Chocolate Soldier (Parliament)
Encyclopedia
A Chocolate Soldier was a Parliament
ary assistant for an Opposition front bench spokesman in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust (endowed by the chocolate entrepreneur Joseph Rowntree).
The scheme was a pilot project to assist the Opposition to carry out out their Parliamentary duties and counteract the advantage that Government ministers enjoy through briefings from civil servants, and was instigated by the Trust's secretary, Pratap Chitnis
. In 1974, the scheme was given official Parliamentary support through the provision of Short Money
to Opposition parties, announced by Edward Short on 29 July 1974.
The Rowntree Trust made a similar fund available to the Opposition in the late 1980s, to assist with travel expenses. This funding ceased in 1992, after the provision of Short Money was expanded to add a travel element.
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
ary assistant for an Opposition front bench spokesman in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust (endowed by the chocolate entrepreneur Joseph Rowntree).
The scheme was a pilot project to assist the Opposition to carry out out their Parliamentary duties and counteract the advantage that Government ministers enjoy through briefings from civil servants, and was instigated by the Trust's secretary, Pratap Chitnis
Pratap Chitnis, Baron Chitnis
Pratap Chidamber Chitnis, Baron Chitnis is a British manager. He worked for the National Liberal Club, the Liberal Party Organisation and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust....
. In 1974, the scheme was given official Parliamentary support through the provision of Short Money
Short Money
Short Money is the common name given to the annual payment to Opposition parties in the United Kingdom House of Commons to help them with their costs. It is named after Edward Short , the-then Leader of the House of Commons who first proposed the payments...
to Opposition parties, announced by Edward Short on 29 July 1974.
The Rowntree Trust made a similar fund available to the Opposition in the late 1980s, to assist with travel expenses. This funding ceased in 1992, after the provision of Short Money was expanded to add a travel element.
Chocolate Soldiers
Many Chocolate Soldiers later made a significant contribution in the public sphere. Among the assistants funded by the Rowntree Trust were:- Matthew Oakeshott, assistant to Roy JenkinsRoy JenkinsRoy 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...
- Archy Kirkwood
Further reading
- Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, British Political Finance 1830-1980, 1981, p. 197, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, ISBN 0844734527
- Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, "Trends in British Political Funding 1979-1983", Parliamentary Affairs, Summer 1985, Volume 38(3), p. 336, Hansard Society, ISBN 0844734519