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The son of a Conservative MP, he was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Oxford, and was called to the bar in 1954. After brief careers as a barrister and a TV interviewer, he entered parliament in 1959 as Liberal MP for North Devon. In 1967, he became party leader after the resignation of Jo Grimond. Thorpe's style, in contrast to Grimond's intellectualism, was youthful and dynamic, and was sometimes ridiculed as too gimmicky.
A colourful character, Thorpe was renowned for his assortment of Edwardian suits, silk waistcoats and trilby hats, as well as being a noted raconteur and impressionist. Critics argued that he was little more than a political lightweight, but Thorpe was undoubtedly a popular figure. When he became Liberal leader, his party commanded 8.5% of the vote. By February 1974, it commanded 19% of the vote, with some opinion polls even placing it as high as 30%.
The 1970 general election was a disaster for Thorpe's Liberals, as their number of MPs more than halved from 13 to 6 (with 3, Thorpe included, only surviving on tiny majorities), which lead to opponents' jibes that the entire parliamentary party could fit in one taxi -- a joke which was expanded to two taxis after the election of the extremely corpulent Cyril SmithYou might also be seeking the metallurgist Cyril Stanley Smith Sir Cyril Smith (born 28th June 1928) was a British Liberal Party politician. He served as MP for Rochdale from 1972 until retiring in 1992. Smith won the seat of Rochdale at the 1972 by-elect as MP for Rochdale. But between 19721972 is a leap year starting on Saturday (click link for calendar). Events January events January 2 the Pierre Hotel Heist Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Loot is at least $4 million January 5 President of the Un and 19741974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). Events January-February January 5 Dungeons & Dragons officially released. February 4 Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped, Thorpe led the Liberals to an impressive string of byelection victories, at RochdaleThis article is about the English town. For other Rochdales see, Rochdale (disambiguation Rochdale is a town in Greater Manchester in north-west England. It is the main town in the metropolitan borough of Rochdale, and gets its name from its position on t, Sutton and Cheam , RiponRipon is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, 214 miles NNW from London. It is pleasantly situated at the confluence of the streams Laver and Skell with the River Ure, which is crossed by a fine bridge of nine arches. The streets are for the most, the Isle of ElyThe Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, is a traditional region around the city of Ely. It consists of 963 kmē. The Isle was an administrative county independent of Cambridgeshire between 1889 and 1965, until it was merged to form Cambridgeshire and I, and BerwickThe place-name Berwick may refer to: Berwick, Victoria, Australia Berwick, Sussex, England Berwick, Louisiana, United States Berwick, Maine, United States Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada Berwick, Pennsylvania, United States Berwick-upon-Tweed, England North. In the two general elections of 19741974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). Events January-February January 5 Dungeons & Dragons officially released. February 4 Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped, the Liberals gained 14 and 13 MPs respectively.
In the hung parliamentIn Parliamentary systems, a hung parliament is one in which no one political party has an outright majority. This situation is normal in legislatures with proportional representation, but in first past the post chambers, it is a rarity, as the voting syst of 1974, Thorpe was offered a seat in the Cabinet as Home Secretary by Prime Minister Edward Heath, as part of a coalition deal, but declined when it was clear the Liberal Party and many who had voted for it were not enthusiastic about keeping Heath in power.
Following the death of his first wife Caroline in a car crash, Thorpe married Marion , a former concert pianist and ex-wife of the Earl of Harewood .
However, in 1976, Thorpe was forced to resign the party leadership after being accused of a homosexual relationship with Norman Scott, who claimed that Thorpe had tried to murder him after the end of their affair. Thorpe was subsequently one of four defendants in a court case, but was acquitted of conspiring to murder Scott, despite the jury originally being tied. His political career could not withstand the scandal, and he lost his parliamentary seat at the general election of 1979, which came just a week before his trial. Not long after the end of the trial, Jeremy Thorpe was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and retired from public life. For the past twenty years, it has been at an extremely advanced stage.
| Preceded by: Jo Grimond | Leader of the British Liberal Party 1967-1976 | Followed by: Jo Grimond |
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