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Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton

Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton, known was Viscount Turnour until 1907, (1883-1962) was an Irish peer and British politician in the first half of the twentieth century who achieved the rare distinction of serving as both Baby of the House and Father of the House at the opposite ends of his career in the House of Commons.

He was first elected for Horsham in a by-election in 1904 at the age of just 21, the youngest MP in the Commons, and would sit for this seat under various minor title changes for the next 47 years. Sitting as a Conservative, Winterton would slowly rise through the ranks, later achieving ministerial office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for India in 1921. In 1924 he was sworn of the Privy Council, but it was not until 1937 when he achieved full ministerial office, and even then as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1938 he was promoted to the Cabinet and given the job of speaking in the House of Commons of behalf of the Secretary of State for Air Viscount Swinton. However in this role he proved a noted failure, especially in a heated debate in May 1938 which led to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain concluding that the Secretary of State for Air must be an MP. Winterton was increasingly sidelined and the following year he was dropped from the Cabinet and served in the marginal post of Paymaster-General before leaving the government altogether.

Winterton remained a Member of Parliament until 1951, by which time he was the MP with the longest continuous service.


|- style="text-align: center;" | width="30%" |Preceded by:
The Earl of Munster | width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |Paymaster-General
1939 | width="30%" |Succeeded by:
Vacant



Preceded by:
Edward Turnour
Earl Winterton
Succeeded by:
Ronald Chard Turnour


Last updated: 08-03-2005 02:52:04
Last updated: 10-29-2005 02:13:46