Selwyn Lloyd
Encyclopedia
John Selwyn Brooke Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd CH
PC
CBE TD
(28 July 1904 - 18 May 1978), known for most of his career as Selwyn Lloyd, was a British Conservative Party
politician who served as Foreign Secretary
from 1955 to 1960, then as Chancellor of the Exchequer
until 1962. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1971 to 1976.
and Magdalene College, Cambridge
, where he was President of the Cambridge Union
and the Cambridge University Liberal Club. He was a Liberal Parliamentary candidate at Macclesfield
in the 1929 general election
, coming third.
1932-40.
.
to represent Wirral
in the 1945 general election
. Originally a Liberal
, he became a member of the "Young Turks" faction of the Conservative Party.
in 1951, Lloyd served under Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden
as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1951 to 1954.
(1954–1955). He was subsequently Minister of Defence (1955).
, which led to the fall of the Eden government. While Foreign Secretary he was noted for not being on particularly good terms with his American
counterpart, Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles
. He continued to serve as Foreign Secretary under Harold Macmillan
until 1960.
(1960–1962).
Unable to cope with Britain's economic problems in the early 1960s, he was sacked from the government during the "Night of the Long Knives
" reshuffle, and returned to the backbenches.
, who made him Lord Privy Seal
and Leader of the House of Commons
until the Conservative defeat in the general election
of 1964.
. In a break with convention, both the Labour
and Liberal Parties
contested his seat in the 1974 general elections, but he retained it and continued to hold the position of speaker until 1976.
A biography of Selwyn-Lloyd by D. R. Thorpe
was published in 1989.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
PC
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...
CBE TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(28 July 1904 - 18 May 1978), known for most of his career as Selwyn Lloyd, was a British 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...
politician who served as Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
from 1955 to 1960, then as Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
until 1962. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1971 to 1976.
Background and early careers
Lloyd was educated at Fettes CollegeFettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
and Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, where he was President of the Cambridge Union
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
and the Cambridge University Liberal Club. He was a Liberal Parliamentary candidate at Macclesfield
Macclesfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Macclesfield 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.- Boundaries :...
in the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, coming third.
Local government service
He served as a councillor on Hoylake Urban District CouncilHoylake
Hoylake is a seaside town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, on Merseyside, England. It is located at the north western corner of the Wirral Peninsula, near to the town of West Kirby and where the River Dee estuary meets the Irish Sea...
1932-40.
World War Two service
During the Second World War he reached the rank of brigadier and was Deputy Chief of Staff of the British Second ArmyBritish Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...
.
Election to Parliament
He was elected to the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
to represent Wirral
Wirral (UK Parliament constituency)
Wirral was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
in the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
. Originally a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, he became a member of the "Young Turks" faction of the Conservative Party.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
When the Conservatives returned to power under ChurchillWinston 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...
in 1951, Lloyd served under Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1951 to 1954.
Minister of Supply and Minister of Defence
He then served as Minister of SupplyMinister of Supply
The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces...
(1954–1955). He was subsequently Minister of Defence (1955).
Foreign Secretary
He himself became Foreign Secretary in 1955. His tenure saw the Suez CrisisSuez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
, which led to the fall of the Eden government. While Foreign Secretary he was noted for not being on particularly good terms with his American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
counterpart, Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world...
. He continued to serve as Foreign Secretary 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....
until 1960.
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In 1960 he became Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
(1960–1962).
Unable to cope with Britain's economic problems in the early 1960s, he was sacked from the government during the "Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives (1962)
The epithet Night of the Long Knives is given to July 13, 1962, when the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan sacked the following members of his Cabinet:*Lord Kilmuir — Lord Chancellor*Selwyn Lloyd — Chancellor of the Exchequer...
" reshuffle, and returned to the backbenches.
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons
He was called back to the government in 1963 by Alec Douglas-HomeAlec 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...
, who made him Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
and Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
until the Conservative defeat in the 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...
of 1964.
Speaker of the House of Commons
In 1971, after the Conservatives had returned to power, Lloyd became SpeakerSpeaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
. In a break with convention, both the 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...
and Liberal Parties
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
contested his seat in the 1974 general elections, but he retained it and continued to hold the position of speaker until 1976.
Peerage
In 1976 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Selwyn-Lloyd, of Wirral in the County of Merseyside.Death and legacy
He died two years later.A biography of Selwyn-Lloyd by D. R. Thorpe
D. R. Thorpe
D. R. Thorpe is an historian and biographer who has written biographies of three British Prime Ministers of the mid 20th century, Sir Anthony Eden, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Harold Macmillan.-Education and academic career:...
was published in 1989.