Ministerial offices 1974–1987

Minister of State for Trade and Industry
In office 13 July 1987 – 25 July 1988
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Giles Shaw
Succeeded by	Eric Forth
Paymaster General
In office 2 September 1985 – 13 July 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Gummer
Succeeded by	Peter Brooke
Minister of State for Employment
In office 2 September 1985 – 13 July 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Peter Morrison
Succeeded by	John Cope
Minister of State for Health
In office 5 March 1982 – 2 September 1985
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Gerard Vaughan
Succeeded by	Barney Hayhoe
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office 7 May 1979 – 5 March 1982
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Horam
Succeeded by	Lynda Chalker
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 8 January 1974 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Hugh Rossi
Succeeded by	Donald Coleman

Shadow cabinet posts

Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
In office 19 January 2009 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Alan Duncan (Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)
Succeeded by	Pat McFadden
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997
Leader	John Major
Preceded by	Gordon Brown
Succeeded by	Peter Lilley

Parliamentary offices

Father of the House of Commons
In office 26 February 2017 – 6 November 2019
Speaker	John Bercow Lindsay Hoyle
Preceded by	Gerald Kaufman
Succeeded by	Peter Bottomley
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a life peer 17 September 2020
Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe
In office 18 June 1970 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	Antony Gardner
Succeeded by	Ruth Edwards

Personal details

Born

Kenneth Harry Clarke

2 July 1940 (age 84)
Langley Mill, England

Political party

Conservative

Spouse

Gillian Edwards

(m. 1964; died 2015)

Children

Alma mater

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (BA, LLB)

Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940), is a British politician. He was a very important member of the Conservative Party. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Rushcliffe for almost 50 years, from 1970 to 2019.

Clarke held many top jobs in the government. These included Home Secretary (in charge of law and order) from 1992 to 1993. He was also Chancellor of the Exchequer (in charge of the country's money) from 1993 to 1997. He worked in the Cabinets of Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

He is known for his pro-European views. This means he supported Britain being closely linked with Europe. He tried to become the leader of the Conservative Party three times but was not successful. Later, he returned to government under David Cameron. He served as Justice Secretary from 2010 to 2012. He was also a Minister without Portfolio from 2012 to 2014.

In 2019, he was removed from the Conservative Party for voting against the government's Brexit plans. He then sat as an independent MP. He retired from Parliament in 2019 and became a life peer in the House of Lords in 2020. This means he became a Lord.

Early Life and Education
Starting His Political Career
After Government Service
Other Work and Interests
Honours and Awards
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Education

Kenneth Clarke was born in West Bridgford, England, in 1940. His father was an electrician and later a watchmaker. Kenneth won a scholarship to attend Nottingham High School. This is an independent school.

He then studied law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he joined the Conservative Party. He became the President of the Cambridge Union, which is a famous debating society. After university, he became a lawyer in 1963. He was made a Queen's Counsel (a senior lawyer) in 1980.

Starting His Political Career

Clarke first tried to become an MP in 1964 and 1966. He stood in Mansfield, a strong Labour area. In June 1970, just before his 30th birthday, he was elected as the MP for Rushcliffe. This area is in Nottinghamshire.

He quickly became a government Whip from 1972 to 1974. Whips help make sure MPs vote the way their party wants. He helped the government win votes on Britain joining the European Communities. This group later became the European Union.

Clarke served in many government jobs under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. From 2017 to 2019, he was the Father of the House. This title goes to the longest-serving MP.

Early Government Roles

Clarke's first government jobs were in transport. He was a Parliamentary Secretary for Transport from 1979 to 1981. Then he was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport from 1981 to 1982. After that, he became Minister of State for Health from 1982 to 1985.

He joined the Cabinet in 1985. He was Paymaster-General and Employment Minister until 1987. He then became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and a Minister in the DTI. In this role, he helped sell the Rover Group car company.

Health Secretary Role

In July 1988, Clarke became the first Secretary of State for Health. He helped create a new system for the NHS. This system allowed hospitals to become self-governing. They would control their own budgets. Doctors could also manage their own budgets to buy services for patients.

These changes were not popular with doctors. They launched campaigns against his reforms. Clarke believed these changes were needed to improve the NHS. By 1994, most hospitals had become trusts. The NHS treated more patients and was better managed.

However, there were also concerns about the "contaminated blood scandal." This was a serious issue where patients received infected blood products. A public inquiry was ordered in 2017 to investigate this matter. Clarke gave evidence to this inquiry in 2021.

Later Government Roles

After his time as Health Secretary, Clarke became Secretary of State for Education and Science in 1990. He introduced several reforms in education.

He worked very closely with Prime Minister John Major. After the 1992 election, he became Home Secretary. This is a very important job in charge of police and security. In May 1993, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer. This is the second most powerful job in government.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer

As Chancellor, Clarke helped the economy recover. He lowered the basic rate of income tax. He also reduced government spending. The budget deficit, which is when the government spends more than it earns, also fell.

His successor, Gordon Brown, continued these policies. Interest rates, inflation, and unemployment all decreased during Clarke's time. This showed his success in managing the country's finances.

Clarke was a strong supporter of Britain joining the euro currency. This was a big debate in the UK. He believed Britain should have the choice to join. He and John Major agreed there would be a public vote (referendum) before joining.

After Government Service

After the Conservative Party lost the election in 1997, Clarke tried to become party leader. He was popular with the public. However, he lost because his pro-European views were different from many party members. He tried again in 2001 and 2005 but was not successful.

He continued to be an important voice in politics. He was known for his support of economic and social liberal ideas. He also strongly supported the European idea.

Return to the Frontbench

In 2009, Clarke returned to the Shadow Cabinet. He became Shadow Business Secretary. In May 2010, he was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in the new government.

He worked to reform the prison system. He suggested that short prison sentences were not always effective. He believed more offenders could be given community sentences instead.

In 2012, he became a Minister without Portfolio. He also worked as a Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy. This meant he helped promote British business around the world. In 2014, he left government after more than 20 years as a minister. He was given the honour of Companion of Honour.

Backbench MP and Brexit

Clarke was against Brexit. He did not want the UK to leave the European Union. He was the only Conservative MP to vote against starting the process to leave the EU.

In 2016, during a leadership election, he made comments about other politicians. He jokingly called Theresa May a "bloody difficult woman." He also said Michael Gove would "go to war with at least three countries at once."

In 2017, he became the Father of the House again. In September 2019, he voted against the government's Brexit plans. Because of this, he was removed from the Conservative Party. He then sat as an independent MP. He retired from Parliament at the 2019 general election.

Joining the House of Lords

In 2020, Kenneth Clarke was made a life peer. This means he became a member of the House of Lords for life. He is now known as Baron Clarke of Nottingham. He joined the Conservative group in the House of Lords.

Other Work and Interests

While not in government, Clarke worked as a director for several companies. These included British American Tobacco. He also presented jazz programmes on BBC Radio Four. He wrote columns for newspapers and appeared on TV.

Clarke married Gillian Edwards in 1964. They had two children. Gillian passed away in 2015.

He is known for his love of jazz music and motor racing. He also enjoys birdwatching and reading history books. He is a big fan of football clubs Notts County and Nottingham Forest. He also supports Formula One motorsport. He even presented a trophy at the 2012 British Grand Prix.

Clarke is a fan of real ale (a type of beer). He has been an active member of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). His autobiography, Kind of Blue, was published in 2016.

Honours and Awards

CH insignia

UK Baron, 2020
Companion of Honour (CH), 2014
Privy Counsellor (PC), 1985
Queen's Counsel (now KC), 1980
Honorary Bencher of Gray's Inn, 1989
Honorary doctorate of Laws (Hon. LLD), Nottingham, 1989
Honorary doctorate of Laws (Hon. LLD), Huddersfield, 1993
Honorary doctorate of the University (Hon. DUniv), Nottingham Trent, 1996
Honorary doctorate of the University (Hon. DUniv), Derby, 2017
Honorary Fellowship of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, 2013
Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (Hon. FTI), 2016.

Images for kids

Clarke as Lord Chancellor, 2011
Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke MP in 2012
Clarke sitting on the backbenches alongside Theresa May, Sir Alan Duncan and Liam Fox, 19 October 2019