Tribute to the Marquess of Lothian

Marquess of Lothian, Michael Ancram: 7 July 1945 – 1 October 2024 | Image courtesy of UK Parliament

4 min read15 October

As deputy leader of the Tory Party and Northern Ireland secretary Michael Ancram was a pragmatic and courageous politician. A disarming man and good company, the country has lost a fine servant

I was sad to learn of the death of Michael Ancram during the recent Conservative conference in Birmingham. I hadn’t been aware that he had been ill and so it came as quite a shock.

Michael was some 10 years older than me and by the time I had been elected he had already been an MP for three seats, two Scottish and one English, finally standing down just as the Conservatives re-entered government in 2010, after a long period in opposition.

It was during opposition that I came to know Michael well. I was a Maastricht rebel so our paths hadn’t crossed much but there was one evening in the smoking room in the House of Commons when over a drink, with some colleagues, he described himself to me as a One Nation Tory who was in favour of our European Economic Community (EEC) membership but as the arguments over Maastricht had raged, he had begun to understand the need for a new approach to the European Union.

This pragmatic approach to politics was what made him such good company but also often disarmed people as well.

It served him well too as a minister in Northern Ireland. To keep peace negotiations going he shook hands publicly with Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams.

We forget now that the Brighton bomb wounds were still raw, and many Conservatives were angry about this, yet he still did it.

Yet soon after, his efforts to keep the talks alive eventually came to a halt in 1996 when the IRA bombed the Isle of Dogs.

It was after our enormous defeat in the 1997 election that I got to know him better. William Hague was leader of the party, Michael was constitutional affairs spokesman and eventually chairman, I was shadow social security.

To keep peace negotiations going he shook hands publicly with Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams

Michael was good fun to be with when free from the usual rancour of party politics. I recall only too well at the first party ‘away day’ under Hague in Eastbourne how in the evening, with boredom setting in, Michael produced his acoustic guitar and took it upon himself to run through his repertoire of songs as other MPs joined in. In the midst of ridicule from the media on some peoples’ "weird" choice of casual clothing all I remember was Michael’s singing and sense of fun as he strummed his guitar in the late evening.

When I became leader, Michael helped stabilise things in the party by agreeing to be my deputy leader and shadow foreign affairs spokesman.

The deep divisions in the party that existed then made leadership difficult with colleagues still unable to come to terms with Tony Blair’s political dominance.

Yet throughout, Michael saw his purpose as trying to keep the party from splitting which he often achieved with the lightest of touches. He was a great help to me, and I will always be grateful for his support and at times guidance.

He was also courageous in pursuing his role on foreign policy. I recall when I was on a visit to the North of England, I received a call in the back of the car, it was from Michael. I asked him where he was and he replied in a whisper that he was just on the Zimbabwe border about to sneak in, as Robert Mugabe was stopping journalists and others from entering. The phone suddenly cut out. Happily, he re-surfaced a few days later with a story to tell about terrible repression.

Michael once re-counted a heated conversation with a senior colleague who had opposed both Hague and then me in the leadership contests. He had rounded angrily on Michael and said it was typical of Ancram that, no matter who was driving the car, he was always in the front passenger seat.

Although meant as an insult, Michael laughed and claimed it as a badge of pride.

My party and the country has lost a good servant and I shall miss him.

Iain Duncan Smith is Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green

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