Lord John Horam death: Former minister dies after falling on walk home from work, family says

Former minister Lord John Horam has died at the age of 87, his family says.

The peer died at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, after falling on the way home from a day working at the House of Lords on 2 July.

Despite receiving care from paramedics and hospital staff, he did not regain consciousness, his family said.

Lord Horam was born in Preston, Lancashire, and was head boy at the independent Silcoates School.

He went on to read economics at Cambridge, gaining an MA in 1960.

His first job was with the confectionery brand Rowntree’s, where he worked on developing the After Eight mint.

He then had a stint in journalism, writing for the Financial Times and The Economist, before entering politics.

Lord Horam represented three parties in Parliament. He was the Labour and later Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP for Gateshead between 1970 and 1983, before defecting to the Conservatives in 1987, serving as Tory MP for Orpington from 1992 to 2010.

He was a minister in both Labour and Conservative governments.

Lord Horam was created a working life peer as Baron Horam of Grimsargh in 2013.

In the Lords, he advocated for increased housing, a living wage, and raising the income tax threshold.

He was a member of the Conservative European Mainstream Group and was a staunch supporter of the UK remaining in the EU.

He was also a member of the Common Sense Group of Conservative Parliamentarians, which campaigns for a crackdown on immigration and opposes what it deems “woke ideology”.

In 1987, he married Judith Jackson, the former motoring editor of The Sunday Times and The Guardian.

He was stepfather to her sons Fraser and Lincoln – the latter of whom is now the Conservative MP for Spelthorne, having been elected in 2024.

“John’s widow Judith (née Jackson) and stepsons Fraser and Lincoln Jopp would like to thank the paramedics, police and all the staff at St Mary’s for the immaculate care John received,” a family statement said.

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