I was surprized to hear of his passing today because for some unknown reason I just assumed he'd been gone for years because I haven't heard his name mentioned for 30 years or so.
Being in my early-mid fifties my only real memory of him centred around the Norman Scott story which effectively ended his political career just as I became old enough to vote so I've no idea what standard of politician he was be that good, bad or indifferent.
I do remember him pre-scandal ........the Liberal party in Parliament was very small in the 60s and 70s but then there were several Governments with wafer thin majorities so the Liberals were always more important than their numbers warranted
He was a smoothie........like one of those upper class actors. Or actors who end up playing upper class roles
Leslie Phillips type.......he spoke in that slow deliberate 'I say, helloooo' kind of way.......:D
Saw this on the news earlier. All of this happened before my time. For some reason he reminded me of Farage!
Yes, dear old Jeremy did favour the tweed suit like Farage
On reading a bit more about his court case I see that Norman Scott was related by marriage to the actor Terry-Thomas, and Thomas lent him a holiday home in Devon.
To clarify: I was talking about the allegations of a homosexual affair and everything else was an alleged cover up to stop Norman Scot talking about it.
Having refreshed memory on the court case and history relating to Jeremy Thorpe and Norman Scott I can only conclude that the world would have been a better place without them.
I thought he died years ago! I was in my 20's when the murder stuff kicked off, it seemed to be on the TV news every day for ages. On the surface he was a strange chap, but underneath he was *really* odd.
I remember the trial and basically the establishment closed ranks around Thorpe. When the Judge summed up the trial he did an awful character assination on Scott which was satorised by Peter Cook in the very first Secret Policemans Ball. It's summed up here
I was watching Cook's performance just the other week, a masterful performance that he wrote overnight, stung by criticism that he was relying on old material.
I remember jokes around the time about "VOTE LIBERAL - OR WE'LL SHOOT YOUR DOG".
thorpe was a very talented man who unfortunately was secretly homosexual. From an era when coming out meant disgrace and prison. His wife stood by him which says a lot .....
thorpe was a very talented man who unfortunately was secretly homosexual. From an era when coming out meant disgrace and prison. His wife stood by him which says a lot .....
Yes the world has moved on. The whole affair might have been swept under the carpet had it not been for allegations that the same gun that killed the dog was then turned on to Thorps rent boy who in turn was threatened he would be killed if he went ahead and spilt the beans on Thorpe to the newspapers. . All in all a reminder that Parliament is not lacking in having more than a fair share of unsavoury members within its ranks.
thorpe was a very talented man who unfortunately was secretly homosexual. From an era when coming out meant disgrace and prison. His wife stood by him which says a lot .....
He was not homosexual. He was alleged to be homosexual, which is an entirely different thing.
Regarding the letter sent between him and Norman Scott, Thorpe never revealed what the intentions of that letter were. Not because he had anything to be ashamed of, but simply because whatever it was was private between him and Mr Scott and his principles maintained that it should stay that way.
Thorpe chose not to go in coalition with the Tories after the Feb 1974 election, worried about how this could impact on his party. Pity a later leader didn't have the same foresight in 2010.
Thorpe chose not to go in coalition with the Tories after the Feb 1974 election, worried about how this could impact on his party. Pity a later leader didn't have the same foresight in 2010.
It made no difference. Thorpe's Party found themselves in the wilderness anyway. In the end the Liberals only survived by uniting with the Shirley Williams group of disaffected Labour MPs.
Clegg did the right thing for the country but he will get no thanks for it.
The question, 'How would you like your eggs?', a question Scott says Thorpe asked him after alleged activities, is one which will always have a particular significance for me, even all these years later!!!
He was a snappy dresser but not very successful as a Liberal leader. The Liberals had 12 MPs when he became leader in 1967, this fell to 6 at the 1970 GE and rose to 14 in the 1974 GE. He failed to agree to enter a coalition with either Heath or Wilson.
Comments
Being in my early-mid fifties my only real memory of him centred around the Norman Scott story which effectively ended his political career just as I became old enough to vote so I've no idea what standard of politician he was be that good, bad or indifferent.
He was a smoothie........like one of those upper class actors. Or actors who end up playing upper class roles
Leslie Phillips type.......he spoke in that slow deliberate 'I say, helloooo' kind of way.......:D
Yes, dear old Jeremy did favour the tweed suit like Farage
On reading a bit more about his court case I see that Norman Scott was related by marriage to the actor Terry-Thomas, and Thomas lent him a holiday home in Devon.
Having refreshed memory on the court case and history relating to Jeremy Thorpe and Norman Scott I can only conclude that the world would have been a better place without them.
I was watching Cook's performance just the other week, a masterful performance that he wrote overnight, stung by criticism that he was relying on old material.
I remember jokes around the time about "VOTE LIBERAL - OR WE'LL SHOOT YOUR DOG".
Yes the world has moved on. The whole affair might have been swept under the carpet had it not been for allegations that the same gun that killed the dog was then turned on to Thorps rent boy who in turn was threatened he would be killed if he went ahead and spilt the beans on Thorpe to the newspapers. . All in all a reminder that Parliament is not lacking in having more than a fair share of unsavoury members within its ranks.
He was not homosexual. He was alleged to be homosexual, which is an entirely different thing.
Regarding the letter sent between him and Norman Scott, Thorpe never revealed what the intentions of that letter were. Not because he had anything to be ashamed of, but simply because whatever it was was private between him and Mr Scott and his principles maintained that it should stay that way.
It made no difference. Thorpe's Party found themselves in the wilderness anyway. In the end the Liberals only survived by uniting with the Shirley Williams group of disaffected Labour MPs.
Clegg did the right thing for the country but he will get no thanks for it.
Just as he would for the 6.8 million the Lib Dems got in 2010.