John Moore, Baron Moore of Lower Marsh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Moore of Lower Marsh
|
|
|---|---|
Moore in 1985
|
|
| Secretary of State for Social Security | |
| In office 25 July 1988 – 23 July 1989 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Himself (Social Services) |
| Succeeded by | Tony Newton |
| Secretary of State for Health and Social Services | |
| In office 13 June 1987 – 25 July 1988 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Norman Fowler |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Social Security) Kenneth Clarke (Health) |
| Secretary of State for Transport | |
| In office 21 May 1986 – 13 June 1987 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Ridley |
| Succeeded by | Paul Channon |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 19 October 1983 – 21 May 1986 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Ridley |
| Succeeded by | Norman Lamont |
| Economic Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 13 June 1983 – 19 October 1983 |
|
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Jock Bruce-Gardyne |
| Succeeded by | Ian Stewart |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
|
| In office 3 July 1992 – 20 May 2019 Life Peerage |
|
| Member of Parliament for Croydon Central |
|
| In office 28 February 1974 – 9 April 1992 |
|
| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | Paul Beresford |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Edward Michael Moore
26 November 1937 London, England |
| Died | 20 May 2019 (aged 81) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Sheila Tillotson
(m. 1962; died 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Profession | Stockbroker |
John Edward Michael Moore, also known as Baron Moore of Lower Marsh, was a British politician from the Conservative Party. He was a MP for Croydon Central from February 1974 until 1992. During the time Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, he quickly rose through government ranks. He became a Secretary of State in the Cabinet from 1987 to 1989. For a while, many thought he might even become the leader of his party.
Moore was known for his good looks and his connection to America. His wife was American, and he had lived in the US for several years. He brought some American business ideas into government. People even said he spoke with a slight American accent. His first political experience was helping the Democratic Party in Illinois in the early 1960s.
After 1987, Moore's success in government changed. He was put in charge of important areas like health and social security. Before this, he was very successful in helping the Thatcher government sell off state-owned companies. This was called the "privatisation programme," and he became known as "Mr Privatisation." But when he tried to use these ideas for the National Health Service (NHS) and social services, many people disagreed. After losing trust, he was given a less important role in 1988. Then, he was removed from his Cabinet job in 1989.
Moore left the House of Commons in 1992. After that, he worked as a director or chairman for several large companies.
Contents
John Moore's Early Life and Education
Moore was born in Kentish Town, London, in 1937. His father worked in a factory and later became a pub owner. John went to the Licensed Victuallers' School in Slough. This was an independent school supported by his father's trade group. After school, Moore served two years in the military, called National Service, from 1955 to 1957. He served in Korea with the Royal Sussex Regiment.
In 1958, he started studying at the London School of Economics. He was very active in student politics and became the President of the LSE Students' Union. There, he met Sheila Tillotson, who would become his wife.
Life in the United States
After finishing their studies, John and Sheila went to her hometown of Chicago. They got married in 1962. Moore first worked as a financial analyst at an investment bank in Chicago. He then became a stockbroker and rose to a senior position at Dean Witter Reynolds, a brokerage firm. This company mainly helped middle-class people with smaller investments.
While in Chicago, Moore became involved with the Democratic Party. He was against segregation and worked as a "precinct captain." This job taught him a lot about American political campaigns, which he later used in the UK. He was reportedly very impressed by President John F. Kennedy and saw him as a role model.
Returning to the UK
Moore came back to the UK in 1968. He became the Chairman of Dean Witter (International) in London. The Moores settled in Wimbledon, where their three children were born. John Moore became active in local Conservative politics. In 1971, he was elected as a Councillor in the London Borough of Merton. At first, he seemed like a liberal conservative. For example, he disagreed with the government's decision to stop providing free school milk to children in the Borough.
In October 1973, he was chosen as the Conservative candidate for the Croydon Central area. At that time, he was described as a 36-year-old investment banker and stockbroker.
John Moore's Early Political Career
Croydon Central was a new area for Parliament. It was only slightly Conservative at first. Moore won the seat in the February 1974 general election by 1,300 votes. His lead dropped to just 164 votes in the October 1974 election. However, he managed to make his position stronger over time. By the 1987 election, his lead was over 10,000 votes. His wife, Sheila, worked as his secretary, speech writer, and political adviser. She also studied law and worked as a local judge. Many people thought Sheila was a big reason for his success in politics.
Moore presented himself as a young and energetic politician. He often woke up at 5:30 AM and was at his desk by 7:00 AM. He played on the House of Commons football team and the House skiing team. It was said that his wife kept him on a healthy diet. He was often seen jogging in Westminster and reportedly spent 30 minutes daily on an exercise bike.
In March 1975, after she became the Conservative leader, Margaret Thatcher made Moore one of five Conservative Party vice-chairmen. His job was to focus on "youth." He held this role until the Conservatives won the election in 1979. Then, he became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy. In this role, he was responsible for the nationalised British coal industry.
"Mr Privatisation"
After the 1983 general election, Moore was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury. His job was to lead the government's policy on privatisation. This meant selling off state-owned companies to private owners. He notably oversaw the privatisation of British Telecom in 1984. He also helped privatise other major companies that supplied gas, electricity, and water.
Selling off state-owned industries was a big part of Margaret Thatcher's governments. These privatisations became popular because ordinary people could buy small shares in these companies at very low prices. This idea was similar to the business model of Dean Witter, where Moore used to work. Moore became very well-known and was called "Mr Privatisation."
John Moore's Cabinet Career
In 1986, Moore joined Mrs. Thatcher's Cabinet as Secretary of State for Transport. His time in this role was short. However, it included important events like the completion of the M25 London orbital motorway. He also oversaw the privatisation of British Airways. The capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise car ferry in March 1987 gave Moore a lot of media attention. These events made Moore even more famous, and he played a big part in the 1987 general election campaign.
By this time, many people were saying Moore could be a future Prime Minister. After the 1987 election, he became Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. In this job, he was in charge of the National Health Service's huge annual budget. He also managed the payment of billions in social security benefits. These were very important areas, and the government planned many new policies for them.
However, some people had doubts about his appointment. Some said his past experience was more about carrying out policies, not creating them. There were also reports that Mrs. Thatcher sometimes promoted good-looking people even if they weren't the best for the job. Many thought Moore might have been one of these people.
Challenges in Health and Social Services
Once in his new job, Moore gave several speeches about social services policy. These speeches seemed to suggest a move towards a healthcare system based on private insurance, similar to the American system. He suggested ideas like making private healthcare insurance payments tax-deductible. He also proposed letting nurses' pay rates be decided locally, not nationally.
Moore quickly faced opposition from many groups, including doctors. Many Conservative MPs also had concerns about his proposals. Some of his speeches also made it seem like Moore was trying to position himself to become the leader of the Conservative Party. For example, during a visit to the US in October 1987, he suggested that he was the main person behind privatisation in the UK. This upset other Ministers and senior Party figures.
Moore also struggled with setting department budgets. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Major, reportedly found Moore easy to persuade. The Health Minister at the time, Edwina Currie, reportedly called Moore "useless." Moore also had difficulties working with senior civil servants. His wife, Sheila, who was also his political adviser, had disagreements with civil servants. It is thought that Sheila might have helped write some of Moore's more controversial speeches.
In 2017, a government memo from 1987 written by Moore was made public. It stated that the government would not accept direct responsibility for the Contaminated Blood Scandal. Many people affected by the scandal claimed this showed a cover-up.
In November 1987, Moore became very ill with bacterial pneumonia. He tried to ignore it and even attended a cabinet meeting before he had fully recovered. During the meeting, he became unconscious. He was then admitted to a private hospital. The fact that he went to a private clinic, which reportedly charged a lot of money, caused bad publicity. A union leader said, "How can a social services secretary claim to care about the National Health Service when he does not even trust his own health care to an NHS hospital?"
End of John Moore's Political Career
After two months away due to illness, Moore returned to work. But by then, his political future was much less promising. The Department of Health and Social Security was split into two separate ministries. Kenneth Clarke became Secretary of State for Health in July 1988. Moore remained in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Social Security for another year.
However, his reputation was further damaged by speeches where he seemed to suggest that poverty no longer existed in modern Britain. He tried to give state help only to poorer families while freezing child benefits. This caused a major disagreement with other Conservative MPs.
Moore was removed from the Cabinet in July 1989. Most people at the time thought he was a weak politician who had been promoted to a job too big for him.
He left his parliamentary seat in the 1992 general election. After leaving government, Moore held several director positions with large companies, including Credit Suisse and Rolls-Royce. In 2010, he retired as Chairman of the Monitor Group.
After leaving the House of Commons in 1992, Moore became a life peer. This meant he was given the title Baron Moore of Lower Marsh and could sit in the House of Lords. A BBC report in 2011 noted that after 20 years in the House of Lords, Moore had not yet made his first speech there. Between being removed from the Cabinet in 1989 and stepping down from the House of Commons in 1992, his only contributions were in two debates about transport.
John Moore's Personal Life
Moore and his wife, Sheila Tillotson, had three children. They were married until her death in 2008. John Moore had a long-standing interest in exercise and fitness. When he was an MP, he played football and took up skiing. Later in life, when he was 64, he competed in a triathlon and finished it even after falling off his bike. He also became a dedicated practitioner of tai chi. He passed away from pneumonia on May 20, 2019, at the age of 81.
Images for kids
-
Coronet of a British Baron
-
The coat of arms of Baron Moore of Lower Marsh
