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46-609: It was created in 1973 by a group of young libertarian Conservatives, with David Alexander as first chairman and Nicholas Ridley as first president, in order to promote free-market economic policies. This followed a conference held in January 1970 by Edward Heath and his shadow cabinet at the Selsdon Park Hotel in Selsdon , with the purpose of generating fresh policy ideas. The Selsdon Group took its name from this event. The result of

92-701: A Duke de Laurito (d.1907). His Cohen great-aunts, who were also his cousins, had married Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore . A great-uncle Samuel Helbert Israel Ellis was a surgeon at the London Hospital c.1802 and treasurer of the Great Synagogue , Duke's Place, London. Samuel's son was Sir Barrow Helbert Ellis , K.C.S.I. , HEICS (1823–1887). Meanwhile, Helbert's brother Charles Helbert Helbert (d.1903) married Evelyn Mary Kennedy, granddaughter of Earl of Cassillis and Viscount Dungarvan and great-granddaughter of Earl of Howth . (source: Records of

138-540: A Hitler moustache to a poster of the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl . While Ridley was not one of the most powerful government members, he was regarded as a Thatcherite loyalist and his departure was a significant break in their ranks. Margaret Thatcher herself resigned a few months later. Some commentators point to Ridley's resignation, its manner, and the European issue at its core, as leading indicators for

184-574: A cigarette. He died of lung cancer on 4 March 1993. West Downs School 51°03′22″N 1°20′35″W  /  51.056°N 1.343°W  / 51.056; -1.343 West Downs School , Romsey Road, Winchester , Hampshire, was an English independent preparatory school , which was established in 1897 and closed in 1988. The school was founded by Lionel Helbert (1870–1919), with help from his sister Adeline Rose, wife to Vice Admiral Sir James Goodrich , KCVO (1851–1925). Helbert an exhibitioner of both Winchester and Oriel College, Oxford ,

230-524: A good site on the south-western edge of the cathedral city of Winchester, nearly opposite (the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, architect William Butterfield) west of a Victorian county gaol, HMP Winchester ( category B ), and next to Edwin Hillier 's nursery, established there in 1874. Eight years into his headmastership, Helbert added a hall, a chapel and Masters' Lodge, the latter separate,

276-582: A key function in building up coal stocks in advance of the 1984–85 miners' strike , which helped the government to defeat the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). As Secretary of State for the Environment, Ridley opposed a low-cost housing development near his own property, earning him the title of " NIMBY " ("Not in My Back Yard"). He was also responsible for introducing the "poll tax" (formally known as

322-735: A low cost housing development near a village where he owned a property. More importantly, he was the Cabinet Minister responsible for the introduction of the 'Poll tax' (formally known as the Community Charge), a policy that brought a standing ovation at the Conservative Party conference at which it was announced, and riots across the country when it was implemented. Ridley had reduced the implementation timetable from 5 to 2 years, which made it much easier for opponents to identify 'losers' and gain support for protest. On 14 July 1990, he

368-507: A major part in making preparations for a potential loss of coal supplies, which proved an important factor in deciding the outcome of the miners' strike . Ridley had long been acutely aware of the threat the trade unions could pose to the execution of Conservative policies and, in the wake of the Heath government's union difficulties, had authored the Ridley Plan , which set out means of dealing with

414-495: A national service commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of The Loyal Regiment in 1947 and was later a Territorial Army captain in the Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry. He later became a civil engineer and company director. At the 1955 general election , Ridley unsuccessfully contested the safe Labour seat of Blyth . He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Cirencester and Tewkesbury at

460-400: A particular policy "with the bow doors open". The ship had capsized, with loss of 193 lives, as a result of sailing with its bow doors open. As Secretary of State for the Environment from 1986 to 1989, he is credited with popularising the phrase NIMBY or Not in My Back Yard to describe those who instinctively opposed any local building development. It was soon revealed that Ridley opposed

506-504: A sufficiently powerful military presence on the Islands to deter an invasion. Ridley held a secret, informal meeting with his Argentine opposite number Carlos Cavandoli in September 1980, and the two sides broadly agreed to a "leaseback" arrangement whereby nominal sovereignty would be given to Argentina but British administration would be maintained for a fixed number of years, likely 99, until

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552-500: A third in mathematical moderations in 1947 and a second-class degree in engineering science in 1951. A contemporary at Eton was Tam Dalyell , later Labour MP for West Lothian . The two men were not even able to agree on whether or not Dalyell had been Ridley's fag , though Dalyell greatly admired Ridley's skills as an artist, quoting his teacher as saying that Ridley was "more talented than his grandfather" Edwin Lutyens. Ridley held

598-598: The 1959 election . He was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary in 1962, and from 1964 he was a Select committee member before joining the front bench . Ridley was made a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Technology briefly in 1970 before becoming a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Trade and Industry . He came under pressure after a policy report he had authored in December 1969 on

644-544: The Canning Club , a councillor on Castle Ward Rural District Council and a member of the executive committee of the National Trust . Lord Ridley of Liddesdale was married to Clayre Campbell, daughter of Alistair Campbell, 4th Baron Stratheden and Campbell . They divorced in 1974. They had three daughters: social worker Susanna Rickett, designer and writer Jessica Ridley, and historian Jane Ridley , Professor of History at

690-627: The Selsdon Group , a free-market lobby within the Conservative Party, he was closely aligned with Margaret Thatcher , and became one of her Ministers of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1979. Responsible for the Falkland Islands , he tried to resolve the long-running sovereignty issue with Argentina , which detected Britain's reluctance to defend the territory, and later invaded it. As Secretary of State for Transport , Ridley performed

736-550: The Transport Act 1985 as a precursor to privatisation of bus services. This led to a period of intense competition between rival bus companies, known at the time as the bus wars and the dramatic subsequent growth of Stagecoach Group , FirstGroup and the other major bus operators. Never far from controversy, Ridley had to apologise following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987, for remarking that he would not be pursuing

782-468: The University of Buckingham . He was a keen water colourist and photographer. In 1990, asked to comment on the resignation of his cabinet colleague Norman Fowler who had given as the reason for his resignation the wish "to spend more time with my family", Ridley quipped that the last thing he wanted to do was spend more time with his family. Ridley's puppet on Spitting Image was always portrayed with

828-620: The "Ten Cannots" of William J. H. Boetcker , adding that it "could well become the guiding principle of the Selsdon Group". (As often occurs with citations of Boetcker's document, Ridley wrongly attributed the quotation to Abraham Lincoln .) Early members informally stressed that the Group commemorated and advanced the general principles of the Selsdon Declaration, rather than the detail of what they regarded as an inadequate document. The group

874-576: The 1970 discussions was a radical free-market agenda, ridiculed by the then Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson as the work of " Selsdon Man ". Wilson lost the subsequent general election to Heath. After a short period, however, Heath abandoned the 1970 manifesto in the face of bitter opposition from the trade unions. This historic U-turn was the catalyst for the formation of the Selsdon Group in 1973. A handful of young libertarian Conservatives, including David Alexander, Stephen Eyres, Philip Vander Elst, Anthony Vander Elst, and Richard S. Henderson created

920-459: The Arts. I had to explain to him that the ministry should not exist, because it involved public expenditure". In 1973, he co-founded the Selsdon Group , which was opposed to the abandonment of the radical 1970 manifesto by Edward Heath . He closed his keynote speech at the group's launch by citing the "Ten Cannots" of William J. H. Boetcker , adding that they "could well become the guiding principle of

966-557: The British government met Argentine representatives in New York but the British proposal for a sovereignty freeze was rejected by the junta. British intelligence reports continued to suggest that Argentina would invade the Islands only if it was convinced there was no prospect of eventual transfer of sovereignty. Ridley advised that leaseback remained the only feasible solution and recommended that Britain initiate an education campaign to persuade

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1012-469: The Community Charge), which was one of the main factors leading to Thatcher's resignation in 1990. He was created a life peer in 1992. Ridley was the second son of Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Viscount Ridley , and Ursula ( née Lutyens), daughter of architect Sir Edwin Lutyens . His elder brother was Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley . He was educated at West Downs School , Winchester , Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford , where he gained

1058-625: The Falkland Islands, a position in which according to Patrick Cosgrave , he did not acquit himself well and "seriously misread the intentions of the Argentinian government". His first visit to the Islands was in July 1979, after which the Foreign Office considered the options, given that the idea of 'Fortress Falklands' was deemed unfeasible on the grounds of cost – Britain could not afford to maintain

1104-802: The Falkland Islands. Argentina invaded the islands in April 1982, beginning the Falklands War , but was repulsed in June of that year, with the islands remaining in British hands. From 1981 to 1983 Ridley was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury . Following the 1983 election , Ridley, always regarded by Margaret Thatcher as "one of us", was a beneficiary of her move to cull the Tory wets and joined her cabinet as Secretary of State for Transport . In that role he played

1150-475: The Islanders to accept the proposal but they were unconvinced, and as he left islanders shouted abuse at him while playing a recording of " Rule, Britannia! ". A prominent local islands politician, Adrian Monk , also made what the then Governor of the islands, Sir Rex Hunt , described as a 'Churchillian' explanation of the population's views in a Falklands radio broadcast on 2 January 1981. Likewise, Parliament gave

1196-514: The Selsdon Group". The members of the group were seen as disloyal at the time but their ideas came to prominence in the Thatcher years. When the Conservatives were returned to office at the 1979 general election , Ridley was appointed to the new Conservative government as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office . In this position he was assigned responsibility for policy concerning

1242-442: The break-up and privatisation of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders was leaked, where he had proposed that a Conservative government should cut up and "butcher" UCS and sell the government's holdings, "even for a pittance". He left the government in 1972 after refusing the post of Arts Minister . Ridley told Patrick Cosgrave a few days later that "Ted [Heath] thought that because I drew and painted things, I would like to be Minister for

1288-651: The cumulative effect of stalled sovereignty negotiations, the British Nationality Act 1981 (which would deprive many Islanders of their rights as full British citizens), the announced withdrawal of HMS  Endurance , the shelving of plans to rebuild the Royal Marine barracks at Moody Brook, and the proposed closure of the British Antarctic Survey base at Grytviken on South Georgia , was to convince Argentina that Britain had no future interest in

1334-455: The final handover, as well as co-operating on the Islands' economic development and exploitation of fish and potential oil resources. The meeting took place at a village hotel ten miles outside Geneva , Switzerland , under the pretext of a holiday for Ridley and his wife, so as to avoid Parliamentary and media accusations of a sell-out. Ridley returned to the Islands in November to try to persuade

1380-478: The former two joined to the existing building's western end. On Helbert's death there was an hiatus under Dorset landowner William Brymer, and Lady Goodrich then passed the school to Kenneth Tindall, a Sherborne housemaster. During the Second World War the school was evacuated first to Glenapp Castle and then more significantly to Blair Castle . At the end of the war it returned to Winchester. In 1953

1426-480: The grandfather John Helbert (1785–1861), with his nephew John Wagg (1793–1878), had formed broking firm Helbert, Wagg & Co. (bought by Schroders 1962). They were the Rothschild's principal broker. Meanwhile, Helbert's mother was Sarah Magdalene 'Lena' (1837–1874) daughter of Richard Lane (1794–1870) ( Plymouth Brother and descendant of Jane Lane ) by Sarah Pink Tracey (of Liskeard ). One of Helbert's Lane uncles

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1472-604: The ideas of Edmond Holmes , and the Little Commonwealth for young delinquents developed by Homer Lane on the lines of the George Junior Republic in America, basically as put by Norman Mac Munn, who taught at West Downs 1914–18, they were interested in the: emancipation of the child . The majority of the existing structure was purpose-built (c1880) as 'Winchester Modern School', to designs by Thomas Stopher jnr, on

1518-450: The islanders. His fierce political opponent Tam Dalyell believed he was right and that but for Ridley's "confrontational style", "off-handed and offensive disdain" which upset both the islanders and the House of Commons, this policy could have avoided the war. The proposal was rejected by Lord Carrington who felt that any attempt to put pressure on Islanders would be counter-productive. However,

1564-477: The new group, with Nicholas Ridley as president, in order to uphold and promote the free-market policies that they believed had won the Conservative Party the 1970 general election. The "Selsdon Declaration", to which all members must subscribe, was adopted at the Selsdon Group's first meeting, held at the Selsdon Park Hotel in September 1973. Nicholas Ridley closed his keynote speech at that meeting by citing

1610-522: The next decade of Conservative Party politics. On 8 November 1991, Ridley advised people to vote for anti-European candidates regardless of their parties. On 28 July 1992, Ridley was created a life peer as Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, of Willimoteswick in the County of Northumberland . Despite being a free-marketeer, in January 1993 Ridley spoke out against railway privatisation, and when in government, advised Thatcher against doing so. The final speech he gave

1656-465: The proposals a hostile reception, pointing out that British people should not be transferred, against their wishes, to the control of an Argentine military junta which had committed multiple human rights violations. In the face of this opposition, the Conservative government once again reiterated that the Islanders' wishes were 'paramount'. In February 1981, with the support of the Islands' Councillors,

1702-413: The school in 1949 when it was still an all male establishment]. West Downs was a rigorous and enlightened place which prepared its pupils admirably for a variety of schools (including Winchester and Eton ) and also for life in general. It lasted ninety-one years and about three headmasters, closing in 1988. The school's site has lived on as The West Downs Conference and Performing Arts Centre , which

1748-447: The school was bought by Jerry Cornes , who was headmaster until 1988. For most of its history West Downs was a boarding school for boys aged between eight and thirteen, but in 1970 it admitted its first girl, and from 1975 to 1988 it was co-educational (though curiously the school's founding intake in 1897 of four comprised two girls). [correction: by Geoffrey Bass, grandson of Kenneth Tindall:- KBT's granddaughter Diana Bass also attended

1794-517: The trade unions and was a prototype for later developments. The Thatcher government attached considerable importance to being properly prepared for a major miners' strike and backed down from a confrontation with the miners in its first Parliament. By the time that the miners did strike, from early March 1984, considerable efforts had been made in ensuring the availability of stockpiled coal at power stations , non-unionised transport workers and oil-fired generation plant. He oversaw bus deregulation with

1840-722: Was a Major-general in the Bengal Army and another, a shipping agent with Lane, Hickey & Company (bust by 1865), was English Secretary to the Japanese Legation in London and a Knight Commander of the Orders of the Rising Sun of Japan , Christ of Portugal , and Isabella the Catholic of Spain . His aunt Adeline (1825–1892) was wife to Baron de Weissweiller of Madrid. Another was married to

1886-415: Was always Nick's passion. And he had a longer, better pedigree in that respect than most Thatcherites—or indeed I may add—than Thatcher herself. His first vote against a Conservative Government bailing out nationalised industries was in 1961 . To be so right, so early on, is not to have seen the light—it is to have lit it ... He would have been a superb Chancellor. Ridley was also secretary of

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1932-515: Was an address against the Maastricht Treaty on 17 February 1993 in the House of Lords , which he had always vehemently opposed and voted against in 1991. In an article for The Times written days before he died, he suggested that the rich should be taxed more to help Britain out of the recession. At the 1996 Nicholas Ridley Memorial Lecture, Thatcher said of Ridley that, Free-market economics

1978-431: Was criticised by many figures within the Conservative Party establishment at the time. Many of its policies, however, influenced later governments led by Margaret Thatcher and John Major . Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale , PC (17 February 1929 – 4 March 1993), was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister. As President of

2024-553: Was for over four years a House of Commons clerk . The Helberts were supported by Hampshire's Lord Northbrook (who had also helped found the predecessor school), and by their kinsman Lord Rothschild . Helbert, who described himself as Principal, was influenced by the Miss Mason system, as seen at her House of Education , Ambleside (akin to the PNEU), and things like the Montessori method ,

2070-498: Was forced to resign as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry after an interview was published by The Spectator . He had described the proposed Economic and Monetary Union as "a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe" and said that giving up sovereignty to the European Union was as bad as giving it up to Adolf Hitler . The interview was illustrated with a cartoon depicting Ridley running away having added

2116-645: Was opened by Lord Puttnam in May 2001, and then from 2005 as part of the University of Winchester ; and from 2009 as the university's own Winchester Business School. Lionel Helbert Helbert was sixth or seventh child of Captain Frederic John Helbert Helbert (1829–), 5th Madras Light Cavalry and military correspondent to the Times during the 1877 Turco-Russian war , the fifth son of John Helbert Israel (by Adelaide (Adeline) Cohen), second son of Israel Israel. In 1848

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