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Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale
*** Shopping-Tip: Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale
'''Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale,'''
Privy Council of the United Kingdom PC (
February 17,
1929 -
March 4,
1993) was a British
Conservative Party (UK) Conservative politician.
Ridley was educated at
Eton College and
Balliol College, Oxford. He became a
civil engineer and company director. He served as secretary of the
Canning Club, a councillor on
Castle Ward Rural District Council and a member of the executive committee of the
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty National Trust.
In 1955, Ridley contested
Blyth (UK Parliament constituency) Blyth without success. He was elected
member of Parliament for
Cirencester and Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency) Cirencester and Tewkesbury in 1959 and became a
Parliamentary Private Secretary in 1962. From 1964 he was a
Select Committee member before joining the
front bench.
He was a strong supporter in the Party of
Margaret Thatcher. Already in 1973, he formed the
Selsdon Group, which was opposed to the abandonment of the radical 1970 manifesto by
Edward Heath. The members of the group where seen as illoyal at the time but their ideas came to dominate the Thatcher years.
Ridley became a member of Margaret Thatcher's
cabinet (government) cabinet. In that role he played an important part in preparations for a possible
coal strike, by way of stockpiling coal at
power stations; this degree of foresight was an important factor in the
UK miners' strike (1984-1985). The
Ridley Plan to reduce the UK's dependence on deep-mined coal for energy was a prototype of later developments. Formative on the attitudes behind these ideas was the occasion, early in the Thatcher administration, when the government backed down from a confrontation with the miners, mindful of the end of Edward Heath's time in office. It is reported that Ridley's advice on avoiding a repeat had a major effect on the subsequent approach.
On
July 14,
1990 he was forced to resign as
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry after an interview published in ''
The Spectator (1828) The Spectator''. He had described the proposed
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union Economic and Monetary Union as "a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe" and said that giving up
sovereignty to Europe was as bad as giving it up to
Adolf Hitler. The interview was illustrated with a
cartoon depicting Ridley adding a Hitler moustache to a poster of the German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl. While Ridley was not one of the most powerful government members, his departure was a significant break in the Thatcherite ranks; Margaret Thatcher herself had to resign less than six months later. Some commentators point to Ridley's resignation, its manner, and the European issue at its core, as leading indicators for the next decade of Conservative Party politics.
{| border="2" align="center"
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
'''
Tom King (politician) Tom King'''
|width="40%" align="center"|'''
Secretary of State for Transport'''
1983–1986
|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
'''
John Moore (British MP) John Moore'''
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
'''
Kenneth Baker'''
|width="40%" align="center"|'''
Secretary of State for the Environment'''
1986–1989
|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
'''
Chris Patten'''
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
'''
Lord Young'''
|width="40%" align="center"|'''
President of the Board of Trade Secretary of State for Trade and Industry'''
1989–1990
|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
'''
Peter Lilley'''
|}
Category:1929 births Ridley, Nicholas
Category:1993 deaths Ridley, Nicholas
Category:British MPs Ridley, Nicholas
Category:UK Conservative Party politicians Ridley, Nicholas
Category:Life peers Ridley, Nicholas
Category:British Secretaries of State Ridley, Nicholas
Category:Members of the Privy Council Ridley, Nicholas
Category:Old Etonians Ridley, Nicholas
Category:Councillors in north east England Ridley, Nicholas
ar:نيقولاس ريدلي
de:Nicholas Ridley (Politiker)
*** Shopping-Tip: Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale
