Terry Dicks
| Terry Dicks | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington | |
|
In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Neville Sandelson |
| Succeeded by | John McDonnell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 March 1937 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
Terence Patrick Dicks (born 17 March 1937), commonly known as Terry Dicks, is a former British Conservative Party politician. He was MP for Hayes and Harlington from 1983 to his retirement in 1997, having unsuccessfully contested the seat of Bristol South in 1979, when he was defeated by Labour's Michael Cocks. He was educated at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford (DipEcon).[1]
Dicks's opposition to state funding for the arts inspired Labour MP Tony Banks to claim that Dicks' presence in the House of Commons was "living proof that a pig's bladder on a stick can get elected to Parliament".[2] On Derrick Gregory, a mentally subnormal man who had been sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug smuggling, Dicks said he would be writing to the Malaysian government congratulating it on its approach. On Farzad Bazoft, an Observer journalist hanged by Saddam Hussein in 1990, Dicks said he "deserved to be hanged" on the eve of his execution.[3]
"In 1990, when Mr Mandela declined to meet Mrs Thatcher on a trip to London, Conservative MP Terry Dicks asked: "How much longer will the Prime Minister allow herself to be kicked in the face by this black terrorist?"" [4]
As an MP, Dicks left a legacy as a critic of high-profile HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns at the time of the emergence of the disease in the 1980s. Frequent controversial jokes furthering these opinions made him an easy target for Labour jibes when he retired in 1997. His Labour successor, John McDonnell described him as a 'stain', a 'malignant creature', and an espouser of racism, in his maiden speech.[5]
Dicks was born with cerebral palsy and referred to himself in the House of Commons as a "spastic".[6] From 1999 until he retired in June 2009 Dicks was a member of Surrey County Council representing the town of Addlestone. Since 2011, he has been a Runnymede District Councillor for Chertsey South and Row Town.[7][8]
References
- ↑ ‘DICKS, Terence Patrick, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014
- ↑ Iain Dale "The Right Hon wag", The Guardian, 10 January 2006.
- ↑ Leader, The Observer, 18 March 1990.
- ↑ Anthony Bevins Political Editor and Michael Streeter (9 July 1996). "Nelson Mandela: From 'terrorist' to tea with the Queen". The Independent. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (6 June 1997). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 June 1997 (pt 12)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ↑ "House of Commons Hansard", Column 544, 11 May 1994.
- ↑ Staff. "Runnymede Portal> T Dicks". Runnymede Portal. Runnymede Borough Council. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
- ↑ Gibbon, Gary (6 December 2013). "What did Nelson Mandela really think of the UK?". Channel 4 News blogs: Gary Gibbon on Politics. Channel 4. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Terry Dicks
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Neville Sandelson |
Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington 1983–1997 |
Succeeded by John McDonnell |