Peter Rost (politician)

Peter Lewis Rost (born Otto Ludwig Peter Rosenstiel in Berlin,^[1] 19 September 1930) is a retired British Conservative politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1992, and was a member of the Energy Select Committee. He was one of the founders of the Anglo German Parliamentary Group, which promoted good relations with the German Parliament. He instigated the annual conferences with German Parliamentarians, the first conference being held at his Hertfordshire home.

Life

Rost's parents, Friedrich Rosenstiel and Elisabeth Merz, were a mixed marriage German Jew and Lutheran living in Berlin during the Nazi era. Their marriage was annulled and they escaped to the United Kingdom in 1937 before the international border was closed to Jews.^[1] Fred Rosenstiel was the economics editor of the Frankfurter Zeitung in Berlin. He later left for New York City, but the family was unable to follow him.

Rost was educated at various schools finishing in the VIth form at Aylesbury Grammar School and at Birmingham University where he read Geography. Before entering Parliament, he was a stockbroker, lecturer and financial journalist.

Rost unsuccessfully contested the safe Labour constituency of Sunderland North at the 1966 general election, and at the 1970 general election he was elected as MP for the previously Labour-held seat of South East Derbyshire. He held that seat until the constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, when he was returned to the House of Commons for the new Erewash. He retired from Parliament at the 1992 election.

Rost has been a member of the Conservative Monday Club and the Bow Group where he chaired the energy group.

Autobiography

Peter Rost's autobiography "Weimar to Westminster" was published in November 2010 by Dynasty Press, London, ISBN 978-0-9553507-5-7.

In popular culture

Rost was portrayed by Julian Firth in the 2004 BBC production of The Alan Clark Diaries.

Energy Interests

Peter Rost's main interest in Parliament was in "Energy". He was the longest-serving Member of the Energy Select Committee, where he was way ahead of his time in his promotion of renewable energy. He was an active member of the Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) of which he became Vice-President. He constantly bemoaned the loss of heat up the cooling towers of the UK power stations and actively promoted district heating schemes. In the 1970s he warned of the wasteful use of Gas for power production, wasting the precious North Sea assets.

References

• Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1987

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Peter Rost