Forgotten Tory given new lease of life in biography

A FORGOTTEN figure from the history of the Tory Party in Scotland is the subject of a new biography.

Noel Skelton, who was born at Edinburgh's Hermitage of Braid in 1880, advocated "Constructive Conservativism" in the first half of last century and was cited as an important influence on Tory prime ministers Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan.

He also invented the phrase "property-owning democracy" which became the slogan behind Margaret Thatcher's policy of selling off council houses.

Skelton was elected as an MP in 1922 and served as a Scottish Office minister for four years before his untimely death in 1935 at the age of 55.

Former Evening News journalist David Torrance, who has written a number of works, has written a biography. He draws upon archives and previously unseen correspondence, and deals not only with Skelton's political thought but also Skelton the man, including a previously unknown affair with Katharine Tennant, socialite and sister-in-law of Liberal Prime Minister HH Asquith.