Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron Skelmersdale
Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron Skelmersdale (2 April 1945 – 31 October 2018), was a British politician and Conservative member of the House of Lords.
The Lord Skelmersdale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 26 July 1989 – 28 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | The Lord Lyell |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Hanley |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security | |
| In office 25 July 1988 – 26 July 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Henley |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security | |
| In office 13 June 1987 – 25 July 1988 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Michael Portillo |
| Succeeded by | Edwina Currie |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment | |
| In office 10 September 1986 – 13 June 1987 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Angela Rumbold |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Chope |
| Lord-in-waiting Government Whip | |
| In office 9 January 1981 – 10 September 1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | The Lord Trefgarne |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Hesketh |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 8 July 1974 – 31 October 2018 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 6th Baron Skelmersdale |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Reay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 April 1945 |
| Died | 31 October 2018 (aged 73) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Eton College |
He was educated at Eton College.[1]
From 1972, Lord Skelmersdale and his wife Christine owned and operated Broadleigh Gardens,[2] a horticultural centre at Barr House, Bishops Hull, Taunton, Somerset.[3]
Lord Skelmersdale succeeded to the peerage in 1973 on the death of his father Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham, 6th Baron Skelmersdale.[1] He was made a House of Lords whip in Margaret Thatcher's government in 1981, holding that position until 1986. He then moved to the Department of Environment as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and then to the Department of Health and Social Security in 1987 before that department was split in 1988.
Lord Skelmersdale continued at the Department of Social Security until 1989 when he was assigned to the Northern Ireland Office, serving until the end of Thatcher's premiership in November 1990. He was not reappointed by John Major.[1]
With the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, Lord Skelmersdale, along with almost all other hereditary peers, lost his automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. He was however elected as one of the ninety-two elected hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords pending completion of House of Lords reform.
Lord Skelmersdale was, as of 2006, a Conservative Shadow Minister for the Department for Work and Pensions as a member of David Cameron's front bench team, however, he did not become a minister in the coalition Cameron ministry starting in 2010.[4]
He served as a Deputy Chairman of Committees from 1991[5] to 2003 (and Deputy Speaker from 1995), and again from 2010[6] to 2014.
Lord Skelmersdale was a bridge player and a member of the all-party parliamentary bridge group.
Lord Skelmersdale died on 31 October 2018 at the age of 73.[7]
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Trefgarne |
Lord-in-waiting 1981–1986 |
Succeeded by The Lord Hesketh |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham |
Baron Skelmersdale 1973–2018 Member of the House of Lords (1974–2018) |
Succeeded by Andrew Bootle-Wilbraham |