election, Keegan was chosen as Conservative candidate for Nottingham South. Results |} Total votes cast 26759729 All parties shown Conservatives include National Liberal Party and Ulster Unionists Votes Nottingham South is a Borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This division, which Labour had won with a slender 482 majority in the previous election, had been subject to boundary changes which were thought to make it easier for Labour in the long run as the Clifton housing estate had been added. Clifton is a council estate and village in of the city of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. However Keegan was optimistic, pointing to Conservative successes in municipal elections in which they had been only two votes behind Labour across the division. [5] In fact, Keegan went on to record a surprising victory[2] with a majority of 7,053. [4].

Capital punishment

Keegan made his maiden speech in a debate on capital punishment in March 1956, supporting Sydney Silverman's attempt to abolish hanging. A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly- elected members of a Legislature or Parliament. (Samuel Sydney Silverman ( 8 October 1895 - 9 February 1968) was a British Labour politician and opponent of Capital He argued that abolition was not "a lot of sentimental ninnies who did not know what they were doing", but that instead supporters of hanging allowed sentiment to deter them from examining statistics in a proper frame of mind. However, he did want some assurance that with the abolition of hanging, there was no danger to public safety. [6] Keegan was in a minority in the Conservative Party in supporting abolition. Silverman's Bill was passed but rejected by the House of Lords; when the Government then brought in the compromise Homicide Bill restricting the use of capital punishment, Keegan felt he could support it. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (5 & 6 Eliz [2]

Immigration

He remained an active Barrister, often appearing for the defence in criminal cases while serving as a Member of Parliament. He specialised in criminal justice issues in Parliament and In May 1957 he took up the case of a life sentence prisoner who was allowed to attend the funeral of a close relation but chose not to out of fear of the press; Keegan urged Home Secretary R.A. Butler to prevent the press from behaving in this way. Richard Austen Butler Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC (9 December 1902&ndash8 [7] Keegan also spoke to oppose restrictions on Commonwealth immigration in principle. [2]

Television retailers

Keegan also became involved in business, and was made Director of the Radio and Television Retailers' Association while serving as an MP. He led a delegation on behalf of the association to call on the Board of Trade to remove restrictions on hire purchase agreements. Hire purchase (frequently abbreviated to HP) is the legal term for a contract developed in the United Kingdom and now found in India Australia New Zealand Ireland [8] He found that this job took up an increasing amount of his time, but it was profitable work with the increase in television production during the 1950s. Keegan eventually decided to leave Parliament to concentrate on his business career. [2]

Colour television

After leaving Parliament, Keegan pressed the Government for an early decision on which line standards to adopt for colour television. [9] He criticised Sidney Bernstein of Granada Television for arguing against 625 line colour television because ITA stations were restricted to 405 lines, arguing that Bernstein should instead campaign for an early changeover of ITA programmes to 625 lines so that television did not become obsolescent. Sidney Lewis Bernstein Baron Bernstein ( January 30, 1899 - February 5, 1993) was one of Britain's first television "barons" the least Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. [10] In 1967 he speculated that constant expansion of the BBC would lead to the corporation applying for permission to run advertising. [11]

Later life

In 1975 Keegan became general manager of the Mercantile Credit Company, a post he held for eight years. He also set up a public relations firm dealing with hire purchase called HP Information. He became chairman of this company in 1984. In later life he suffered from ill health in retirement. [2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Who Was Who", A & C Black.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Denis Keegan" (Obituary), The Times, 15 October 1993.
  3. ^ The obituary in The Times states that Keegan was a member of Lincoln's Inn but this appears to be in error; Who Was Who and "Who's Who of British Members of Parliament" both give Gray's Inn, and a contemporary issue of The Times confirms that D. The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which Barristers of England and Wales belong and where M. Keegan was sponsored by this Inn. See "Bar Examination", The Times, 17 June 1949, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b "The Times House of Commons, 1955", p. 102.
  5. ^ "Tracking Down The Migrants", The Times, 17 May 1955, p. 14.
  6. ^ "Parliament", The Times, 13 March 1956; p. 5.
  7. ^ "Parliament", The Times, 3 May 1957, p. 4.
  8. ^ "Television Traders' Deputation", The Times, 17 October 1958, p. 12.
  9. ^ "Colour TV Plea Rejected By Minister", The Times, 11 May 1961, p. 8.
  10. ^ "Television In Colour" (letter), The Times, 1 October 1965, p. 13.
  11. ^ "Time for Review" (letter), The Times, 19 June 1967, p. 9.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Norman Smith		 Member of Parliament for Nottingham South
1955 – 1959		 Succeeded by
William Clark
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Henry Norman Smith ( 31 January 1890 &ndash 21 December 1962) was a British Labour Party politician A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Nottingham South is a Borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Results |} Total votes cast 26759729 All parties shown Conservatives include National Liberal Party and Ulster Unionists Votes Background Following the Suez Crisis in 1956 Anthony Eden the Conservative Prime Minister became unpopular and resigned the following year William Gibson Haig Clark Baron Clark of Kempston, PC ( 18 October 1917 &ndash 6 October 2004) was a British Conservative Party
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