Cecil Parkinson

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Cecil Edward Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, PC (born September 1 1931), is a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet minister. He had relatively humble origins, being the son of a railway worker and educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancashire, England.

He became MP for Enfield West at a by-election in 1970, moving to the Hertfordshire South constituency in 1974. After the 1979 General Election, he was made a junior trade minister. In September 1981 he was made Chairman of the Conservative Party, and Paymaster-General with a seat in the cabinet and in 1982 was given the added official title of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

He worked on the Conservative Party's 1983 election campaign, standing in the new Hertsmere constituency, and as a result of his success on the campaign, was promoted to Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

He was forced to resign in October 1983 after it was revealed that his former secretary, Sara Keays, was bearing his child (Flora Keays). Subsequently, as a result of a dispute over child maintenance payments, Parkinson (with Keays' initial consent) was able to gain an injunction in 1993, forbidding the media from making any reference to their daughter. Flora Keays suffers from learning difficulties and Asperger's Syndrome and had an operation to remove a brain tumour when she was four, which is thought to have caused her problems. This court order was the subject of some controversy, until Flora Keays reached her majority at the end of 2001, when the court order expired. Upon his daughter Flora reaching the age of 18, it was noted in the press that Parkinson had never met his child and presumably had no intention of doing so. While he had assisted with Flora's education, it was publicly pointed out that he had not ever sent her a birthday card and that her mother assumed that Flora could not ever expect to receive one. At the time of the revelation of Parkinson's relationship with Sara Keays in 1983, Parkinson made much of what he described as the volume of supportive letters which he had received. Upon Flora reaching the age of 18, however, the balance of media scrutiny had more focus upon Flora and her difficulties than in protecting Parkinson's reputation and more voices were raised in criticism of Parkinson.

After four years on the back benches, he was appointed Secretary of State for Energy in 1987, and for Transport in 1989. He resigned along with Margaret Thatcher when she was replaced by John Major; possibly under the impression that because he was known as a favourite of Mrs. Thatcher, a new Conservative leader would not keep him in the Cabinet anyway. He did not contest the 1992 general election.

He was created Baron Parkinson, of Carnforth in the County of Lancashire, after the 1992 elections. Shortly afterwards he made a daring appearance on the BBC topical panel show Have I Got News For You, which at the time - Edwina Currie apart - was still awaiting its first truly top-level Conservative guest who had some history to them. Parkinson, who partnered Paul Merton on the episode, took considerable ribbing (although the injunction prevented any reference to hi major scandal) but emerged from the programme intact - even opposing captain and satirist Ian Hislop admitted afterwards that he had come across very well. Parkinson's appearance opened the floodgates for other very high-profile politicians to appear on the programme and display a lighter side to their personalities.

Parkinson returned to front-line politics when he was made Conservative Party Chairman again by William Hague in June 1997. He retired from this role in 1998 and has since kept a low profile, although he is a vice-chairman of the Conservative Way Forward group.

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