Tribute to former Horsham MP Sir Peter Hordern

Even for those who did not know him from his 33 year long service as MP for Horsham he remained a familiar and avuncular presence around the town.

Descended from a long line of Vicars (a vocation he once considered) Peter maintained a life long commitment to public service. He was born in Alexandria, his childhood was spent in India, South Africa and Australia before returning to England to undertake national service in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps (his father’s regiment), attend Christ Church, Oxford and become a member of the Stock Exchange.

As the 1950s developed, Peter’s professional career in the City enabled him to focus on understanding companies and what British Industry needed to do to succeed. He was also deeply enthused by the 1957 Treaty launching the predecessor of the EEC. His father had been wounded and gassed in the Great War and a Europe in which such traditional enemies as France and Germany could make common economic cause he found inspiring. This was a passion he retained and took with him in 1964 when he was elected to parliament.

The impending retirement of Freddie Gough as MP for Horsham created a dilemma for Peter – he had already been selected to fight Greenwich and switching seats was not the “done thing”. However Peter was the grandson of a Bishop of Lewes (who had started as a curate at St Margaret’s, Warnham) and relatives had married into the Lucas family from Warnham and included the Sandemans (whose Horsham home made way for Sandeman Way).

He knew that Sussex was where his heart lay. It was characteristic of Peter’s charm and decency that among his supporters in making the move was not only Anthony Eden but the Chairman of the Greenwich Conservative Association who made the trip to Horsham to speak on his behalf!

As was expected in that era Peter combined his parliamentary career with a distinguished second career alongside. As Director and then Chairman of Petrofina U.K. and Chairman of Foreign and Colonial Smaller Companies Investment Trust, among others, he had a reputation in the City of being hard headed and effective. Whilst he recognised there were also disadvantages he saw a great deal of merit in MPs retaining practical outside interests which helped inform the deliberations of the Commons.

His City experience led to his focus on economics. He was extremely prescient in foreseeing the risk of inflation in the 1970s, criticising the expansionary economic policies of Ted Heath and Anthony Barbour. A monetarist before Mrs Thatcher he was well ahead of the curve and pushed for a policy direction that would be successfully deployed not only in the U.K. but further afield.

His head for numbers made him a natural for one of Parliament’s toughest committees: Public Accounts. The “PAC”, established by Gladstone, focusses on stopping Government waste and improving delivery. It was then unquestionably the “senior” select committee (with the Chairman, like Ministers, being questioned on the floor of the Commons). He served on it from 1970 to 1997, the last nine years as Chairman.

He is regularly referenced as one of the ablest and most outstanding of his generation and the best Tory MP not to serve as a Minister. When offered a ministerial role he declined for family reasons – though he also confided that he enjoyed the independence of the backbenches.

He loved his constituency role where his kindness and willingness to serve was so apparent. He was a fount of common-sense and even now I have the occasional constituent who visits my constituency surgery because of the help once received from Peter! He combined enjoying the success of others while having full sympathy with the fallibility of the human condition. He had a glint in his eye and could collapse with laughter.

In one of our many chats at his home we compared notes on the Horsham General Election “Hustings”. He recalled arriving to an absolutely packed hall. One of those craning to see the forthcoming proceedings through the open door didn’t recognise Peter on his arrival and said bluntly “sorry mate, it’s full, you won’t get in” to which Peter with his customary politeness replied “well, I do hope so.”

He concluded his first bus trip with a pensioner’s bus pass in some style. The C1 was due to terminate at Parliament Square but the driver was delighted to pick up on the risqué suggestion of his one remaining passenger and with the connivance of the police passed through the gates to drop Peter off at the members’ entrance.

One of his many remarkable characteristics was his ability to remain, even in his 90s, totally in tune with the ongoing debate. While embodying so much that was good of his generation, for someone elected to parliament 60 years ago, he retained a close fascination with and knowledge of politics.

Sir Peter and Lady Hordern’s friendships spanned the generations. Susan was not only married to one Sussex Conservative MP but was the sister of another, the noted athlete Chris Chataway. I am immensely grateful to Peter and Susan for their support and advice as Peter’s successor.

One of his joys was cricket both as a player and spectator and he could vividly recall a stellar Sussex innings against Australia in 1938 and receiving batting tips from Bradman aged 9. He achieved two centuries in a week (playing for Christ Church and for the Greenjackets) and once made a strong batting partnership alongside Dennis Compton, his cricketing hero, outlasting him at the crease.

Following his retirement from parliament in 1997 Peter joined the Board of the British Library but he and Susan subsequently faced what would be to most a daunting if not overwhelming challenge but which Peter described as one of the most fulfilling experiences of his life. Their elder son, Andrew, a former President of the Oxford University Conservative Association and widely expected to be among the political stars of his generation, suffered a diabetic hypoglycaemic attack. This left him requiring long term intensive nursing care to which Peter and Susan devoted themselves in their Horsham home for 13 years until Andrew’s death aged 44.

Peter is survived by Susan and their two children James and Vicky (a hospital doctor specialising in Diabetes). On Monday of last week, just days before his passing, Peter hosted his grandchildren for an early birthday tea party. He will be much missed.

Sir Peter Hordern DL PC

Born 18th April 1929 - Died 18th April 2024

A family funeral will be followed by a Memorial Service in due course.