John Stonehouse
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John Thomson Stonehouse (28 July 1925 - 14 April 1988) was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is perhaps most famous for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death in 1974.
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[edit] Education and early career
Stonehouse had a Trade Union upbringing and joined the Labour Party at the age of 16. He was educated at Taunton's Secondary Grammar School, Southampton and the London School of Economics. An economist, he became involved in co-operative enterprise and was a manager of African Co-operative societies in Uganda 1952-54. He served as a director 1956-62 and president 1962-64 of the London Co-operative Society.
[edit] Stonehouse becomes an MP
Stonehouse was first elected as Labour Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Wednesbury in a 1957 by-election, having contested Twickenham in 1950 and Burton in 1951. He served as a junior minister of aviation, then in the Colonial Office, and as Postmaster General under Wilson until the post was abolished by the Post Office Act 1969. When Labour was defeated in the 1970 General Election, he was not appointed to the Shadow Cabinet. When the Wednesbury constituency was abolished in 1974, he stood for and was elected to the nearby Walsall North constituency.
[edit] Business interests
After 1970, Stonehouse set up various companies in an attempt to secure a regular income. By 1974 these were mostly in financial trouble, and he had resorted to cooking the books. Aware that the Department for Trade and Industry were looking at his affairs, he decided that his best choice would be to flee. Secret British government documents, declassified in 2005 ([1]) indicate that Stonehouse spent months rehearsing his new identity, that of Joseph Markham - the dead husband of a constituent.
[edit] Fakes his own death
Stonehouse maintained the pretence of normality until his pretended suicide on November 20 1974, leaving a pile of clothes on a Miami beach. He was presumed dead, and obituaries were published despite the fact no body had been found. In reality, he was en route to Australia, hoping to set up a new life with his mistress and secretary, Sheila Buckley. He was discovered by coincidence in Melbourne a month later (on Christmas Eve), the Australian police thinking he was Lord Lucan. He applied for the Chiltern Hundreds while still in Australia (one of the ways for an MP to resign), but decided not to sign the papers.
The delay in his extradition was caused partly because the Australians were reluctant to deport a British MP. However, six months after he was discovered, he was deported to the UK, though he had tried to obtain offers of asylum from Sweden or Mauritius.
He returned in June 1975, and was remanded in Brixton Prison until August. He continued to act as an MP. Although unhappy with the situation, the Labour Party did not expel him. In April 1976, he resigned the Labour whip, making them a minority government. A few days later he joined the English National Party.
The Stonehouse affair is commemorated by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly in his song "John Stonehouse Went Swimming".
[edit] On trial
Stonehouse conducted his own defence at the trial. He was convicted and sentenced to prison for seven years for fraud. He was imprisoned in HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs where he complained that the prison workshop, where he was employed, played pop-music radio stations. He finally agreed to resign on August 28 as MP and also Privy Counsellor (becoming one of only three people to resign from the Privy Council in the 20th century). The by-election was won by Robin Hodgson, a Conservative.
[edit] After jail
He was released early from prison in 1979 due to three heart attacks and an open heart surgery. He worked as a volunteer fundraiser for east London Charity, Community Links for several years. He joined the now-defunct Social Democratic Party.
He married his mistress in 1981, wrote a number of books and died in 1988 from a heart attack. He had met, many times, the British comedian Kenneth Williams, and Stonehouse was always quick to tell him how much he had enjoyed his performances over the years; coincidentally, they died within hours of each other. Stonehouse on the evening of 14 April 1988. Williams on the 15 April 1988.
Stonehouse's son was educated at Millfield - then the country's most expensive public school.
[edit] Bibliography
- Death of an Idealist (1975) ISBN 0-491-01615-8
- Ralph (1982) ISBN 0-224-02019-6
- The Baring Fault (1986) ISBN 0-7145-4106-0
- Oil on the Rift (1987)
- Who Sold Australia (1989)
[edit] Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Stanley Norman Evans |
Member of Parliament for Wednesbury 1957–February 1974 |
Succeeded by: constituency abolished |
| Preceded by: new constituency |
Member of Parliament for Walsall North February 1974–1976 |
Succeeded by: Robin Hodgson |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by: Roy Mason |
Postmaster General 1968–1969 |
Succeeded by: office abolished |
