Nicholas Freeman
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Freeman OBE
(1985) was the Conservative Party
leader of the London Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Council in the United Kingdom
from 1977 until 1989; he was also its Mayor
in 1988.
He was educated at Stoneygate School, Leicester
, and King's School, Canterbury, and admitted a solicitor
in 1962. In 1968 he was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple
, and practised thereafter at the Criminal Bar. He was appointed a Recorder
in 1985.
Living in Harrington Gardens, South Kensington
, he became Chairman of the Courtfield Ward Committee of the Chelsea Conservative Association, which gave him a position on the association's Executive Committee. A fine speaker with a powerful personality and strong political ambitions, Freeman was elected to Chelsea Borough Council in 1968. He became Chairman of the Borough Planning Committee shortly after being elected to the council, and made a particular effort to clear up what he called "the sore thumb in the Royal Borough", the sometimes seedy area around Earls Court
Underground Station.
He stood as the Conservative Party candidate for Hartlepool
in both the February 1974
and October 1974
general elections, and when Sir Brandon Rhys Williams, Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington, died suddenly in 1988, Freeman had high hopes of succeeding him. He failed to secure a nomination, which was no doubt partly explained by a number of previous controversies: the Old Town Hall crisis, his virulent opposition to the Community Charge
(or Poll Tax
), and by dubious rumours of his involvement in a plot to unseat the late incumbent.
Nicholas Freeman had long been a controversial figure: in 1982 he had provoked a storm of opposition amongst people of all political persuasions by using his powers as council leader, without consulting colleagues, to order the overnight destruction of Kensington's fine century-old Italianate Town Hall on Kensington High Street. The building was due to be given special Listed Status on the Monday, but at 3 a.m. on the day before the façade was smashed to pieces by demolition experts. The Royal Fine Art Commission condemned the action as "official vandalism... decided upon covertly, implemented without warning and timed deliberately to thwart known opposition".
At constituency level also he met outspoken opposition, particularly from Conservative Monday Club
activist Gregory Lauder-Frost, his Ward Committee Secretary and also a member of the Chelsea Association's Executive. Lauder-Frost left the Ward Committee, and when he was nominated to stand as a local councillor for the North Stanley Ward, Freeman spoke strongly against him at the selection meeting. Lauder-Frost was, as a result, not selected.
Freeman remained unrepentant, arguing that by selling off the old town hall site for development the council would be able to build a more efficient and economically run town hall around the corner. Freeman was particularly criticised for failing to find an alternative use for the building. He survived the storm, doubtless helped by the fact that he dominated the council to a degree unusual among municipal leaders, but there was little comfort for the ratepayers: the cost of the new town hall far exceeded his original estimates.
Freeman had also came under a lot of criticism for taking little real interest in North Kensington
, where poverty and racial tension contrasted uneasily with areas of immense wealth. He vigorously implemented the Conservative government's curbs on local authority spending and was able to claim that his council had the smallest staff per head of population of any British borough. It was also the first London borough to hand over some of the responsibility for rubbish collection to private enterprise.
In addition, Freeman was a member of the influential Conservative Central Office Policy Group for London which paved the way for the abolition of the Labour-controlled Greater London Council
.
His rejection in 1988 as Conservative Party candidate for Kensington was a bitter disappointment which, he felt, ended his hopes of ever reaching Westminster. Freeman was elected Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
in 1988, resigned as Leader of the council the next year, and announced his intention of retiring from the council altogether in 1990. Colleagues were surprised at his decision, for the borough seemed to be Freeman's whole life. He spent almost every evening at the town hall either doing council business or entertaining in his room. He never married.
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...
(1985) was 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...
leader of the London Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
Council in the United Kingdom
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...
from 1977 until 1989; he was also its Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in 1988.
He was educated at Stoneygate School, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, and King's School, Canterbury, and admitted a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
in 1962. In 1968 he was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, and practised thereafter at the Criminal Bar. He was appointed a Recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
in 1985.
Living in Harrington Gardens, South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, he became Chairman of the Courtfield Ward Committee of the Chelsea Conservative Association, which gave him a position on the association's Executive Committee. A fine speaker with a powerful personality and strong political ambitions, Freeman was elected to Chelsea Borough Council in 1968. He became Chairman of the Borough Planning Committee shortly after being elected to the council, and made a particular effort to clear up what he called "the sore thumb in the Royal Borough", the sometimes seedy area around Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
Underground Station.
He stood as the Conservative Party candidate for Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
in both the February 1974
United 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,...
and October 1974
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...
general elections, and when Sir Brandon Rhys Williams, Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington, died suddenly in 1988, Freeman had high hopes of succeeding him. He failed to secure a nomination, which was no doubt partly explained by a number of previous controversies: the Old Town Hall crisis, his virulent opposition to the Community Charge
Community Charge
The Community Charge, popularly known as the "poll tax", was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of the rates to part fund local government in Scotland from 1989, and England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the...
(or Poll Tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
), and by dubious rumours of his involvement in a plot to unseat the late incumbent.
Nicholas Freeman had long been a controversial figure: in 1982 he had provoked a storm of opposition amongst people of all political persuasions by using his powers as council leader, without consulting colleagues, to order the overnight destruction of Kensington's fine century-old Italianate Town Hall on Kensington High Street. The building was due to be given special Listed Status on the Monday, but at 3 a.m. on the day before the façade was smashed to pieces by demolition experts. The Royal Fine Art Commission condemned the action as "official vandalism... decided upon covertly, implemented without warning and timed deliberately to thwart known opposition".
At constituency level also he met outspoken opposition, particularly from Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
activist Gregory Lauder-Frost, his Ward Committee Secretary and also a member of the Chelsea Association's Executive. Lauder-Frost left the Ward Committee, and when he was nominated to stand as a local councillor for the North Stanley Ward, Freeman spoke strongly against him at the selection meeting. Lauder-Frost was, as a result, not selected.
Freeman remained unrepentant, arguing that by selling off the old town hall site for development the council would be able to build a more efficient and economically run town hall around the corner. Freeman was particularly criticised for failing to find an alternative use for the building. He survived the storm, doubtless helped by the fact that he dominated the council to a degree unusual among municipal leaders, but there was little comfort for the ratepayers: the cost of the new town hall far exceeded his original estimates.
Freeman had also came under a lot of criticism for taking little real interest in North Kensington
North Kensington
North Kensington is an area of west London lying north of Notting Hill Gate and south of Harrow Road.North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill...
, where poverty and racial tension contrasted uneasily with areas of immense wealth. He vigorously implemented the Conservative government's curbs on local authority spending and was able to claim that his council had the smallest staff per head of population of any British borough. It was also the first London borough to hand over some of the responsibility for rubbish collection to private enterprise.
In addition, Freeman was a member of the influential Conservative Central Office Policy Group for London which paved the way for the abolition of the Labour-controlled Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
.
His rejection in 1988 as Conservative Party candidate for Kensington was a bitter disappointment which, he felt, ended his hopes of ever reaching Westminster. Freeman was elected Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
in 1988, resigned as Leader of the council the next year, and announced his intention of retiring from the council altogether in 1990. Colleagues were surprised at his decision, for the borough seemed to be Freeman's whole life. He spent almost every evening at the town hall either doing council business or entertaining in his room. He never married.