Gerald Nabarro
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Sir Gerald David Nunes Nabarro (June 29, 1913 – November 18, 1973) was a wealthy and florid British Conservative politician of the 1950s and 60s with a high public profile and a reputation for maverick political stances.
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[edit] Early life
Nabarro was born in Willesden Green, the son of an unsuccessful shopkeeper who was a member of a prominent Sephardi family[1]. (Nabarro later converted to Christianity.[2]) He was educated at schools run by the London County Council, belying his later image as an aristocrat. On leaving school in 1930 at the age of 16 he enlisted in the army, in which he served for seven years, rising to the rank of Sergeant. In 1937 he left the army to work as a machine-hand, and was swiftly promoted to be factory manager.
Using his experience he set up a saw milling company which made him a good living, and allowed him to go into company management in the engineering and road transport fields. Nabarro was also a member of the Royal Artillery Territorials and of the Royal Ordnance.
[edit] Entry to Parliament
At the 1950 general election, Nabarro was elected as Member of Parliament for Kidderminster, Worcestershire which he held until 1964. He characterised himself as an old-style Tory: he opposed entry to what is now the European Union, was a proponent of capital punishment, and supported Enoch Powell in the wake of the latter's controversial Rivers of Blood Speech. On April 5, 1963, while appearing on Any Questions?, he said "How would you feel if your daughter wanted to marry a big buck nigger with the prospect of coffee-coloured grandchildren?", remarks which were cut from a repeat of the programme the following week. He was also instantly identifiable due to his much-lampooned handlebar moustache.
[edit] Political activities
Among his major political achievements was a private member's bill on pollution and smog control, later becoming the 1956 Clean Air Act. He also pushed to bring electricity to remote villages and hamlets that in the early 1950s would otherwise have gone without, and he was knighted in 1963. However, prolonged ill health led him to stand down from Parliament at the 1964 general election.
By the time of the next general election in 1966, Nabarro had recovered from the immediate illness and was selected as Conservative candidate for the safer constituency of South Worcestershire, which he duly won and represented until his death.
[edit] Controversial trial
In 1971 Nabarro was the subject of what was then a sensational trial in the wake of an incident when he and his company secretary, Margaret Mason, drove the wrong way around a roundabout. Nabarro insisted that his secretary had been driving at the time, however, and although subsequently acquitted of the driving charge, popular opinion was that he had indeed been driving. He suffered two strokes in the course of the re-trial and his political career was ended by the scandal. He died aged 60 a few months after his acquittal.
An earlier secretary of Nabarro was Christine Holman, later wife of another scandal-ridden Conservative MP, Neil Hamilton. Nabarro's distinctive appearance led to his picture being frequently used by the Monty Python team.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Louis Tolley |
Member of Parliament for Kidderminster 1950–1964 |
Succeeded by: Tatton Brinton |
| Preceded by: Peter Agnew |
Member of Parliament for South Worcestershire 1966––1973 |
Succeeded by: Michael Spicer |
