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Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking,^[1] CH, PC (born 3 November 1934), is a British politician, a former Conservative MP^[2] and a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group.

Early life [link]

Born in Newport, Monmouthshire, son of a civil servant, he was educated at the former Hampton Grammar School, a boys' voluntary aided school, now Hampton School, an independent school, between 1946 and 1948, and thereafter at St Paul's School, a boys' independent school in Barnes, London and at Magdalen College, Oxford where he graduated with a BA Degree in Law (1958) and four years later his MS degree in International Law and Regulations (1962). He did National Service as an army lieutenant and worked for Royal Dutch Shell before being elected as a Member of Parliament at a by-election in March 1968.

Career [link]

Early parliamentary and ministerial career [link]

Kenneth Baker was first elected to Parliament when he won Acton in Ealing, London, at a March 1968 by-election, gaining it from Labour following the death of Bernard Floud. However, in the 1970 general election, he was defeated by Labour's Nigel Spearing (the seat was later regained by Sir George Young who held it until 1997 and who is now MP for North-West Hampshire). Following the surprise Conservative victory in 1970, a suitable Lord Chancellor had to be found- this was Quintin McGarel Hogg who was given the necessary peerage, removing him from the Commons and making him a member of the Lords. At the ensuing by-election, held on 22 October 1970, Baker was elected for the safe Conservative seat of St Marylebone in central London. In 1983, this seat was abolished and Baker was defeated by Peter Brooke for the new seat of Cities of London & Westminster; however, he relocated to Mole Valley, a rural seat in Surrey, and safely Tory, which he held until his retirement in 1997. He was succeeded by Sir Paul Beresford.

After being Minister for Information Technology from 1981, he entered the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Environment in 1985, before serving as Secretary of State for Education from 1986 to 1989. Baker's most noted action in his time at the Department of Education was the introduction of the controversial "National Curriculum" through the 1988 Education Act. He also introduced in-service training days for teachers, which became popularly known as "Baker days". At this time Baker was often tipped as a future Conservative leader, including in the 1987 edition of Julian Critchley's biography of Michael Heseltine. Critchley quoted one journalist's witticism "I have seen the future and it smirks" (a reference to the famous line "I have seen the future and it works" written by Lincoln Steffens, an American visitor to Stalin's USSR in 1921).

In the July 1989 reshuffle Baker was appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party, with the intention that he should organise a fourth consecutive General Election victory for Margaret Thatcher. Baker managed to steer the government through the otherwise disastrous local elections of May 1990 by stressing the good results for Conservative "flagship" councils in Westminster and Wandsworth, i.e. supposedly demonstrating that the Poll Tax—a source of great unpopularity for the government—could be a vote-winner for Conservative councils who kept it low. He was still Party Chairman at the time Margaret Thatcher resigned (November 1990).

After the change of regime Baker was promoted to Home Secretary. His time as Home Secretary was marred by prison riots, bad publicity over the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and a ruling that he was guilty of contempt of court. During this time Baker, who dressed his hair with brylcreem, had come to be portrayed by the satirical programme Spitting Image as an oily snail.^[3]

In 1991 the Court of Appeal held that Baker was in contempt of court - the first serving minister to be found guilty of contempt - for defying a court order and deporting a man from Zaire while proceedings were pending. "It would be a black day for the rule of law and the liberty of the subject," the court ruled, "if ministers were not accountable to the courts for their personal actions." However, this ruling did not prompt Baker to resign as Home Secretary.

After 1992 [link]

After the 1992 General Election he left the government rather than accept demotion to the job of Welsh Secretary. He chose not to stand for re-election to the House of Commons in 1997 and on June 16, 1997 was made a life peer as Baron Baker of Dorking, of Iford in the County of East Sussex.

He had been living up to 1995 in Station Road in the village of Betchworth four miles east of Dorking.

Baker is the founder of the Baker Dearing Trust, an educational trust set up to promote the establishment of University Technical Colleges in England as part of the free school programme.

Personal life [link]

In 2005 he published a book on King George IV, George IV: A Life in Caricature, followed by King George III: A Life in Caricature in 2007;(Thames & Hudson). Other publications include several compilations of poetry, a history of political cartoons and his autobiography.

In 2006, Lord Baker announced that he was introducing a bill into the House of Lords to address the West Lothian question. This would prevent Scottish and Welsh MPs from voting on legislation which affects England alone as a result of devolution to the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly.

In the media [link]

Baker was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory!.

Bibliography [link]

• George IV: A Life in Caricature (2005 Thames & Hudson ISBN 0-500-25127-4)
• George III: A Life in Caricature (2007 Thames & Hudson ISBN 0-500-25140-1)

References [link]

External links [link]

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Kenneth Baker

v t e Home Secretaries of the United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Home Department Shelburne Townshend North Temple Sydney Grenville Dundas Portland Pelham Yorke Hawkesbury Spencer Liverpool Ryder Sidmouth Peel Sturges Bourne Lansdowne Peel Melbourne Duncannon Wellington Goulburn Russell Normanby Graham Grey Walpole Palmerston Grey Walpole Sotheron-Estcourt Lewis Grey Walpole Hardy Bruce Lowe Cross Harcourt Cross Childers Matthews Asquith Ridley Ritchie Akers-Douglas Gladstone Churchill McKenna Simon Samuel Cave Shortt Bridgeman Henderson Joynson-Hicks Clynes Samuel Gilmour Simon Hoare Anderson Morrison Somervell Chuter Ede Maxwell-Fyfe Lloyd George Butler Brooke Soskice Jenkins Callaghan Maudling Carr Jenkins Rees Whitelaw Brittan Hurd Waddington Baker K. Clarke Howard Straw Blunkett C. Clarke Reid Smith Johnson May

v t e Secretaries of State for Environment of the United Kingdom Secretaries of State for Environment Peter Walker · Geoffrey Rippon · Anthony Crosland · Peter Shore · Michael Heseltine · Tom King · Patrick Jenkin · Kenneth Baker · Nicholas Ridley · Chris Patten · Michael Heseltine · Michael Howard · John Gummer Secretaries of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions John Prescott Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Margaret Beckett · David Miliband · Hilary Benn  · Caroline Spelman

v t e Thatcher Cabinet Humphrey Atkins • Kenneth Baker • Lord Belstead • John Biffen • Leon Brittan • Peter Brooke • Mark Carlisle • Lord Carrington • Paul Channon • Kenneth Clarke • Lord Cockfield • Nicholas Edwards • Norman Fowler • Ian Gilmour • Lord Gowrie • John Gummer • Lord Havers • Quintin Hogg • Michael Heseltine • Michael Howard • Sir Geoffrey Howe • David Howell • David Hunt • Douglas Hurd • Patrick Jenkin • Michael Jopling • Keith Joseph • Tom King • Norman Lamont • Nigel Lawson • Peter Lilley • John MacGregor • James Mackay • John Major • Angus Maude • John Moore • Tony Newton • John Nott • Cecil Parkinson • Chris Patten • James Prior • Francis Pym • Peter Rees • Nicholas Ridley • Malcolm Rifkind • Lord Soames • Norman St John-Stevas • Norman Tebbit • Margaret Thatcher • David Waddington • John Wakeham • William Waldegrave • Peter Walker • William Whitelaw • Lord Young of Graffham • George Younger

v t e Major Cabinet Cabinet Members Jonathan Aitken • Kenneth Baker • Virginia Bottomley • Peter Brooke • Kenneth Clarke • Viscount Cranborne • Stephen Dorrell • Michael Forsyth • Roger Freeman • John Gummer • William Hague • Jeremy Hanley • Michael Heseltine • Douglas Hogg • Michael Howard • David Hunt • Douglas Hurd • Tom King • Norman Lamont • Ian Lang • Peter Lilley • John MacGregor • Lord Mackay • John Major • Brian Mawhinney • Patrick Mayhew • David Mellor • Tony Newton • Chris Patten • John Patten • Michael Portillo • John Redwood • Malcolm Rifkind • Gillian Shephard • Lord Waddington • Lord Wakeham • William Waldegrave • George Young Also attended meetings Norman Fowler • Alastair Goodlad • Richard Ryder