John Redwood was elevated to the House of Lords on Tuesday, February 10 and will now be known as ‘Baron Redwood of Wokingham’. He served as MP for Wokingham for 37 years, from 1987 until 2024.
Before entering Parliament he was a Thatcherite and, in 1983, became head of Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit, where he was one of the champions of privatisation.
In government he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in July 1989 for corporate affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry and was promoted to Minister of State in November 1990. After the 1992 general election he became Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities, overseeing the abolition of the Community Charge, known colloquially as the "poll tax", and its replacement with the Council Tax.
Always on the right of the Conservative Party, Redwood is a veteran Eurosceptic and has supported an in-out referendum on leaving the European Union since 2011. He also voted for the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1988, 1990 and 1994.
His friend Pauline Jorgensen said: “I was delighted to see John being introduced to the House of Lords today.
“This is hugely deserved following a long record of service to our residents and country.
“I look forward to him standing up for our local area and using his wide experience and skills to provide advice and a check and balance to this current Labour Government.”
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
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