Sydney Chapman (politician)

Sir Sydney Chapman
Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet
In office 5 May 1979 – 11 April 2005
Preceded by	Reginald Maudling
Succeeded by	Theresa Villiers
Member of Parliament for Birmingham Handsworth
In office 18 June 1970 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by	Edward Boyle
Succeeded by	John Lee
Personal details
Born	Sydney Brookes Chapman 17 October 1935 Macclesfield, United Kingdom
Died	9 October 2014 (aged 78) Lower Heyford, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Claire McNab (m.1976-87) Teresa Munoz (m. 2005-14)
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Manchester
Profession	Architect
Religion	Church of England

Sir Sydney Brookes Chapman (17 October 1935 – 9 October 2014) was a British politician and architect. He was Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Handsworth and Chipping Barnet.^[1]

Life

Chapman was educated at Rugby School and Manchester University, where he studied architecture, gaining his Diploma in 1958 and ARIBA in 1960. He was Chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1964 to 1966.^[2]

He married his first wife, Claire in 1976, (she was also his secretary when he was an MP) and they had three children.^[3] In 2005, he married his second wife, Teresa at Chelsea Town Hall.

After his retirement from politics, he moved from Barnet to Oxfordshire. He was a vice-chairman of the Council of Christians and Jews^[4] and on the Council of the Royal Institute of British Architects for 2009-2012.^[5]

Sir Sydney died on 9 October 2014 in Oxfordshire.^[6] A Service of Thanksgiving was organised by his widow Lady Teresa Chapman on 10 June 2015 at St Margaret's Church, Westminster. Attended by some 400 people including family, former colleagues, friends and constituents, the eulogies were read by Lord Ryder, Philip Porter and Sydney's sister, Cllr Christine Bateson.

Political career

Chapman first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, at Stalybridge and Hyde at the 1964 election, but was defeated by the incumbent Labour MP Fred Blackburn.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1970 as MP for Birmingham Handsworth, but lost his seat when Labour returned to power at the February 1974 general election. During this period he was notable for Plant A Tree In '73, an initiative which led to the formation of The Tree Council.^[7][8] Five years later, at the 1979 election, he was returned as MP for Chipping Barnet. He was briefly a whip during John Major's administration. He was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1997 to 2005.^[9]

Local Achievements

In the late 1980s, following the death of a horse rider crossing the A1 trunk road in Arkley, Sir Sydney championed the campaign to have a bridge put in for walkers, riders and cyclists' use. This campaign was successful, and the bridge opened in 1991. In recognition of his work, he was presented with an award by the British Horse Society's President at the bridge's official opening ceremony. ^[10]

Notes

1. "Sir Sydney Chapman - obituary". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
2. Burke's Peerage, accessed 1 August 2009
3. Who's Who in Barnet
4. Council of Christians and Jews website accessed 10 April 2012
5. Builder and Engineer online RIBA Council Election Results 2009
6. Barnet Today 10 Oct 2014 Former Chipping Barnet MP Sir Sydney Chapman dies
7. Daily Telegraph 6 April 2005
8. Hansard 6 June 2005
9. Council of Europe Sir Sydney Chapman
10. Barnet and Whetstone Independent, 9 January 1992

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

Further reading

• Sydney Chapman (2010) Back to the Drawing Board - Memoirs of a Back Bencher (Absolute) ISBN 0955213991 Autobiography

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Sydney Chapman
• Sir Sydney Chapman Photograph, 2006