David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral

The Right Honourable The Lord Hunt of Wirral PC MBE
Secretary of State for Wales
In office 26 June 1995 – 5 July 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	John Redwood
Succeeded by	William Hague
In office 4 May 1990 – 27 May 1993
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Peter Walker
Succeeded by	John Redwood
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 20 July 1994 – 26 June 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	William Waldegrave
Succeeded by	Roger Freeman
Secretary of State for Employment
In office 27 May 1993 – 20 July 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Gillian Shephard
Succeeded by	Michael Portillo
Member of Parliament for Wirral West
In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Stephen Hesford
Member of Parliament for Wirral
In office 11 March 1976 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Selwyn Lloyd
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Personal details
Born	21 May 1942
Political party	Conservative

David James Fletcher Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, PC, MBE (born 21 May 1942), is a British Conservative politician, and was a member of the Cabinet during the Margaret Thatcher and John Major administrations, while also being appointed to serve on the Privy Council in 1980.

Education

Hunt was educated at Liverpool College, an independent school for boys (now co-educational), in Liverpool, at the time in Lancashire (and now in Merseyside), followed by the University of Bristol, where he studied Law. In 1965, representing the university, he won The Observer Mace debating competition, speaking with Bob Marshall Andrews.^[1] In 1995, the competition was renamed the John Smith Memorial Mace and is now run by the English-Speaking Union.

Life and career

Born in Glyn Ceiriog in 1942, the son of former Royal Naval Reserves Officer Alan N Hunt OBE and Jessie E E Northrop, David Hunt was the middle child of three, with two sisters. Growing up, David was an active member of the Young Conservatives where he was inspired into running for political office for the Conservative Party.

After unsuccessfully contesting Bristol South in 1970 and Kingswood in 1974, Hunt became Member of Parliament for Wirral after winning a by-election in 1976. The seat was broken up and Hunt became Member of Parliament for the new Wirral West constituency in 1983.

In government he served as a whip and junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, who made him Secretary of State for Wales in 1990, shortly before her resignation later that year. He remained at the Welsh Office until 1993, then served as Secretary of State for Employment from 1993 to 1994 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1994 to 1995. In the Cabinet reshuffle of 1995, it was rumoured that Hunt was offered the position of Health Secretary which was turned down, that position then going to Stephen Dorrell. He briefly returned to the Welsh Office, whilst remaining Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, for two weeks during the leadership election in mid-1995 as acting Secretary of State for Wales after the incumbent, John Redwood stepped down in order to be a candidate.

He lost his seat in the Labour landslide at the 1997 general election.

He was made a life peer as Baron Hunt of Wirral of Wirral in the county of Merseyside, in 1997.^[2] Lord Hunt was senior partner at the national law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs (now DAC Beachcroft LLP) between 1996 and 2005. He is now chairman of the firm's financial services division and is regarded as a major figure in the world of insurance and financial services. On certain Bills he used to occasionally step back up to the opposition front bench in the House of Lords, on an ad hoc basis. On 7 October 2008, David Cameron formally appointed him to the front bench to shadow Peter Mandelson in the House of Lords on Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform matters.

Hunt was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Bristol on 21 February 2008. He is vice-president of the Holocaust Educational Trust.^[3] He became chairman of the Press Complaints Commission on 17 October 2011.^[4] In December 2011 he recommended closing the PCC and replacing it with an alternative independent press regulator.^[5]

Notes

2. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 54850. p. 1. 1 August 1997. The London Gazette: no. 54928. p. 1. 23 October 1997.
3. "About the Holocaust Educational Trust". n.d. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
4. Dan Sabbagh (13 October 2011). "Lord Hunt of Wirral named chairman of Press Complaints Commission (PCC)". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
5. David Hencke (14 December 2011). "Hunt plans to replace PCC with new Press regulator". Exaro news. Retrieved 30 January 2012.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by David Hunt
• Profile at the Conservative Party website
• Profile at Beachcroft LLP