Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC (July 16, 1923 - January 18, 2001) was a UK politician, representing the Labour Party and later the Conservative Party. He was the highest-ranking Labour figure ever to defect to the Conservative party. A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Labour Party is a centrist/centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ...

Reg Prentice was educated at Whitgift School in Croydon, South London, then at the LSE. Having served in Austria and Italy in the Second World War, he joined the staff of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) in 1950. Whitgift School is an independent day school offering all-round education for 1,200 boys aged 10 to 18. ... For other Croydons see Croydon (disambiguation) Croydon is a large suburban town and commercial centre to the south of London and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. ... South London is the area of Greater London south of the River Thames. ... LSE is an initialism for: London School of Economics and Political Science London Stock Exchange Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Transport and General Workers Union, also known as the TGWU and the T&G, is one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland - where it is known as the Amalgamated TGWU - with 900,000 members (and was once the largest trade union in the... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Early politics

Prentice was a councillor for Whitehorse Manor on Croydon Council from 1949, having stood unsuccessfully in Thornton Heath ward in 1947. He served on the Housing, Libraries, Planning & Development, Water and Reconstruction Committees. He first stood - unsuccessfully - for Parliament in Croydon North in 1950 and 1951, then Streatham in 1955. As Labour Member of Parliament from 1957 for East Ham North, later Newham North East, he was a minister of state in Harold Wilson's first government, first at Education and Science (1964-1966), then Public Buildings and Works (1966-1967), and finally in charge of the still-new Ministry of Overseas Development (1967-1969). When Labour regained power, he served as Secretary of State for Education and Science between 1974 and 1975, subsequently becoming Minister for Overseas Development with a seat in the cabinet until 1976. Croydon Council is the local authority covering the London Borough of Croydon. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Thornton Heath is a place in the London Borough of Croydon. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other Croydons see Croydon (disambiguation) Croydon is a large suburban town and commercial centre to the south of London and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Streatham is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... East Ham is a place in the London Borough of Newham. ... The London Borough of Newham is a London borough in East London. ... This article is about the British politician. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1975 was a common year starting on ghjgh Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Defection

In 1977, Reg Prentice left the Labour Party in protest over its drift to the left and joined the Conservative Party. He had been deselected by his Constituency Labour Party, heralding times of great struggles between the 'left' and 'right' of the Party. He even appealed for the National Executive Committee to overturn their endorsement of his deselection from the rostrum of the Labour Party Conference. 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... The Labour Party is a centrist/centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... A Constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. ... The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the Labour Party. ... The Labour Party Conference, or annual national conference of the Labour Party, is formally the supreme decision-making body of the Party. ...

Prentice was subsequently elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Daventry and served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's government. He was knighted in 1987, the year he stepped down as an MP. In 1992, he was raised to the Peerage as Baron Prentice, of Daventry in the County of Northamptonshire. For other uses see Daventry (disambiguation) Daventrys High Street Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England with a population of 22,367 (2001 census). ... The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born October 13, 1925), is a British stateswoman and was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, also Leader of the Opposition from 1975, and the only woman to date to hold those positions. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility which exists in the United Kingdom and is one part of the British honours system. ...

In his last few years before his death at 77, Prentice was President of the Devizes Conservative Association. Devizes is a town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ...

Lord Prentice's daughter, Christine, followed her father by serving as a London Borough of Croydon councillor (for Coulsdon East ward, June 25, 1992 - May 10, 1998). Croydon is a large suburban town and commercial centre to the south of London and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

External links

• Tribune article at the time of Prentice's deselection by Newham NE CLP