Peter Emery

Who was Peter Emery?

Sir Peter Frank Hannibal Emery PC was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Emery was born in London, but was evacuated to the United States during World War II. He was educated at Scotch Plains High School, New Jersey before serving with the Royal Air Force. He attended Oriel College, Oxford. While at Oriel he founded the political group United Europe with Sir Edward Boyle, Peter Kirk, and Dick Taverne. He was librarian of the Oxford Union.

Emery was a councillor on Hornsey Borough Council, chairing the housing committee. He was a school governor and a member of the executive committee of the London Municipal Society.

He stood for Parliament without success in Poplar at the 1951 general election and Lincoln. He first gained a seat in parliament at the 1959 general election, when he famously ousted trade unionist Ian Mikardo—of whose union Emery was a member—from his Reading seat. He became a founding member of the Bow Group.

After being defeated in Reading in the 1966 general election, Emery returned the following year by winning a by-election in Honiton. He represented that seat and its successor East Devon until stepping down at the 2001 general election.