Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking
Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking, CH, PC (born 3 November 1934)[1] is a British politician, Conservative Member of Parliament from 1968 to 1997, and a cabinet minister, including holding the offices of Home Secretary, Education Secretary and Conservative Party Chairman. He is a life member of the Tory Reform Group.
The Lord Baker of Dorking
3 November 1934
Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales
Oswin · Sophia · Amy
Iford, East Sussex, England
Baker stood down from the House of Commons at the 1997 election and was created a life peer as Baron Baker of Dorking, joining the House of Lords.
Early life[edit]
The son of a civil servant, Baker was born in Newport, Monmouthshire. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School between 1946 and 1948, a boys' voluntary aided school in West London (now Hampton School, an independent school). He then went on to study at St Paul's School, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1958 with a BA Degree in History. Whilst at Oxford, Baker served as Secretary of The Oxford Union. Four years later he graduated with a MSc degree in International Law and Regulations. He did National Service in the Royal Artillery, reaching the rank of lieutenant, and worked for Royal Dutch Shell before being elected as a Member of Parliament at a by-election in March 1968.[2]
Personal life[edit]
Until 1995 Baker lived in Station Road in the village of Betchworth, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Dorking. He now lives in the hamlet of Iford near Lewes, East Sussex.
In 2005 he published a book on King George IV, George IV: A Life in Caricature, followed by King George III: A Life in Caricature in 2007 (Thames & Hudson). Other publications include several compilations of poetry,[18][19][20][21] a history of political cartoons and his autobiography.
In 2006 Lord Baker announced that he was introducing a bill into the House of Lords to address the West Lothian question.[22] This would prevent Scottish and Welsh MPs from voting on legislation which affects England alone as a result of devolution to the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly.
Baker's son, Oswin, is a leading member of the Greenwich and Woolwich Labour Party.[23]
According to his entry in Who's Who, Baker enjoys collecting books and political caricatures.[1]
In the media[edit]
Baker was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory!. Baker was portrayed as a slug in the political satire television show Spitting Image.
Baker was invited on the 31 January 2023 by BBC Newsnight[24] to comment on the forthcoming, Teachers Strike and on PM Rishi Sunak's management of his Cabinet appointments. Presenter Victoria Derbyshire, at one point was forced to remove Baker's incessantly ringing mobile phone, which continually interrupted the latter part of the live studio interview, during which he quipped that the PM was insistent in attempting to reach him.
Honours[edit]
In 1994 Lord Baker was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Richmond, The American International University in London.[25]
In 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Education from Plymouth University.[26]
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Education from Brunel University in 2016.[27]