Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville

The Right Honourable The Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville CH PC
Portrait by Nick Sinclair, 1991
Secretary of State for National Heritage
In office 22 September 1992 – 20 July 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	David Mellor
Succeeded by	Stephen Dorrell
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 24 July 1989 – 10 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Tom King
Succeeded by	Patrick Mayhew
Paymaster General
In office 13 July 1987 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Kenneth Clarke
Succeeded by	The Earl of Caithness
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office 13 July 1987 – 24 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Norman Tebbit
Succeeded by	Kenneth Baker
Member of Parliament for Cities of London and Westminster City of London and Westminster South (1977‍–‍1997)
In office 24 February 1977 – 14 May 2001
Preceded by	Christopher Tugendhat
Succeeded by	Mark Field
Personal details
Born	Peter Leonard Brooke (1934-03-03)3 March 1934 London, England
Died	13 May 2023(2023-05-13) (aged 89) Tisbury, Wiltshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Joan Smith ​ ​ (m. 1964; died 1985)​ Lindsay Allinson ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford Harvard Business School

Peter Leonard Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, CH, PC (3 March 1934 – 13 May 2023) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and was a member of Parliament (MP) representing London and Westminster from 1977 to 2001.

Early life

Brooke was born in London, the son of Henry Brooke, the onetime Home Secretary, and Barbara Brooke. His parents were one of the few married couples where both partners held noble titles in their own right. His younger brother was the judge Sir Henry Brooke. He was educated at Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford, (where he was President of the Oxford Union) before going on to the Harvard Business School in the United States. After leaving university he worked as a headhunter and was Chairman of Spencer Stuart.

Parliamentary career

After unsuccessfully challenging Neil Kinnock at the Labour stronghold of Bedwellty in October 1974, he was elected as MP for the Cities of London and Westminster in a by-election in 1977. He was sworn into the Privy council in 1988. He was made Chairman of the Conservative Party in 1987, and then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 1989. His speech, made in November 1990 in London, is largely credited with bringing Sinn Féin to the negotiating table, in which he declared that Britain had no "selfish strategic or economic interest" in Northern Ireland and would accept unification, if the people wished it.

In January 1992, Brooke appeared on the Irish chat show, The Late Late Show. After a pleasant interview, the presenter, Gay Byrne, coaxed and goaded the unwilling Brooke into singing "Oh My Darling, Clementine", on a day when seven Protestant construction workers had been killed by an IRA bomb. Many unionists were outraged at what seemed to be a moment clearly out of touch with grieving families, and requested the resignation of Brooke. The incident was a factor in Brooke's being dropped from his position after the April 1992 general election, although Brooke claimed he had offered his resignation after the incident.

After leaving the Cabinet, Brooke stood unsuccessfully for the position of Speaker of the House of Commons. The House instead elected the Labour MP Betty Boothroyd to the role, with several Conservative MPs voting against Brooke on the grounds that he had too recently been in the Cabinet and was thus insufficiently close to the backbenches. Brooke then remained on the backbenches for a short time, before being brought back into the Cabinet later in the year as Secretary of State for National Heritage, a role he held until 1994. During his time as Heritage Secretary, he oversaw the restoration of Windsor Castle following the fire that had struck the State Apartments in 1992.

Later life

Brooke stepped down as an MP at the 2001 general election and was created a life peer as Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, of Sutton Mandeville in the County of Wiltshire, on 30 July 2001. He was Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers. He was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, as his father had been, in 1992. He retired from the House of Lords in September 2015.

Personal life and death

In 1964, Brooke married Joan Smith; they had four sons, one of whom died as an infant, and were married until her death in 1985, from complications of a surgical procedure. He married Lindsay Allinson in 1991.

Brooke died in Tisbury, Wiltshire, on 13 May 2023, at the age of 89.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville

Coronet A Coronet of a Baron Crest A badger sejant erect Proper grasping with both forepaws over the shoulder a cudgel Or. Escutcheon Or two crosses engrailed and conjoined in fess that on the dexter per pale Gules and Sable that on the sinister per pale Sable and Gules. Supporters On either side statant upon a watering can the rose inwards Or a crow close Proper. Motto Ex Fonte Perenni (Out of an Everlasting Brook) Badge Statant upon a watering can the rose to the dexter Or a crow wings elevated and addorsed Proper.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Peter Brooke
• Portraits of Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville at the National Portrait Gallery, London