# Fergus Montgomery

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**Sir William Fergus Montgomery** (25 November 1927 – 19 March 2013)[1] was a British [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) (MP) for three separate periods totalling 34 years, each time representing a different constituency.

## Early life

Born in [South Shields](/source/South_Shields), County Durham, Montgomery was educated at [Jarrow Grammar School](/source/Jarrow_Grammar_School) and [Bede College](/source/College_of_St_Hild_and_St_Bede,_Durham) at the [University of Durham](/source/University_of_Durham), and became a teacher in [Newcastle upon Tyne](/source/Newcastle_upon_Tyne) in 1950. From 1950 to 1958, he was a [councillor](/source/Councillor) on [Hebburn](/source/Hebburn) [Urban District Council](/source/Urban_District_Council). From 1957 to 1958, he was the national chairman of the [Young Conservatives](/source/Young_Conservatives_(UK)), having been vice-chairman from 1954 to 1957.[2]

## Parliamentary career

Having unsuccessfully contested the safe [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) seat of [Consett](/source/Consett_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in [1955](/source/1955_United_Kingdom_general_election), he was first elected to the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom) for [Newcastle upon Tyne East](/source/Newcastle_upon_Tyne_East) at the [1959 general election](/source/1959_United_Kingdom_general_election) with a narrow majority of just 98 votes. He is the only Conservative MP to have ever represented Newcastle East. Montgomery narrowly lost the seat to the Labour Party in [1964](/source/1964_United_Kingdom_general_election). He returned to Parliament at a [1967 by-election](/source/1967_Brierley_Hill_by-election) for [Brierley Hill](/source/Brierley_Hill_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).

Boundary changes which took effect from the [February 1974 general election](/source/February_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election) abolished the Brierley Hill constituency. Having unsuccessfully sought selection for [South West Staffordshire](/source/South_West_Staffordshire), Montgomery was selected for the new [Dudley West](/source/Dudley_West) constituency, which partially replaced his old constituency. However, he was unsuccessful, losing the election to [Colin Phipps](/source/Colin_Phipps) of the Labour Party.

His absence from Parliament was short-lived. The former [Chancellor of the Exchequer](/source/Chancellor_of_the_Exchequer), [Anthony Barber](/source/Anthony_Barber), stood down at the [October 1974](/source/October_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election) general election and Montgomery was selected to contest the constituency of [Altrincham and Sale](/source/Altrincham_and_Sale). He was duly elected, and then held the seat until he retired at the [1997 general election](/source/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election).[3]

He was [parliamentary private secretary](/source/Parliamentary_private_secretary) to [Margaret Thatcher](/source/Margaret_Thatcher) during her tenure as Secretary of State for Education and when she was [Leader of the Opposition](/source/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(UK)).[4]

## Family

He married Joyce Riddle, a teacher, cricketer[5] and Conservative local councillor. They had no children. Lady Montgomery was deputy lieutenant and [high sheriff of Greater Manchester](/source/High_Sheriff_of_Greater_Manchester).[6]

According to [Alistair Cooke, Baron Lexden](/source/Alistair_Cooke,_Baron_Lexden), a Conservative member of the [House of Lords](/source/House_of_Lords), Montgomery had an affair with Russian spy [John Vassall](/source/John_Vassall). The affair was discovered due [MI5](/source/MI5) files being declassified in 2022.[7][8]

## Sources

- *The BBC Guide to Parliament*, BBC Books, 1979, ISBN 0-563-17748-9.

## References

1. *Sale and Altrincham Messenger* [Warm tribute to former Altrincham and Sale West MP Sir Fergus Montgomery](http://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/10299559.Warm_tribute_to_former_MP/?ref=nt) accessed 19 March 2013

1. ["Sir Fergus Montgomery obituary"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-fergus-montgomery-rightwing-mp-who-served-as-thatchers-pps-8542700.html). *The Independent*. 20 March 2013.

1. ["Fergus Montgomery"](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/person/3694/fergus-montgomery). *The Guardian*

1. ["Sir Fergus Montgomery obituary"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/9941110/Sir-Fergus-Montgomery.html). *Daily Telegraph*. 19 March 2013.

1. ["Joyce Riddle"](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/302/302121/302121.html). Cricket Archive.

1. ["Lady Joyce Montgomery DL"](https://archive.today/20130620201410/http://www.manchesterlieutenancy.org/index.php?page=joyce-montgomery). Archived from [the original](http://www.manchesterlieutenancy.org/index.php?page=joyce-montgomery) on 20 June 2013.

1. [https://www.alistairlexden.org.uk/news/gay-tory-who-spied-soviets](https://www.alistairlexden.org.uk/news/gay-tory-who-spied-soviets)

1. [https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/spies-social-climbers-and-suspicious-stories-from-the-files-of-mi5/](https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/spies-social-climbers-and-suspicious-stories-from-the-files-of-mi5/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fergus Montgomery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus_Montgomery) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus_Montgomery?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.