Derek Spencer

Sir Derek Spencer
KC
Sir Derek Spencer KC
Solicitor General for England and Wales
	In office; 15 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Nicholas Lyell
Succeeded by	Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Member of Parliament ; for Brighton Pavilion
	In office; 9 April 1992 – 8 April 1997
Preceded by	Julian Amery
Succeeded by	David Lepper
Member of Parliament ; for Leicester South
	In office; 9 June 1983 – 18 May 1987
Preceded by	Jim Marshall
Succeeded by	Jim Marshall
Personal details
Born	31 March 1936; United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford

Sir Derek Harold Spencer, KC (born 31 March 1936)[1][2] is a British Conservative Party politician.

Education and career

Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, he was educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School and Keble College, Oxford. He served as a lieutenant in the King's Own Regiment from 1954 to 1956.[3] He became a barrister in 1961 and 'took silk' as a QC in 1980.[4]

He is a Master of the Bench, Gray's Inn.

Political career

Spencer was elected councillor for the Highgate ward on Camden London Borough council in 1978 and was re-elected in 1982, this time for the Swiss Cottage ward.[5] Spencer resigned from Camden council after he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Leicester South constituency in the Conservative landslide of 1983,[1] by just 7 votes — the smallest margin in the country. He lost the seat back to Labour in 1987.

He was elected for the marginal Brighton Pavilion seat in 1992,[2] when he was knighted and appointed Solicitor-General.

As Solicitor General, he represented the government in several significant cases including Wingrove v UK (1997) about the application of blasphemy law under the Human Rights Act 1998.

In 1997,[2] however, he was defeated by Labour's David Lepper by 13,181 votes on a 13.5% swing.

Memberships

Ex officio Bar Council, 1992–1997
Criminal Bar Association
Northern Ireland Bar
South Eastern Circuit

Family

Spencer has three sons (David, Andrew and Frederick) and one daughter (Caroline). His second wife, Caroline, died on 10 January 2003 of a heart attack.

References

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 1)
Who's Who 1987 page 1648
"18 Red Lion Court - Biography". Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
"Spencer, Sir Derek (Harold), (born 31 March 1936), QC (NI) 1992; a Recorder, 1979–92 and 1998–2001". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U35795. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 10 August 2022.

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Derek Spencer

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[rayment-l2-1] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)

[rayment-p1-2] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 1)

[3] Who's Who 1987 page 1648

[18r-4] "18 Red Lion Court - Biography". Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2009.

[5] "Spencer, Sir Derek (Harold), (born 31 March 1936), QC (NI) 1992; a Recorder, 1979–92 and 1998–2001". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U35795. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 10 August 2022.