CORMACK, Rt Hon Baron (Patrick Thomas CORMACK) 1939 - 2024
Henry W
Richard R
Obit in the Times of 25 Feb 2024:
There’s no exact date of death.
Lord Cormack obituary: veteran Conservative MP and peer
Historian of parliament who was known affectionately in Westminster as “the Bishop”
…Bespectacled, rotund, wearing a pocket watch with a dangling chain, Cormack could resemble a character out of one of Trollope’s novels. A recognisable character in the Commons he spoke deliberately and at times pompously. In manner and speech he was more of an establishment figure than many of his higher-born Tory colleagues.
He cherished parliament (pronounced “parleeament”) and its traditions, wrote a history of it as well as of British castles and English cathedrals. He loved the dignified more than the efficient institutions of British history. Denied ministerial office, he gradually became a “senior” backbencher, serving on the education committee and chairing the select committee on Northern Ireland (2005-2010). An abiding ambition to be elected Speaker of the House of Commons was not fulfilled.
Patrick Cormack was born in 1939 in Grimsby, where his father was a local government officer and a master mariner. He was educated at St James’ Choir School (he later taught there) and graduated in history at Hull University (in later years he was a visiting lecturer at the university). While seeking a seat he taught history at Wrekin College and Brewood Grammar School.
…in the 18 years of Conservative government between 1979 and 1997 nothing came his way, although he was knighted in 1995. He was, according to the Thatcherites, “wet” and certainly “not one of us”. He opposed the rise in unemployment, which he attributed to Thatcher’s monetarist economic policies. His only frontbench position came in 1997 when the Conservative leader, William Hague, made him Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. He resigned from the post to run for the Speakership in 2000. He was unsuccessful…
Cormack was sceptical of constitutional changes, particularly of his beloved parliament and he opposed any direct election of the House of Lords, both as an MP and peer, regarding such a proposal as “playing ducks and drakes with the constitution”. In one House of Commons speech he remarked “there are many old-fashioned Tories, of who I am proud to be one” and likened change to “the replacement of an old regiment by Group 4 at Buckingham Palace”. Yet he supported proposals to modernise the House of Lords to make it more effective, wanting a smaller body, appointments lasting for ten years to be made on a statutory basis and no election of hereditary peers.
Cormack was also a prolific author, writing books on parliament and historical subjects. He was a member of the Historic Buildings Commission, the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and the Society of Antiquaries, edited The House magazine and chaired the House of Commons work of arts committee, a body responsible for all works of art in the House of Commons. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, whom he married in 1967 and who worked as his secretary, and two sons. One of them, Charles, a hotel manager, contested West Renfrewshire in 1997 as a Conservative…
…[he] stood, again unsuccessfully, for election as Speaker of the House of Commons. He finished ninth out of ten candidates. He stepped down in 2010, having served 40 years as an MP. He was created a life peer in the same year.
Cormack did not help his hopes of being elected as Lord Speaker by speaking so often; on occasion when he rose, some peers would emit a collective groan. He campaigned about bats in belfries and regularly complained about poor railway links to Lincoln, to where he had retired, not least because he wanted more people to appreciate the beauty of its cathedral. Friends jokingly called him “the Bishop”. In 2019 when the Bishop of Lincoln, the good-humoured Reverend Robert Hardy visited the Lords he introduced himself, saying “I am the other Bishop of Lincoln.”
Lord Cormack, Conservative politician, was born in Grimsby on 18 May, 1939. He died in February 2024, aged 84
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lord-cormack-obituary-death-8prxfrl0d
Richard R
David Beamish
Henry W
My Lords, I regret to inform the House of the death of the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, on 24 February. On behalf of the House, I extend our condolences to the noble Lord’s family and friends.
Henry W
Richard R
CORMACK Lord Cormack (Patrick Thomas) died suddenly on 25th February 2024, aged 84. Husband to Lady Cormack (Mary) and father to Charles and Richard. Grandfather to Katie, Emily, Tabitha and Edward. Conservative member of parliament for Cannock (1970-74) and South Staffordshire (1974-2010); member of the House of Lords since 2010. Member of the General Synod of the Church of England (1995-2005) and deputy high steward of Lincoln Cathedral. Committed Christian; dedicated parliamentarian; devoted family man.
Richard R
Netty Leistra
Much loved husband to Lady Cormack (Mary) and father to Charles and Richard.
Born in Grimsby; Member of Parliament for Cannock (1970-1974) and South Staffordshire (1974-2010) and a Life Peer in the House of Lords from 2010. Member of the General Synod of the Church of England (1995-2005) and Deputy High Steward of Lincoln Cathedral. Committed Christian; Dedicated Parliamentarian and Devoted Family Man.
Richard R
LORD CORMACK
Patrick, Lord Cormack, at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, on 18th
November 2024 at noon...