Bernard Braine

The Right Honourable The Lord Braine of Wheatley PC
Braine in Hanover, September 1983
Father of the House of Commons
In office 1987–1992
Preceded by	James Callaghan
Succeeded by	Edward Heath
Member of Parliament for Castle Point South East Essex (1955–1983)
In office 26 May 1955 – 10 April 1992
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Bob Spink
Member of Parliament for Billericay
In office 23 February 1950 – 26 May 1955
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Richard Body
Personal details
Born	24 June 1914
Died	5 January 2000
Political party	Conservative
Military service
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	North Staffordshire Regiment

Bernard Richard Braine, Baron Braine of Wheatley, PC (24 June 1914 – 5 January 2000) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over forty years, representing constituencies in Essex.

Early life

He was educated at Hendon County Grammar School, and served with the North Staffordshire Regiment in the Second World War, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Parliamentary career

Having stood unsuccessfully for Leyton East in 1945, Braine was elected as MP for Billericay at the 1950 general election. When constituencies boundaries were revised for the 1955 election he was returned for the new South East Essex, and when that constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, he was elected for the new Castle Point constituency, becoming Father of the House of Commons in 1987 after James Callaghan's elevation to the House of Lords.

He was chairman of the National Council on Alcoholism, and was a member of the Parliamentary Groups on Human Rights and against abortion. For many years he served as an unofficial ambassador of HM's government to the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. He was knighted in the 1972 New Year Honours, and appointed as a Privy Counsellor in 1985.

Later life

Braine stepped down from Parliament at the 1992 general election, and in August that year he was made a life peer Baron Braine of Wheatley, of Rayleigh in the County of Essex. He died in January 2000 at the age of 85.

References

• "Tory Stalwart dies". BBC News. 5 January 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
• "In Memoriam Bernard Braine". Institute of Alcohol Studies. January 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Bernard Braine