Brian Hord
Encyclopedia
Brian Howard Hord CBE
(born 20 June 1934) is a British
chartered surveyor and politician. He served for one term as a Member of the European Parliament
and has maintained his involvement in the Conservative Party
and in public life; he was Chairman of a health authority for six years.
. He was first employed at the age of 16 in the County Planning Department of Middlesex
County Council, before joining G. L. Hearn & Partners as a surveyor. His education was completed at Regent Street Polytechnic
and his National service
took place between 1957 and 1959 in the Royal Air Force
, and after the end he joined United Drapery Stores as an estates surveyor. In 1966 he moved towards residential property as an estates surveyor for housebuilders Richard Costain Ltd and in 1970 he became a Director of Capcount UK Ltd, which was a subsidiary of the Capital and Counties Property Company. Hord set up his own company of chartered surveyors, Howard Hord & Palmer, in 1975.
he fought the Darlington
constituency for the Conservative Party
. Hord managed a swing
of 1.9% to the Conservatives, cutting the Labour majority to just over 2,000 against the national trend. He fought the seat again in the October election
but lost this ground back to Labour, in line with national trends.
in Moscow
after the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan
and the internal exile of Andrei Sakharov
; he attacked the European Commission's policy as "incredibly absurd, arrogant, insensitive and inept". He also opposed the sale of surplus EEC butter
to the Soviets, criticising Commission President Roy Jenkins
for allowing the sale to happen after announcing that it had ceased.
In October 1980 Hord was one of three Conservative MEPs to refuse a new office when a new block was opened in Strasbourg
; the three protested that the building was too expensive and that it would confirm Strasbourg as the main seat of the Parliament. He objected to Labour Party leader Michael Foot
's claim that Margaret Thatcher
's policies were responsible for the 1981 Toxteth riots
, blaming instead "small groups of militants .. who have succeeded in disrupting society with the interest of overturning our democratic system".
. Although he could be highly critical of European institutions, Hord was willing to put the case for EEC membership: he felt investors would need access to a tariff-free market. He was a Whip for the European Democratic Group from 1982 to 1983.
. However, Hord was unable to defend his seat and lost to Labour candidate Michael Elliott. He returned to business but accepted public appointments as a member of the London Rent Assessment Panel from 1985 to 2005, and was Chairman of Bexley
Health Authority from 1986 to 1992. Hord was awarded the CBE
in 1989.
Hord was Director General of the Bureau of European Building Consultants and Experts from 1991 to 1995. As a rail commuter
, Hord served on the London Regional Passengers' Committee from 1997 to 2000 and was Chairman of Sevenoaks
Rail Travellers' Association in 2001-02. He has chaired Bexhill Rail Action Group since 2005. He remains involved in politics, as vice-President of Sevenoaks
Conservative Association since 1997 and as Vice-Chairman of Bexhill and Battle Conservative Association since 2003.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 20 June 1934) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chartered surveyor and politician. He served for one term as a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
and has maintained his involvement in the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and in public life; he was Chairman of a health authority for six years.
Professional career
Hord was brought up in the Reedham Orphanage School in London, from where he went to Purley County Grammar SchoolPurley High School for Boys
Purley High School for Boys existed from 1914 to 1988. It was located in Placehouse Lane, Old Coulsdon, London Borough of Croydon. The school was Purley County Grammar School from 1914 to 1969, becoming Purley High School for Boys after the abolition of the Grammar School system and the...
. He was first employed at the age of 16 in the County Planning Department of Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
County Council, before joining G. L. Hearn & Partners as a surveyor. His education was completed at Regent Street Polytechnic
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
and his National service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
took place between 1957 and 1959 in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, and after the end he joined United Drapery Stores as an estates surveyor. In 1966 he moved towards residential property as an estates surveyor for housebuilders Richard Costain Ltd and in 1970 he became a Director of Capcount UK Ltd, which was a subsidiary of the Capital and Counties Property Company. Hord set up his own company of chartered surveyors, Howard Hord & Palmer, in 1975.
Politics
He became involved in politics in the early 1970s, and at the February 1974 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
he fought the Darlington
Darlington (UK Parliament constituency)
Darlington is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
constituency for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Hord managed a swing
Swing (politics)
An electoral swing analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It is an indicator of voter support for individual candidates or political parties, or voter preference between two or more candidates or parties...
of 1.9% to the Conservatives, cutting the Labour majority to just over 2,000 against the national trend. He fought the seat again in the October election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
but lost this ground back to Labour, in line with national trends.
European Parliament
For the 1979 European Parliament elections, Hord was selected as Conservative Party candidate for London West. The constituency included Labour-voting areas but in the election Labour performed poorly and Hord was elected with a comfortable majority. In February 1980 he made a speech in the European Parliament calling for a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
after the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invasion of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and the internal exile of Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
; he attacked the European Commission's policy as "incredibly absurd, arrogant, insensitive and inept". He also opposed the sale of surplus EEC butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
to the Soviets, criticising Commission President Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
for allowing the sale to happen after announcing that it had ceased.
In October 1980 Hord was one of three Conservative MEPs to refuse a new office when a new block was opened in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
; the three protested that the building was too expensive and that it would confirm Strasbourg as the main seat of the Parliament. He objected to Labour Party leader Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
's claim that Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's policies were responsible for the 1981 Toxteth riots
Toxteth riots
The Toxteth riots of July 1981 were a civil disturbance in Toxteth, inner-city Liverpool, which arose in part from long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community...
, blaming instead "small groups of militants .. who have succeeded in disrupting society with the interest of overturning our democratic system".
Farm prices
Hord was one of the most prominent Conservative MEPs and as the annual meeting of the group approached in January 1982, he was mentioned as a possible candidate for group leader; however, he decided not to stand. As a city-based member he opposed increased farm prices, but did manage to persuade the Commission to reconsider a plan to subsidise conversion of the 'wine lake' into industrial alcoholAlcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. Although he could be highly critical of European institutions, Hord was willing to put the case for EEC membership: he felt investors would need access to a tariff-free market. He was a Whip for the European Democratic Group from 1982 to 1983.
Post-European Parliament career
At the 1984 European Parliament election, Hord had boundary changes in his constituency; the areas making up the new seat had a Conservative majority of 14% at the 1983 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. However, Hord was unable to defend his seat and lost to Labour candidate Michael Elliott. He returned to business but accepted public appointments as a member of the London Rent Assessment Panel from 1985 to 2005, and was Chairman of Bexley
London Borough of Bexley
The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...
Health Authority from 1986 to 1992. Hord was awarded the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1989.
Hord was Director General of the Bureau of European Building Consultants and Experts from 1991 to 1995. As a rail commuter
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
, Hord served on the London Regional Passengers' Committee from 1997 to 2000 and was Chairman of Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
Rail Travellers' Association in 2001-02. He has chaired Bexhill Rail Action Group since 2005. He remains involved in politics, as vice-President of Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks (UK Parliament constituency)
Sevenoaks is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
Conservative Association since 1997 and as Vice-Chairman of Bexhill and Battle Conservative Association since 2003.