Former Tory minister Cecil Parkinson dies aged 84

Last Updated: January 25, 2016By

Margaret Thatcher and Cecil Parkinson at Downing Street in 1983 [Image: Herbie Knott/Rex Features].

This Writer was still a child when the Sara Keays affair broke. It was my first experience of political sleaze.

Even as a pre-teen, I noticed Thatcher’s indifference about the way her lieutenant had behaved. It seemed she was happy for her ministers to make free with the staff, and completely unconcerned about the consequences.

I found that immoral at the time, and still do today.

More immoral still was the way Parkinson treated the child that was born as a consequence of his affair. Flora Keays, who was born with learning difficulties and Asperger’s Syndrome, and had to have a brain tumour operation aged four, has – to the best of my knowledge, never met her father. While he helped financially, with her education and upkeep, he never had anything else to do with her – a fact that was clearly upsetting for his daughter.

It is an appalling way to behave. In consequence, This Writer has nothing good to say about Parkinson on the occasion of his death.

Cecil Parkinson, the former Conservative cabinet minister and ally of Margaret Thatcher, has died of cancer, aged 84.

Lord Parkinson was first elected to parliament as MP for Enfield West in 1970 and would go on to be regarded as one of the Thatcher’s closest confidants and one of her few real friends in the top ranks of politics.

His career, however, was overshadowed by his resignation as trade secretary in 1983 after revelations that his former secretary Sara Keays was pregnant with his child.

The affair put an end to Thatcher’s plan to promote Parkinson to foreign secretary – and to effectively anoint him as her successor – in the immediate aftermath of her 1983 election landslide, according to her personal papers.

Source: Former Tory minister Cecil Parkinson dies aged 84 | Politics | The Guardian

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No Comments

  1. mrmarcpc January 25, 2016 at 4:50 pm - Reply

    Was a pompous, worthless, arrogant, useless, ignorant, self-serving, greedy, grasping, lying, cheating #$%$ is all Parkinson was, nothing honourable, noble or decent about him, just another typical tory turd of Thatcher’s mob who feathered his own nest, cheated on his wife and abandoned his illegitimate daughter, no one should mourn this man, his own colleagues won’t, as my late Uncle use to say about politicians dying, He’ll not be missed and he won’t be, good riddance!

  2. Carole January 25, 2016 at 5:32 pm - Reply

    Parkinson’s death reminds me of when I was a divorced Mom [1984 – 1993]: and at this time the Tory govt started a hate campaign against unmarried/single parents (much like the attack on the disabled today).

    The hate campaign soon subsided when Cecil Parkinson and Tim Yeo knocked up their mistresses, which left egg on Thatchers face.

    Yeo famously said: “It is in everyone’s interests to reduce broken families and the number of single parents. I have seen from my own constituency the consequences of marital breakdown.”

    I remember a reporter interviewing Tim Yeo & commenting on their hypocrisy and he spat: “My [love] child won’t ever be on welfare!”

    • mohandeer January 25, 2016 at 6:36 pm - Reply

      So in his mind it was alright for him to dip his wick in the wrong place because he was monied?
      That just about says it all on the hypocrisy front.

  3. David January 25, 2016 at 7:01 pm - Reply

    Having promised to marry his secretary after impregnating her, “Shagger” Parkinson renaged on this – but he was still referred to as The Right Honourable Cecil Parkinson.
    Parkinson? Honourable? Shurely shome mikshtake? He was a useless C**T anyway.

  4. Nick January 25, 2016 at 7:02 pm - Reply

    i got to know of Cecil in 1979 and in my mind he was just like David Cameron just a talker of rubbish with a softish voice

    as for a man of integrity forget it

  5. NMac January 27, 2016 at 9:33 am - Reply

    A nasty piece of work, who wouldn’t even acknowledge his own illegitimate daughter. Just another corrupt Tory hypocrite.

  6. David January 27, 2016 at 12:45 pm - Reply

    Interesting how the tories can forgive themselves for ruining other people’s lives, but if you’re dependent on benefits, it’s OK to pull the rug from under them and it’s OK to put people out of work. They have crap printed all the way through them like a stick of Blackpool rock. Oh, and lying and misleading is OK, too.

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