Stephen Milligan

Stephen Milligan
Member of Parliament for Eastleigh
In office 9 April 1992 – 7 February 1994
Preceded by	David Price
Succeeded by	David Chidgey
Personal details
Born	12 May 1948(1948-05-12) Godalming, Surrey
Died	7 February 1994(1994-02-07) (aged 45) Chiswick, London
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Domestic partner	Julie Kirkbride (1992-94)
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation	Journalist

Stephen David Wyatt Milligan (12 May 1948 in Godalming, Surrey - 5 February 1994) was a British Conservative politician and journalist. He held a number of senior journalistic posts until his election to serve as Member of Parliament for Eastleigh in 1992. He was found dead in his flat in Chiswick, London in February 1994, strangled by an electrical cord during an act of autoerotic asphyxiation.

Early life

Milligan was born in Godalming, Surrey on 12 May 1948, the son of David Milligan, a Company Secretary at House of Fraser and Ruth Seymour, a ballet teacher. Educated at Bradfield College, he gained entry to Magdalen College, Oxford where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. At Oxford, he became president of both the Oxford Union and the Oxford University Conservative Association. He was a contemporary of journalist Libby Purves, whom he once partnered to a College Ball.

Career

Journalism

Milligan joined The Economist in 1970, and was industrial editor and chief EC correspondent between 1972 and 1980. In 1976, he published a book, The New Barons, on British trade unions in 1970s. Still working for The Economist, he took a position as presenter of The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4 from 1980 until 1983. He later became foreign editor and Washington correspondent at The Sunday Times from 1984 until 1987, before rejoining the BBC in 1988 as a European correspondent. Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil described Milligan: "He possessed an enquiring, original intelligence, a wide knowledge of foreign and domestic affairs and he was great fun to work with, his infectious laugh filling our editorial meetings, where he played a major role in defining the paper's policy positions".

Politics

Milligan left the Conservative Party upon the formation of Social Democratic Party in 1981. However, he rejoined the Conservatives and in 1990 was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Eastleigh. He became secretary of the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council in 1991 and was a member of the moderate Bow Group. At the 1992 general election, Milligan was elected as Member of Parliament for Eastleigh with a majority of 17,702. Seen as a 'rising star' in the party and noted for his Commons interventions on foreign affairs, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jonathan Aitken, Minister of State for Defence. His last contribution in Parliament was in a debate on the Energy Conservation Bill on 4 February 1994.

Death

Milligan was found dead in his flat in Black Lion Lane, Chiswick, London by his secretary Vera Taggart on 7 February 1994. The discovery of his corpse in what was presumed to be a state of autoerotic asphyxiation, combined with self-bondage and cross-dressing. A detail of his death, which was the subject of much comment and speculation at the time, was that he was found to have had an orange segment in his mouth at the time of his death. Police believed that he died on the night of Saturday 5 February 1994.

Aftermath

Milligan's death significantly contributed to ending John Major's "Back to Basics" policy initiative. Commentators reflected that the circumstances of the MP's demise were a personal tragedy that unjustly overshadowed his achievements in life and his promising political career. John Major branded the events and circumstances leading to Milligan's death as being "rather sad". His death was one of a number of cases of political "sleaze" which were satirised on television programs such as Have I Got News For You, whose producers sent black bin bags, oranges and black stockings to TV journalists. His death and its reporting has also been a subject of studies of media ethics.

His death triggered a by-election at a time which was highly volatile for the Conservative Party and saw the election of Liberal Democrat David Chidgey.

A few days after his death, the story resurfaced when an Eastleigh-based local newspaper reporter released a transcript of a tape recorded telephone conversation with the MP in which he spoke at length about his private personal plans and political aspirations.

Personal life

Milligan was in a relationship until 1992 with Julie Kirkbride, a Daily Telegraph journalist who later served as Conservative MP for Bromsgrove from 1997 until 2010.

External links

• Independent news report from newsmedianews.com

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by David Price	Member of Parliament for Eastleigh 1992–1994	Succeeded by David Chidgey