Lord John Biffen

Aug 16 2007 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

ALTHOUGH hailed as the “cleverest Conservative of them all”, John, later Lord, Biffen, who has died aged 76, was “not one of us” in Margaret Thatcher’s chilling phrase. Yet his skill, honesty and charm meant he was promoted by her for many years.

Known by all in the Westminster village as “Biffo”, his approachability, independent spirit and wit made him “the most popular boy in the school”. Biffen’s effortless repartee could even unsettle unshakeable Socialist hard-liners like Dennis Skinner, whom he told when the pair were interviewed on Radio 4’s Today programme: “We grammar school boys must stick together.”

Labour leader Michael Foot also cleverly parlayed another famous Thatcher phrase of “no U-turn” when Biffen, a confirmed bachelor, aged 48, married his secretary Sarah Wood. Foot congratulated him on “your own personal U-turn”.

Surprisingly, Biffen was invited to join Mrs Thatcher’s 1979 shadow Cabinet and, after the Tories won the election, became an austere Chief Secretary to the Treasury and an uneasy Trade Secretary, but was later widely acclaimed as an outstanding Leader of the House of Commons. Over five years, his demeanour as Leader at the Dispatch Box was sensitive and funny – a direct contrast to the PM.

While sharing Mrs Thatcher’s belief in monetarism and Europe, his questioning character and her inflexibility led him to declare that: “I did not come into politics to be a kamikaze pilot.”

Describing himself as a “consolidator” provoked criticisms and remarks that the Tories needed a “balanced ticket” (interpreted as reducing the PM’s profile and expanding that of ministers) sealed his fate. Mrs Thatcher’s press secretary Bernard Ingham sneered that Biffen was “a semi-detached member of the cabinet” and a “licensed court jester”. Biffen was sacked after Mrs Thatcher’s triumphant 1987 election win. He later described Mrs Thatcher as “a tigress surrounded by hamsters”.

A Shropshire MP from 1961 to 1997, he was ennobled on retirement. Among his directorships was J Bibby & Sons, the Liverpool-based agricultural foodstuffs company.

He overcame severe bouts of depression, but suffered total renal failure in 2000 and spent his last years on dialysis.

John Biffen, Conservative minister; born, November 3, 1930, died, August 14, 2007