| The Right Honourable The Lord Joseph Bt., CH , PC |
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| In office 11 September 1981 – 21 May 1986 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
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| Preceded by | Mark Carlisle |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Baker |
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| In office 4 May 1979 – 11 September 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Eric Varley |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Jenkin |
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| In office 20 June 1970 – 4 March 1974 |
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| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Richard Crossman |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Castle |
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| Born | 17 January 1918 London, UK |
| Died | December 10, 1994 (aged 76) London, UK |
| Political party | Conservative |
Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt., CH , PC (17 January 1918–10 December 1994) was a British barrister, politician, and Conservative Cabinet Minister under three different Ministries. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt) or the rare female equivalent a baronetess (abbreviation Btss) is the holder The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Mark Carlisle Baron Carlisle of Bucklow QC DL PC (born 7 July 1929 and died 14 July 2005) was a Conservative Kenneth Wilfrid Baker Baron Baker of Dorking, CH, PC (born 3 November 1934) is a British politician a former Conservative MP and The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Charles Patrick Fleeming Jenkin Baron Jenkin of Roding (born September 7, 1926) is a British Conservative Politician and a descendant The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Richard Howard Stafford Crossman, known as Dick Crossman, ( 15 December 1907 &ndash 5 April 1974 was a British Labour Party Barbara Castle Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (6 October 1910 &ndash 3 May 2002 was a British left-wing politician born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. 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 baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt) or the rare female equivalent a baronetess (abbreviation Btss) is the holder The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 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 A barrister is a Lawyer found in many Common law Jurisdictions that employ a split profession (as opposed to a Fused profession) in relation A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body composed of the most senior government ministers chosen by the Prime Minister He is widely regarded as the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as "Thatcherism". Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 He was known for most of his political life as Sir Keith Joseph.
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Early life
Joseph was the son of a wealthy and influential Jewish family. His father, Sir Samuel Joseph, an active political kingmaker headed the vast family construction and development-finance company Bovis and was Lord Mayor of London in 1942-1943. Bovis Homes Group plc ( is a second tier national British housebuilding company based in New Ash Green, Kent. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. At the end of his term he was created a baronet. A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt) or the rare female equivalent a baronetess (abbreviation Btss) is the holder [1]
On the death of his father October 4, 1944, he inherited the baronetcy. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He had attended Lockers Park Prep School, Harrow School and Magdalen College, Oxford where he studied Jurisprudence, obtaining first class honours. Magdalen College redirects here see also Magdalene College Cambridge Magdalen College (ˈmɔːdlɨn "maudlin" is one of the constituent Jurisprudence is the Theory and Philosophy of Law. Scholars of jurisprudence or legal philosophers hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature Shortly thereafter he was elected a Fellow of All Souls College. All Souls College (in full The Warden and College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges
During World War II he served as a Captain in the Royal Artillery, suffered a minor wound during German shelling of his company's headquarters in Italy, as mentioned in despatches. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Royal Artillery, is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, is an Arm of the British Army. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Mentioned in Despatches (MID is a Military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service After the end of the war, he was called to the Bar (Middle Temple). The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as Barristers Following his father, he was elected as an Alderman of the City of London. An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions He was a Director of Bovis, becoming chairman in 1958, and became an underwriter at Lloyd's of London. For the film see Lloyd's of London (film. Lloyd's of London is a British Insurance market
Member of Parliament
He failed to be elected to the marginal seat of Baron's Court in West London by 125 votes in the 1955 election. Results |} Total votes cast 26759729 All parties shown Conservatives include National Liberal Party and Ulster Unionists Votes
He was elected to parliament in a by-election for Leeds North East in February 1956. A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant The Leeds North East byelection of 9 February, 1956 was a By-election to the House of commons. He was swiftly appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary.
In government
After 1959 Joseph had several junior posts in the Macmillan government at the Ministry of Housing and the Department for Trade. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician In the 'Night of the Long Knives' reshuffle of July 13, 1962 he was made Minister for Housing and Local Government, a cabinet position. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He introduced a massive programme to build council housing, which aimed at 400,000 new homes per year by 1965. The council house is a form of public or social housing in the United Kingdom. He wished to increase the proportion of owner-occupied households, by offering help with mortgage deposits. Housing was an important issue at the 1964 election and Joseph was felt to have done well on television in the campaign. Campaign The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the
In opposition, Joseph was spokesman on Social Services, and then on Labour under Edward Heath. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Despite Joseph's reputation as a right-winger, Heath promoted him to Trade spokesman in 1967, where he had an important role in policy development. In the run-up to the 1970 election Joseph made a series of speeches under the title "civilised capitalism", in which he outlined his political philosophy and hinted of cuts in public spending. Opinion poll summary ORC (Opinion Research Council Conservative lead of 1%Harris (Express Newspapers Labour lead of 2%NOP At the Selsdon Park Hotel meeting, the Conservative Party largely adopted this approach.
He was one of 12 founder member of the NCSWD, the National Council for Single Woman and Her Dependants on 15 December 1965. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. According to Tim Cook in his book The History of the Carers' Movement, he and Sally Oppenheim were critical in raising funds from the Carnegie Trust and other organisations, which enabled the carers movement to succeed and thrive through their formative years. Sally Oppenheim-Barnes Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes PC (born July 26, 1930) is a British Conservative Politician. See also Carers rights movement, Caregiving and dementia Carer (UK NZ Australian usage and caregiver (US Canadian usage are words normally
When the Conservatives won the election, Joseph was made Secretary of State for Social Services, which put him in charge of the largest bureaucracy of any government department but kept him out of control of economics. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. Despite his speeches against bureaucracy, Joseph found himself compelled to add to it as he increased and improved services in the National Health Service. The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four Publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually (although However, he grew increasingly opposed to the Heath government's economic strategy, which had seen a 'U-turn' in favour of intervention in industry in 1972.
Following the 1974 election defeat, Joseph worked with Margaret Thatcher to set up the Centre for Policy Studies, a think-tank to develop policies for the new free-market Conservatism that they both favoured. Results |} Total votes 31321982 All parties are shown The seats won by the Ulster Unionists are compared with those won by Unionist MPs in the 1970 election Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS is a British Policy studies think tank whose goal is to promote coherent and practical public policy to roll back the Joseph became interested in the economic theory of monetarism as formulated by Milton Friedman, and persuaded Mrs Thatcher to support it[1]. Monetarism is a school of economic thought concerning the determination of national income and monetary Economics. Milton Friedman (July 31 1912 November 16 2006 was an American Nobel Laureate Economist and Public intellectual. Despite still being a member of Heath's Shadow Cabinet, Joseph was openly critical of his government's record. Joseph delivered his famous Stockton lecure on the economy Monetarism Is Not Enough, where he contrasted wealth-producing sectors in an economy such as manufacturing with the service sector and government, which tend to be wealth consuming. Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale He contended that an economy begins to decline as its wealth-producing sector shrinks. [2] . [3]
Many on the right-wing of the Conservative Party looked to Joseph to challenge Heath for the leadership, but Joseph's chances of this were damaged by a controversial speech at Edgbaston on 19 October 1974. Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own District committee. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Covering a variety of social conservative topics, he warned about single parents "who were first pregnant in adolescence in social classes 4 and 5", the traditional taboos against which were easing at the time. Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms the government's role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors in the belief that these are what However, some of the references he made to the quality of "human stock" raised the spectre of eugenics, and under fire for this, he accepted that he had no chance of winning and urged Mrs Thatcher to stand. Eugenics is a social Philosophy which advocates the improvement of Human Hereditary traits through various forms of intervention
Joseph claimed he received 2,000 letters after this speech, with supporters outnumbering critics by 14 to one. The day after the speech Mary Whitehouse, whom he mentioned favourably during it, said that she was "tremendously grateful" to Joseph and that "the people of Britain have been like sheep without a shepherd. Mary Whitehouse CBE ( 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British campaigner for values of Morality But now they have found one. "[4]
Thatcher later referred to Joseph as her closest political friend. In 1975 he claimed that:
"It was only in April 1974 that I was converted to Conservatism. (I had thought I was a Conservative but I now see that I was not really one at all. )"[5],
a remark that expressed Joseph's feeling of failure during the Heath government. When Heath and his cabinet took office, they followed the post-war consensus and set up policies to stabilise the economy, retaining government control on industries and creating an intricate system to control wages and dividends. In the eyes of Thatcher and Joseph, this pragmatic approach was contrary to the "Conservative" ideology. As he had done a great deal to promote Mrs Thatcher, when she won the leadership in 1975 she determined to put him in a position to have a profound influence on Conservative Party thinking. Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom had called and unexpectedly lost the February 1974 general election
In Thatcher's Shadow Cabinet, Joseph was given overall responsibility for Policy and Research. The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Shadow Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the He had a large impact on the Conservative manifesto for the 1979 election, although frequently a compromise had to be reached with Heath's more moderate supporters such as James Prior. Background Callaghan had succeeded Harold Wilson as Labour Prime Minister after the latter's surprise resignation in April 1976 James Michael Leathes Prior Baron Prior, PC, known as Jim Prior, (born 11 October 1927) is a British Politician, In government, he was appointed Secretary of State for Industry. The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 He began to prepare the many nationalised industries for privatisation by bringing in private sector managers such as Ian McGregor, but was still forced to give large subsidies to those industries making losses.
Secretary of State for Education and Science
As Secretary of State for Education and Science from 1981 he started the ball rolling for GCSEs, and the establishment of a national curriculum in England and Wales. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government The General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE) is the name of an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject generally taken in a number of subjects by His predecessor in the new conservative government of 1979 had cancelled the plans of Shirley Williams, his predecessor but one, to merge O Levels and CSEs, but this was achieved during his time. The O-level (Ordinary Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education (GCE Although not normally the responsibility of central government, he insisted on personally approving the individual subject syllabuses before the GCSE system was introduced.
His attempts to reform teachers' pay and bring in new contracts were opposed by the trade unions, leading to a series of one-day strikes.
In 1984 his public spending negotiations with his Treasury colleagues resulted in a proposed plan for extra research funding for universities financed through the curtailment of financial support to students who were dependent children of more affluent parents. This plan provoked heated opposition from fellow members of the Cabinet (in particular Cecil Parkinson) and a compromise plan was found necessary to secure consensus. Cecil Edward Parkinson Baron Parkinson, PC (born 1 September 1931 in Carnforth, Lancashire) is a British Conservative politician This involved the abandonment of Joseph's plan to levy tuition fees, while preserving his aspiration to abolish the minimum grant. The resulting loss to research funding was halved by a concession of further revenue by the Treasury team.
Joseph was one of the Tory ministers to survive the blast at the Grand Hotel while attending the Conservative Party Conference at Brighton in 1984.
In 1985 he published a White Paper on the university sector, The Development of Higher Education into the 1990s, which advocated an appraisal system to assess the relative quality of research, and foresaw a retrenchment in the size of the higher education sector. Both proposals were highly controversial.
Backbenches, retirement and peerage
Joseph stepped down from the Cabinet in 1986, and retired from Parliament at the 1987 election. Results |} All parties gaining over 500 votes listed Campaign and policies The Conservatives' campaign emphasized lower taxes a strong economy and defence He received a life peerage as Baron Joseph, of Portsoken in the City of London, in the dissolution honours list.
Legacy
Joseph's political achievement was in pioneering the application of monetarist economics to British political economics, and in developing what would later become known as 'Thatcherism'. Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 He knew his own limitations, remarking of the prospect of his becoming Leader of the Conservative Party that "it would have been a disaster for the party, country, and me", and he rated himself a failure in office. His political philosophy speeches, which led to him being nicknamed "The Mad Monk", were ridiculed at the time but they were profoundly influential within the Conservative Party and in practice set the tone for politics in the 1980s.
Notes
- ^ Margaret Thatcher acknowledged his influence on her intellectual evolution, especially in her book, The Path to Power, 1995
- ^ Sir Keith Joseph, Centre for Policy Studies (1976-04-05). Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Stockton Lecture, Monetarism Is Not Enough, with forward by Margaret Thatcher. (Barry Rose Pub. ) Margaret Thatcher Foundation (2006).
- ^ David Friedman, New America Foundation (2002-06-15). See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history No Light at the End of the Tunnel Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett, Keith Joseph (Acumen, 2002), p. 267.
- ^ Ibid, p. 250.
External links
- Joseph's speech at Edgbaston
- Excerpt from Commanding Heights by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw
- Sir Keith Joseph "may have been autistic"
- Sir Keith Joseph papers in the Conservative Party Archive
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Osbert Peake |
Member of Parliament for Leeds North East 1956–1987 |
Succeeded by Timothy Kirkhope |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Richard Crossman |
Secretary of State for Social Services 1970-1974 |
Succeeded by Barbara Castle |
| Preceded by Eric Varley |
Secretary of State for Industry 1979-1981 |
Succeeded by Patrick Jenkin |
| Preceded by Mark Carlisle |
Secretary of State for Education and Science 1981-1986 |
Succeeded by Kenneth Baker |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Samuel Joseph |
'Baronet ' 1944–1994 |
Succeeded by James Joseph (unproven) |
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