Ernest Marples
Encyclopedia
Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples PC
(9 December 1907 – 6 July 1978) was a British
Conservative
politician
who served as Postmaster General
and Minister of Transport
. After his retirement from active politics in 1974 Marples was elevated to the peerage. His life ended in ignominy, however, after he fled the country to escape various legal and taxation difficulties.
, Manchester
, Lancashire
. His father had been a renowned engineering charge-hand and Manchester Labour
campaigner, and his mother had worked in a local hat factory. Marples attended Victoria Park Council School and won a scholarship to Stretford Grammar School
. By the age of 14 he was already active in the Labour Movement
, as well as earning money by selling cigarettes and sweets to Manchester football crowds. He also played football for a YMCA
team.
Marples worked as a miner, a postman, a chef and an accountant. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery
in 1941, rose to the rank of Captain
and was medically discharged in 1944.
Marples married Ruth Dobson, who on his elevation to the Peerage
in 1974 became Lady Marples.
and in 1945 was elected to Member of Parliament
for Wallasey
. In 1951 Winston Churchill
appointed him a junior minister in the Conservative Government 1951–1955. Marples was a minister under Harold Macmillan
and Alec Douglas-Home
throughout the Conservative Government 1957–1964.
, and Marples introduced subscriber trunk dialling
(STD) that eliminated the use of operators on national phone calls. On 2 June 1957 Marples started the first draw for the new Premium Bond
scheme. He also introduced postcodes to the UK.
in 14 October 1959, and Marples remained in this post after Alec Douglas-Home succeeded Macmillan as Prime Minister in 1963 and until the Conservatives lost the 1964 General Election
on 16 October 1964.
As Minister of Transport, Marples oversaw the introduction of parking meter
s and the provisional driving licence in 1958. Also under Marples, the Road Traffic Act 1960 introduced the MOT test, roadside single yellow line
s and double yellow lines, traffic warden
s, the 250cc engine limit for learner motorcyclists and the legal requirement for front seat occupants of cars to wear seat belt
s.
Ernest Marples appointed Dr Richard Beeching
as chairman of British Rail
ways. After a study of railway traffic, Beeching produced The Reshaping of British Railways
report in 1963 that recommended the closure of a further 6000 miles (9,656 km) of the remaining 18000 miles (28,968.1 km) of Britain's railways.
. On 8 May 1974 he was made a life peer
as Baron Marples of Wallasey
in Cheshire
.
. Marples met civil engineer Reginald Ridgway (1908–2002), who was working as a contractor for Kirk & Kirk. In 1948 the two men founded Marples, Ridgway and Partners, a civil engineering
company that started with one five-ton ex-army truck and one crane. The new partnership took over Kirk & Kirk's contract at Brunswick Wharf and in 1950 Marples severed his links with Kirk & Kirk. Marples, Ridgway's subsequent contracts included building power stations in England, a hydro-electric station in Scotland, roads in Ethiopia and England and a port in Jamaica. The Bath and Portland Group took over Marples, Ridgway in 1964.
In 1959 Marples authorised the first section of the M1 motorway
, Britain's first inter-city motorway, between London and Nottingham. Marples, Ridgway was given the contract to build it. Marples, Ridgway built the Hammersmith Flyover
in London at a cost of £1.3 million, immediately followed by building the Chiswick Flyover. Marples, Ridgway took part in several other major road projects in the 1950s and 1960s.
made his 1963 investigation into the security aspects of the Profumo Affair
and the rumoured affair between the Minister of Defence, Duncan Sandys
, and the Duchess of Argyll
, he confirmed to Macmillan that a rumours that Ernest Marples was in the habit of using prostitutes appeared to be true. The story was suppressed and did not appear in Denning's final report.
. Among journalists who investigated his unexpected flight was Daily Mirror editor Richard Stott
:
As well as being wanted for tax fraud, one source alleges that Marples was being sued in Britain by tenants of his slum properties and by former employees. He never returned to Britain, living the remainder of his life at his Fleurie
Beaujolais
château and vineyard in France.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(9 December 1907 – 6 July 1978) was a British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Conservative
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who served as Postmaster General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
and Minister of Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
. After his retirement from active politics in 1974 Marples was elevated to the peerage. His life ended in ignominy, however, after he fled the country to escape various legal and taxation difficulties.
Early life
Marples was born at 45 Dorset Road, LevenshulmeLevenshulme
Levenshulme is an urban area of the City of Manchester, in North West England. It borders Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish, and is approximately halfway between Stockport and Manchester City Centre on the A6 road. The A6 bisects Levenshulme. The Manchester to London railway...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. His father had been a renowned engineering charge-hand and Manchester Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
campaigner, and his mother had worked in a local hat factory. Marples attended Victoria Park Council School and won a scholarship to Stretford Grammar School
Stretford Grammar School
Stretford Grammar School is a selective state school in the borough of Trafford, England.-Admissions:The school has a sixth form in addition to years 7 to 11...
. By the age of 14 he was already active in the Labour Movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
, as well as earning money by selling cigarettes and sweets to Manchester football crowds. He also played football for a YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
team.
Marples worked as a miner, a postman, a chef and an accountant. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1941, rose to the rank of Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
and was medically discharged in 1944.
Marples married Ruth Dobson, who on his elevation to the Peerage
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
in 1974 became Lady Marples.
Political career
Marples joined the Conservative PartyConservative 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 1945 was elected to Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Wallasey
Wallasey (UK Parliament constituency)
Wallasey 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.-Boundaries:...
. In 1951 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
appointed him a junior minister in the Conservative Government 1951–1955. Marples was a minister under Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
and Alec Douglas-Home
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
throughout the Conservative Government 1957–1964.
Postmaster General
In 1957 Harold Macmillan appointed him Postmaster General. At that time the telephone network was controlled by the General Post OfficeGeneral Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
, and Marples introduced subscriber trunk dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling is a term for a telephone system allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.- Terminology :...
(STD) that eliminated the use of operators on national phone calls. On 2 June 1957 Marples started the first draw for the new Premium Bond
Premium Bond
A Premium Bond is a lottery bond issued by the United Kingdom government's National Savings and Investments scheme. The government promises to buy back the bond, on request, for its original price. They were introduced by Harold Macmillan in his 1956 budget....
scheme. He also introduced postcodes to the UK.
Minister of Transport
Macmillan made him Minister of TransportSecretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
in 14 October 1959, and Marples remained in this post after Alec Douglas-Home succeeded Macmillan as Prime Minister in 1963 and until the Conservatives lost the 1964 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
on 16 October 1964.
As Minister of Transport, Marples oversaw the introduction of parking meter
Parking meter
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
s and the provisional driving licence in 1958. Also under Marples, the Road Traffic Act 1960 introduced the MOT test, roadside single yellow line
Single yellow line
A single yellow line is a road marking that is present on the side of the carriageway in the United Kingdom. It indicates that parking or waiting at that roadside is prohibited at certain times of day. The exact times vary by area and are indicated by signs at the roadside. Stopping to load and to...
s and double yellow lines, traffic warden
Traffic warden
A traffic warden is a non-warranted officer employed by a statutory authority in jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Ireland, to assist in regulating the flow of traffic.- Ireland :...
s, the 250cc engine limit for learner motorcyclists and the legal requirement for front seat occupants of cars to wear seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s.
Ernest Marples appointed Dr Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
as chairman of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways. After a study of railway traffic, Beeching produced The Reshaping of British Railways
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
report in 1963 that recommended the closure of a further 6000 miles (9,656 km) of the remaining 18000 miles (28,968.1 km) of Britain's railways.
Peerage
Marples retired from the House of Commons 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,...
. On 8 May 1974 he was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Marples of Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
.
Business interests
In the late 1940s Marples was a director of a company called Kirk and Kirk, which was a contractor in the construction of Brunswick Wharf Power StationBrunswick Wharf Power Station
Brunswick Wharf Power Station was a coal and oil-fired power station on the River Thames at Blackwall in London...
. Marples met civil engineer Reginald Ridgway (1908–2002), who was working as a contractor for Kirk & Kirk. In 1948 the two men founded Marples, Ridgway and Partners, a civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
company that started with one five-ton ex-army truck and one crane. The new partnership took over Kirk & Kirk's contract at Brunswick Wharf and in 1950 Marples severed his links with Kirk & Kirk. Marples, Ridgway's subsequent contracts included building power stations in England, a hydro-electric station in Scotland, roads in Ethiopia and England and a port in Jamaica. The Bath and Portland Group took over Marples, Ridgway in 1964.
Conflict of interest
When he became a junior minister in 1951 Marples resigned his directorship of Marples, Ridgway to avoid a conflict of interest. When he was made Minister of Transport in October 1959, Marples further undertook to sell his shareholding in the company to avoid a conflict of interest. However, there was a purchaser's requirement to sell the shares back to Maples after he ceased to hold office, at the original price, if Maples wished this. The purchaser was later revealed to be Marples' own wife. Such an arrangement, although perhaps legal, represented a grave conflict of interest and a highly unethical position for a government minister.In 1959 Marples authorised the first section of the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
, Britain's first inter-city motorway, between London and Nottingham. Marples, Ridgway was given the contract to build it. Marples, Ridgway built the Hammersmith Flyover
Hammersmith Flyover
Hammersmith Flyover is an elevated roadway in west London which carries the A4 arterial road over and to one side of the central Hammersmith gyratory system, and it links together the Cromwell Road extension with the start of the Great West Road.It was one of the first examples of an elevated road...
in London at a cost of £1.3 million, immediately followed by building the Chiswick Flyover. Marples, Ridgway took part in several other major road projects in the 1950s and 1960s.
Use of prostitutes
When Lord DenningAlfred Denning, Baron Denning
Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning, OM, PC, DL, KC , commonly known as Lord Denning, was a British soldier, mathematician, lawyer and judge. He gained degrees in mathematics and law at Oxford University, although his studies were disrupted by his service in the First World War...
made his 1963 investigation into the security aspects of the Profumo Affair
Profumo Affair
The Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of...
and the rumoured affair between the Minister of Defence, Duncan Sandys
Duncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
, and the Duchess of Argyll
Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll
Margaret, sometime Duchess of Argyll , was a notorious British Socialite, best remembered for her 1963 divorce case against her second husband, the 11th Duke of Argyll, which featured salacious photographs and scandalous stories.-Birth and youth:Margaret was the only child of Helen Mann Hannay and...
, he confirmed to Macmillan that a rumours that Ernest Marples was in the habit of using prostitutes appeared to be true. The story was suppressed and did not appear in Denning's final report.
Flight to Monaco
Early in 1975 Marples suddenly fled to MonacoMonaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. Among journalists who investigated his unexpected flight was Daily Mirror editor Richard Stott
Richard Stott
Richard Keith Stott was a British journalist and editor.Born in Oxford, he attended Clifton College in Bristol. He started his journalistic career in 1963...
:
"In the early 70s ... he tried to fight off a revaluation of his assets which would undoubtedly cost him dear ... So Marples decided he had to go and hatched a plot to remove £2 million from Britain through his LiechtensteinLiechtensteinThe Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
company ... there was nothing for it but to cut and run, which Marples did just before the tax year of 1975. He left by the night ferry with his belongings crammed into tea chests, leaving the floors of his home in BelgraviaBelgraviaBelgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
littered with discarded clothes and possessions ... He claimed he had been asked to pay nearly 30 years' overdue tax ... The TreasuryHM TreasuryHM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
froze his assets in Britain for the next ten years. By then most of them were safely in Monaco and Liechtenstein."
As well as being wanted for tax fraud, one source alleges that Marples was being sued in Britain by tenants of his slum properties and by former employees. He never returned to Britain, living the remainder of his life at his Fleurie
Fleurie
Fleurie is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.Medieval charters record Fleurie as Floriacum..Fleurie AOC is a division of the Beaujolais wine region. In the 1970s the British Conservative politician and tax fugitive Ernest Marples owned a Fleurie château and vineyard, to which he...
Beaujolais
Beaujolais (wine)
Beaujolais is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wine generally made of the Gamay grape which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which make up only 1% of its production, are made mostly with Chardonnay grapes...
château and vineyard in France.