Summary
Sir George Malcolm Thornton FRSA (born 3 April 1939) is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Garston from 1979 to 1983, and for Crosby from 1983 to 1997.
Sir Malcolm Thornton | |
|---|---|
| 4th Pro-Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University | |
| Assumed office 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Cdre. Rod Walker DL |
| Member of Parliament for Crosby | |
| In office 9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Shirley Williams |
| Succeeded by | Claire Curtis-Thomas |
| Member of Parliament for Liverpool Garston | |
| In office 3 May 1979 – 13 May 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Eddie Loyden |
| Succeeded by | Eddie Loyden |
| Wirral Metropolitan Borough Councillor for North Liscard-Upper Brighton Street | |
| In office 12 April 1973 – 3 May 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Council Created |
| Succeeded by | B. Nottage |
| Leader of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council | |
| In office 1974–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Whitehurst |
| Succeeded by | Harry Deverill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 April 1939 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Rosemary, Lady Thornton |
Education edit
He was educated at Wallasey Grammar School and later attended Liverpool Nautical College.[1]
Political career edit
Thornton was first elected to Parliament in the 1979 general election, winning the marginal seat of Liverpool Garston from Labour's Eddie Loyden. In the early 1980s, however, all seats were re-organised with the new boundaries set to come in at the next election. Liverpool Garston would lean strongly towards Labour, so Thornton sought a safer seat in Crosby, just outside Liverpool. However, following the death of Sir Graham Page in 1981, Shirley Williams, a former Labour Cabinet minister who had founded the centrist SDP a few months earlier, won the seat. That by-election had been held in the depths of Margaret Thatcher's unpopularity; however, after that the economy returned to growth and Britain won the Falklands War, so Thatcher called an election in 1983 which was a Tory landslide. Thornton regained the seat, while Eddie Loyden won a redrawn Garston for Labour. However, by 1997, the Conservatives were again deeply unpopular and Thornton lost, by a surprisingly wide margin to Labour's Claire Curtis-Tansley.
In 2007, Sir Malcolm Thornton became the 4th and current Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Governors for Liverpool John Moores University.[2]
References edit
- Times Guide to the House of Commons 1997
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
External links edit
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Malcolm Thornton