Michael Onslow, 7th Earl of Onslow
Michael William Coplestone Dillon Onslow, 7th Earl of Onslow (28 February 1938 – 14 May 2011),[1] styled Viscount Cranley from 1945 to 1971, was a British Conservative politician.
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Background and education [edit]
Onslow was the only son of William Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow and his first wife, the Hon. Pamela Dillon, daughter of Eric Dillon, 19th Viscount Dillon.[2] He was educated at Eton and the Sorbonne.[3]
Political career [edit]
Lord Onslow succeeded his father in the earldom in 1971. He was one of the hereditary peers who were elected to remain in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999. He sat on the Conservative benches. He was a supporter of reform of the House of Lords, but not as proposed by the Labour Government.[citation needed]
When the Labour Government in 1999 proposed the House of Lords Bill, was proposed the removal of all of the hereditary peers in the House, Lord Onslow said that he was happy to force a division on every clause of the Scotland Bill, each division takes 20 minutes and there were more than 270 clauses. This was a move to ruin the government's legislative programme in protest at the removal. Lord Onslow also said that he would "behave like a football hooligan" on the legislative programme. This was due to his opposition to the removal of Hereditary Peers as many people were.
He was a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights from July 2005 until his death,[4] and in this capacity strongly criticised Jacqui Smith over the government's proposed extension to detention of terror suspects to 42 days.[5] He disapproved of modernising tendencies within the Church of England, once observing “...one hundred years ago, the Church was in favour of fox hunting and against buggery. Now it is in favour of buggery and against fox hunting.”[6]
Lord Onslow appeared twice on Have I Got News for You — the only hereditary peer to do so.[7][8]
Lord Onslow died on 14 May 2011.[9]
Family [edit]
Lord Onslow married Robin Bullard, daughter of Major Robert Lee Bullard, in 1964. They have three children:
- Rupert Charles William Bullard Onslow, 8th Earl of Onslow (b. 16 June 1967).
- Lady Arabella Onslow (b. 1970).
- Lady Charlotte Emma Dorothy Onslow (b. 1977).[2]
References [edit]
- ^ BBC News — Earl of Onslow dies
- ^ a b thepeerage.com Michael William Coplestone Dillon Onslow, 7th Earl of Onslow
- ^ Margalit Fox (May 21, 2011). "Lord Onslow, a Peer by Birth and Contrarian by Nature, Dies at 73". The New York Times.
- ^ JCHR on UK Parliament website
- ^ BBC Politics
- ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/293887/turbulent-priest-charles-c-w-cooke
- ^ HIGNFY Host - Angus Deayton/Glenda Jackson & Earl of Onslow(1).
- ^ HIGNFY S26E02 - Part 1.
- ^ BBC Democracy Live: The Bishop of Exeter critical of Fox's aid objections
External links [edit]
- Open letter by the Earl to David Cameron, on the subject of civil liberties
- 'The Earl of Onslow: Colourful hereditary peer who advocated reform of the House of Lords', John Barnes, The Independent, 1 June 2011
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Michael Onslow, 7th Earl of Onslow
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Onslow |
Earl of Onslow 1971–2011 |
Succeeded by Rupert Onslow |
