Michael Cocks

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For other people with the same name, see Michael Cox (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable
The Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe
Shadow Chief Whip of the House of Commons
In office
4 May 1979 – 23 October 1985
LeaderJames Callaghan
Michael Foot
Neil Kinnock
Preceded byHumphrey Atkins
Succeeded byDerek Foster
Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office
8 April 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterJames Callaghan
Preceded byBob Mellish
Succeeded byMichael Jopling
Member of Parliament
for Bristol South
In office
18 June 1970 – 18 May 1987
Preceded byWilliam Wilkins
Succeeded byDawn Primarolo
Personal details
BornMichael Francis Lovell Cocks
(1929-08-19)19 August 1929
Leeds, England
Died26 March 2001(2001-03-26) (aged 71)
Bristol, England
PartyLabour
Spouses
  • Janet Macfarlane
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1954; div. 1977)​
  • Valerie Davis
    ​
    (m. 1979)​
Children4
Alma materUniversity of Bristol

Michael Francis Lovell Cocks, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe, PC (19 August 1929 – 26 March 2001) was a British Labour Party politician. He was the member of parliament for Bristol South from 1970 to 1987, and was the Labour Party's chief whip from 1976 to 1985.

Early life

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Cocks was born in Leeds, and was educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh, and Silcoates School, Wakefield. After obtaining a BSc at Bristol University he became a geography teacher and later lectured at Bristol Polytechnic.[1]

Political career

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Cocks contested Bristol West in 1959 and South Gloucestershire in 1964 and 1966.[1] He was Member of Parliament for Bristol South from 1970 until 1987, after being deselected as a candidate in 1986 and replaced by Dawn Primarolo, in a challenge from the left.[1]

During his time in the House of Commons, Cocks served as a Labour whip in government and in opposition, being Chief Whip from 1976 to 1985.[1]

Cocks was created a life peer on 6 October 1987, becoming Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe, of Chinnor in the County of Oxfordshire[2] and served as vice-chairman of the BBC 1993–98.[3]

He also served as Deputy Chairman of the London Docklands Development Corporation.[1] As Government Chief Whip from 1976 to 1979 he had the task of ensuring Government majorities for a minority government.[4]

Personal life and legacy

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Cocks married Janet Macfarlane, a nurse, in 1954.[3] The couple had four children, Andrew, Helen, Sarah and David, before separating in 1976 and divorcing the following year.[3][5] He was married to Valerie Davis from 1979 until his death from a heart attack at Southmead Hospital in Bristol on 26 March 2001, at the age of 71.[1][3][6]

Cocks is a major character in the play This House by James Graham. The play was first staged at the National Theatre in 2011, with Cocks played by Vincent Franklin.

See also

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References

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  3. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
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Sources

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