John Gummer

John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords.^[1][2] He was Conservative Party Chairman from 1983 to 1985 and held various government posts including Secretary of State for the Environment from 1993 to 1997.

The Right Honourable The Lord Deben PC
Official portrait, 2023
Chairman, Climate Change Committee
In office 2012–2023
Preceded by	Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell
Succeeded by	Piers Forster
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997
Leader	John Major
Preceded by	John Prescott (Environment)
Succeeded by	Norman Fowler
Secretary of State for the Environment
In office 27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Michael Howard
Succeeded by	John Prescott (Environment, Transport and the Regions)
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office 24 July 1989 – 27 May 1993
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	John MacGregor
Succeeded by	Gillian Shephard
Paymaster General
In office 11 September 1984 – 1 September 1985
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Cecil Parkinson
Succeeded by	Kenneth Clarke
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office 11 June 1983 – 2 September 1985
Leader	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Cecil Parkinson
Succeeded by	Norman Tebbit
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 June 2010 Life Peerage
Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal Eye (1979–1983)
In office 3 May 1979 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Harwood Harrison
Succeeded by	Thérèse Coffey
Member of Parliament for Lewisham West
In office 18 June 1970 – 8 February 1974
Preceded by	James Dickens
Succeeded by	Christopher Price
Personal details
Born	(1939-11-26) 26 November 1939 (age 83) Stockport, Cheshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Penelope Gardner
Alma mater	Selwyn College, Cambridge

Gummer stood down from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election and was appointed to the House of Lords as Lord Deben.^[3]

Lord Deben is Chairman of the UK's independent Committee on Climate Change. He also chairs the sustainability consultancy Sancroft International, recycler Valpak,^[4] and PIMFA (Personal Investment & Financial Advice Association). He is a director of The Catholic Herald and the Castle Trust – a mortgage and investment firm.^[5][6] He is a trustee of climate change charity Cool Earth,^[7] alongside the ocean conservation charity, Blue Marine Foundation.^[8]

Early life

Gummer was born in Stockport, Cheshire. He is the eldest son of a Church of England priest, Canon Selwyn Gummer,^[9] and his younger brother is Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington, a PR professional.

Gummer attended King's School, Rochester, before going to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he read History. Whilst there, as chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association and later President of the Cambridge Union Society, he was a member of what became known as the Cambridge Mafia – a group of future Conservative Cabinet ministers, including Leon Brittan, Michael Howard, Kenneth Clarke, Norman Lamont, and Norman Fowler.

Public life

Elections

First elected to Parliament at the 1970 general election, where he defeated sitting MP James Dickens in Lewisham West, Gummer had previously contested Greenwich in 1964 and 1966. He was unseated in February 1974 by Labour's Christopher Price who achieved a 3.4% swing compared with a 1.3% swing to Labour nationally, deciding not to stand for the seat in the second election that year.

In 1979, he returned to the House of Commons, securing Eye in Suffolk, following the retirement of veteran Tory MP Harwood Harrison. He held the constituency and its successor Suffolk Coastal until his retirement from the Commons in 2010.

In government

Gummer was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture in Edward Heath's government, before being appointed Conservative Party Vice-Chairman – a position he held until the government's fall in 1974. Following his return to the House in the 1979 election, he held various government posts and was Conservative Party Chairman from 1983 to 1985 – an office he held at the time of the Brighton hotel bombing during the 1984 Conservative Party conference. He joined the Cabinet in 1989 as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, moving to become Secretary of State for the Environment under John Major in 1993.^[10]

As Environment Secretary he introduced the Environment Act 1995 and the Landfill Tax, which was the first such environmental tax in the UK. The BBC Wildlife magazine described Gummer as the "Environment Secretary against which all others are judged",^[11] placing him as one of its top ten environmental heroes. In 1997, he was also awarded the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Medal,^[12] and was described by Friends of the Earth as "the best Environment Secretary we've ever had".^[13]

He had responsibility for food safety during the mad cow disease epidemic in 1989–90 which eventually claimed 178 British lives. At the height of the crisis in May 1990, he attempted to refute the growing evidence for BSE/Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease by offering his four-year-old daughter Cordelia a burger in front of press cameras, which she declined but he consumed during a Constituency event.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Gummer opposed the reduction of beds at the Aldeburgh Cottage Hospital in July 2005.^[18]

In opposition

Gummer managed to hold onto his seat in the 1997 Labour landslide victory, albeit with a much reduced majority of 3,254. He subsequently became a backbencher and chairman of the All-Party Group on Architecture and Planning. During this time he pursued environmental causes, introducing an Early Day Motion on global warming to Parliament along with Michael Meacher and Norman Baker.^[19] He was also instrumental in the passing of the Climate Change Act of 2008.

Because of his environmental credentials, in 2005 David Cameron asked Gummer to chair the Quality of Life Policy Group with Zac Goldsmith as his deputy.^[20]

In 2009, Gummer was involved in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, after claiming £36,000 for gardening over four years, as a parliamentary expense. Although the claims were encouraged and initially approved by the Parliamentary Fees Office, rules state claims should only be made on expenses essential to parliamentary duties. He repaid £11,538 for gardening and household bills and donated £11,500 to charity, saying that he was paying above the minimum required in order to demonstrate "corporate social responsibility" for the expenses system.^{[citation needed]} Subsequently, the Legg Report showed that 343 MPs had been asked to repay some money with Gummer paying the seventh highest figure.^[21][22]

House of Lords

It was announced that Gummer would be awarded a peerage in the 2010 Dissolution Honours List. On 21 June he was created a Life Peer as Baron Deben, of Winston in the County of Suffolk.^[23] He takes his title from the River Deben. He was introduced in the House of Lords the same day, supported by his brother, Lord Chadlington, and the composer Lord Lloyd-Webber.^[24]

As a pro-European moderate, Lord Deben supported Kenneth Clarke's leadership bids.^[25]

In September 2012, Lord Deben was confirmed as Chairman of the UK's independent Committee on Climate Change, succeeding Adair, Lord Turner. The committee advises the UK Government on setting and meeting carbon budgets and on preparing for the impacts of climate change. He is due to step down at the end of June 2023.^[26]

Personal life

Lord Deben has been married to Penelope Gardner since 1977, and lives at Winston Grange, a Grade II listed property in Suffolk.^[27][28] They have four children, including Ben Gummer, who was MP for Ipswich from 2010, until he lost his seat in 2017.

He converted to the Catholic Church in 1992, having previously been a practising Anglican and a member of the General Synod of the Church of England. He has supported the creation of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham for former Anglicans who have, like him, joined the Catholic Church, including serving as an Honorary Vice-President of the Friends of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.^[29][30] In July 2018 he was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) from the University of East Anglia.^[31]

Arms

Coat of arms of John Gummer

Crest A cock wings elevated and addorsed Or beaked and combed jelloped and legged Gules grasping in the dexter claws a lily of the valley Argent slipped and leaved Or. Escutcheon Gules a cross potent nowy quadrate Argent between four escallops fukes inwards Or. Motto Duc In Altum (Put Out Into The Deep)^[32]

See also

• River Deben

Bibliography

• 1966: When the Coloured People Come, by John Gummer, Oldbourne, ISBN 0-356-01199-2
• 1969: To Church with Enthusiasm, by John Gummer
• 1971: The Permissive Society: Fact or Fantasy?, by John Selwyn Gummer, Cassell, ISBN 0-304-93821-1
• 1974: The Christian Calendar, by Leonard W. Cowie and John Selwyn Gummer, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-76804-2
• 1987: Faith in Politics: Which Way Should Christians Vote?, by John Gummer, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, ISBN 0-281-04299-3
• 1990: Christianity and Conservatism, by John Gummer
• 1997: Green Buildings Pay, edited by B. W. Edwards, foreword by John Gummer, Spon Press, ISBN 0-419-22730-X
• 1998: From Earth Summit to Local Agenda 21: Working Towards Sustainable Development, edited by William Laffery, Katarina Eckerberg, William M. Laffery, foreword by John Gummer, Earthscan Publications, ISBN 1-85383-547-1
• 1998: Precision Agriculture: Practical Applications of New Technologies, by John Gummer and Peter Botschek, The International Fertiliser Society, ISBN 0-85310-062-4
• Weekly columnist in Estates Gazette magazine^[33]

References

1. Castle, Stephen (27 August 1995). . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. JOHN SELWYN GUMMER was born into a church family in Stockport in 1939. His father, Canon Selwyn Gummer (the sons were given his Christian name), was a vicar there, later becoming Canon of Rochester Cathedral. They remain close: Canon Gummer lives with the Gummers and invariably appears in the Commons to hear environment questions. A younger brother, Peter, is now chairman of Shandwick, one of the world's largest public relations firms and a paid-up member of the Tory great and good.
2. "Mr John Gummer (Hansard)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
3. "Contact information for Lord Deben – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk.
4. . Valpak. 16 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014. Since then we have expanded our services to cover wider areas of sustainability including waste management and recycling, carbon management, energy management and international compliance. … Board Member Position The Rt Hon John Gummer Lord Deben
5. "Castle Trust: Discover more". castletrust.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
6. . Castle Trust. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2014. Non-Executive Directors … The Rt Hon. John Gummer, Lord Deben
7. "Homepage – Current". Cool Earth.
8. "Blue Marine Foundation – Creating partnerships for a healthy ocean". Blue Marine Foundation.
9. Chalfont, Alun. "Canon Selwyn Gummer". The Guardian. 20 April 1999.
10. "John Gummer". The Guardian. 14 February 2014.
11. "BBC Wildlife Magazine". bbcwildlifemagazine.newsprints.co.uk.
12. "RSPB Medal Winners". rspb.org.uk. 25 October 2012.
13. "John Gummer picked as favourite to head climate change committee". The Guardian. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
14. "1990: Gummer enlists daughter in BSE fight". 16 May 1990. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
15. "John Gummer: Beef eater". BBC News Online. 11 October 2000.
16. "Waving goodbye to Parliament". BBC News Online. 7 May 2010.
17. Video on YouTube
18. "The Threat to Aldeburgh Hospital: an Update from John Gummer". http://www.ixxi.co.uk/lof/gummer.pdf
19. . Edmi.parliament.uk. 24 May 2005. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
20. . www.qualityoflifechallenge.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2007.
21. "Review of past ACA payments" (PDF). House of Commons Members Estimate Committee. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
22. "Full list of MPs' expenses repayments ..in order of amount repayable". BBC News. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
23. "No. 59468". The London Gazette. 24 June 2010. p. 11914.
24. "Lords Hansard text for 21 Jun 201021 Jun 2010 (pt 0001)". publications.parliament.uk.
25. Prince, Rosa (30 December 2009). "John Gummer: mole charge MP to quit Parliament". The Daily Telegraph. London.
26. Secretariat, C. C. C. (28 July 2022). "Lord Deben to continue in post until mid-2023, Professor Nick Chater steps down". Climate Change Committee. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
27. "Hansard, 17 December 1992". Retrieved 26 October 2021.
28. Historic England. "WINSTON GRANGE, Winston (1352154)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
29. "About". Friends of the Ordinariate. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
30. "Minister to the Ministers". The Tablet. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
31. "Honorary degrees to be given to three former cabinet ministers". ITV News. 16 July 2018.
32. Debrett's Peerage. 2019. p. 2288.
33. "John Gummer MP, Suffolk Coastal". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 29 April 2010.

External links

• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: John Gummer MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com – John Gummer MP
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Gummer
• BBC article on the burger / BSE story
• Lord Deben: Why The Roots Of True Conservatism Are Essential To Saving The Planet on YouTube
• Video of BSE story from 1990 on YouTube
• Castle Trust

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James Dickens	Member of Parliament for Lewisham West 1970 – February 1974	Succeeded by Christopher Price
Preceded by Harwood Harrison	Member of Parliament for Eye 1979–1983	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal 1983–2010	Succeeded by Thérèse Coffey
Political offices
Preceded by Cecil Parkinson	Chairman of the Conservative Party 1983–1985	Succeeded by Norman Tebbit
	Paymaster General 1984–1985	Succeeded by Kenneth Clarke
Preceded by John MacGregor	Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1989–1993	Succeeded by Gillian Shephard
Preceded by Michael Howard	Secretary of State for the Environment 1993–1997	Succeeded by John Prescott as Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by The Lord Liddle	Gentlemen Baron Deben	Followed by The Lord Kennedy of Southwark