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John Wilkinson (British politician)
File:John Wilkinson MP.jpg
Member of Parliament
for Ruislip-Northwood

In office
3 May 1979 – 11 April 2005
Preceded by Petre Crowder
Succeeded by Nick Hurd
Member of Parliament
for Bradford West

In office
18 June 1970 – 8 February 1974
Preceded by Norman Haseldine
Succeeded by Edward Lyons
Personal details
Born John Arbuthnot Du Cane Wilkinson
23 September 1940
Windsor, Berkshire, England
Died 1 March 2014(2014-03-01) (aged 73)
Isle of Man
Nationality British
Political party Conservative Party
Spouse(s)
  • Paula Adey (m. 1987)
  • M. Cecilia Cienfuegos
    (m. 1987)
Children 2
Alma mater Churchill College, Cambridge
Military service
Allegiance Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Ensign of the Royal Air Force Royal Air Force
Years of service before 1970

John Arbuthnot Du Cane Wilkinson (23 September 1940 – 1 March 2014) was a British Conservative politician. He was educated at Eton College and Churchill College, Cambridge.[1]

Electoral history[]

He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford West from 1970 until February 1974, when he was defeated by the Labour candidate Edward Lyons. He failed to regain the seat against Lyons in the following general election that same year.

In the 1979 general election he was elected as MP for Ruislip-Northwood, succeeding Petre Crowder, where he was re-elected in the successive general elections in 1983, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2001.

Wilkinson did not stand in the May 2005 general election, and the new member for Ruislip-Northwood is another Conservative, Nick Hurd. By the time of his retirement, Wilkinson was one of the longest-serving Conservative MPs.[2]

Parliamentary career[]

Wilkinson remained on the backbenches for most of his parliamentary career, apart from two brief periods as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS): to the Minister of State for Industry from 1979 to 1980 and to the Secretary of State for Defence from 1981 to 1982.[3]

A former member of the Royal Air Force (RAF), he spoke frequently in debates on defence and from 1979 to 1990 he was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of The Western European Union (WEU). He also served as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Wilkinson was one of the Maastricht rebels, from whom the Conservative whip was withdrawn when they voted against legislation to ratify the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. Wilkinson and the other rebels continued to oppose the European policy of Conservative Prime Minister John Major for much of the 1992–97 parliament.

In popular culture[]

Wilkinson was portrayed by Jasper Jacob in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial The Falklands Play.[citation needed]

References[]

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Norman Haseldine
Member of Parliament for Bradford West
1970 – Feb. 1974
Succeeded by
Edward Lyons
Preceded by
Petre Crowder
Member of Parliament for Ruislip-Northwood
1979–2005
Succeeded by
Nick Hurd
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