Sir Herbert Keith Speed RD DL (11 March 1934 at 05:15 GMT at Evesham) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. 11 March is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Location within the British Isles The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 Evesham (or the Sham as it is known to its inhabitants) is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, England. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the right-of-centre in the United Kingdom. ...

He was elected MP for Meriden in Warwickshire in a by-election on 28 March 1968, and held the seat until 1974. New constituency boundaries were drawn up prior to the February 1974 general election and Speed lost his Meriden seat to Labour's John Tomlinson. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... There are several places called Meriden: Meriden, Connecticut, United States Meriden, West Midlands, England This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Warwickshire (pronounced either /ˈwɔːɹɪkˌʃə/ or /ˈwɔːɹɪkˌʃɪə/) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The UK general election of February 1974 was held on February 28, 1974. ...

He was selected to succeed Bill Deedes as Conservative Candidate for the seat of Ashford in Kent in the October 1974 General Election, and was elected as MP with a majority of over 6,000. William Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes of Aldington, KBE, MC, DL, PC (Bill Deedes, born Kent, England, 1 June 1913), is a veteran British journalist and a former politician. ... Ashford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... The UK general election of October 1974 took place on October 10, 1974. ...

On 4 May 1979 he was appointed Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Defence, a position known then as the Navy Minister. He was sacked by Margaret Thatcher in May 1981, after refusing to hand in his resignation. This was because he was unable to accept the reductions in the strength of the Royal Navy proposed by Mrs Thatcher and then Secretary of State for Defence, John Nott. Later events in the Falklands War showed the shrewdness of his position, and he was made a Knight Bachelor in 1992. He retired as an MP in 1997. May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is a British politician. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI in Roman) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... The Right Honourable Sir John William Frederic Nott (born February 1, 1932 in Bideford, Devon) was a British Conservative Party politician prominent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... The Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), was a war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands (also known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, between March and June of 1982. ... The dignity of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1982 he wrote a book, Sea Change (see bibliography), which outlined the background to the Falklands conflict and expressed admiration for former Soviet Admiral Sergey Gorshkov. Soviet redirects here. ... Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (b. ...

As of April 2005, Sir Keith Speed is a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant for the County Of Kent, and Vice President of the Maritime Volunteer Service. The title Lord-Lieutenant is given to the British monarchs personal representatives around the United Kingdom. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ...

Bibliography

• Speed, Keith (1982). Sea Change: The Battle For The Falklands And The Future Of Britain's Navy. Ashgrove Press ISBN 0906798205