Michael James Hugh Alison (27 June 1926 – 28 May 2004)[1] was a British Conservative politician.

Michael Alison
Member of Parliament
for Selby
(Barkston Ash 1964–1983)
In office
15 October 1964 – 8 April 1997
Succeeded byJohn Grogan
Preceded byLeonard Ropner
Personal details
Born
Michael James Hugh Alison

(1926-06-27)27 June 1926
Margate, Kent, England
Died28 May 2004(2004-05-28) (aged 77)
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Sylvia Haigh
(m. 1958)
Children3 (including James)
EducationEton College
Alma mater

Born in Margate, Kent,[2] Alison was educated at Eton College; Wadham College, Oxford; and Ridley Hall, Cambridge. During the war, he served in the Coldstream Guards. He was a councillor on Kensington Borough Council from 1956 to 1959 and a research worker on foreign affairs at the Conservative Research Department from 1958 to 1964.

He served as Member of Parliament for Barkston Ash from the 1964 general election until that constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election,[3] and then for the constituency of Selby which replaced it, from 1983 until he stood down at the 1997 general election.[3]

He held various junior ministerial posts under Margaret Thatcher, including serving as her Parliamentary Private Secretary (1983–87) and as a Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office 1979–81, Department of Employment 1981–83). For ten years from 1987 he was the Second Church Estates Commissioner.[4]

Family

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In 1958 he married Sylvia Haigh, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. His son, James, is a noted Christian theologian and advocate of the acceptance of LGBTIQA+ people in the Church.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
  2. ^ "Michael Alison". Telegraph. 29 May 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "2" (part 1)
  4. ^ "Alison, Rt Hon. Michael James Hugh". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1926–2004 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 3 December 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Alison, James (2001). Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay. New York: Crossroad. p. 194. ISBN 0824519221.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Barkston Ash
19641983
Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Selby
19831997
Succeeded by
Political offices
New title Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security
1970–1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Northern Ireland
1979–1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Employment
1981–1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Second Church Estates Commissioner
1987–1997
Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
1983–1987
Succeeded by