# Marcus Fox

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{{Short description|British politician}}
{{Redirect|John M. Fox|the former mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan|List of mayors of Grand Rapids, Michigan}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [The Right Honourable](/source/The_Right_Honourable) [Sir](/source/Knight_Bachelor)
| name                = Marcus Fox
| honorific_suffix    = [MBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire)
| image               = Sir Marcus Fox 1992.jpg
| office              = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) <br /> for [Shipley](/source/Shipley_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| predecessor         = [Geoffrey Hirst](/source/Geoffrey_Hirst)
| successor           = [Chris Leslie](/source/Chris_Leslie)
| term_start          = 18 June 1970
| term_end            = 8 April 1997
| birth_name          = John Marcus Fox
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1927|6|11|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [Batley](/source/Batley), [West Riding of Yorkshire](/source/West_Riding_of_Yorkshire), England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2002|3|16|1927|6|11|df=y}}
| death_place         = [Shipley, West Yorkshire](/source/Shipley%2C_West_Yorkshire), England
| spouse              = {{marriage|Ann Tindall|1954}}
| party               = [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK))
| children            = 2
}}

'''Sir John Marcus Fox''' [MBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire) (11 June 1927 – 16 March 2002) was a British [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) politician.  He served as the [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) (MP) for [Shipley](/source/Shipley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) from 1970 to 1997. He was chairman of the [1922 Committee](/source/1922_Committee) between 1992 and 1997.

==Early life==
John Marcus Fox was born at the Maternity Home, Bradford Road, Batley, Yorkshire, on Saturday, 11 June 1927.<ref name = ODNB>{{cite ODNB|title = Fox, Sir (John) Marcus (1927–2002), politician|last = Norton|first = Phillip|date = 2006|doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/76764}}</ref> He had a twin sister with whom he attended dancing lessons.<ref name = ODNB/> At those lessons, he met [Betty Boothroyd](/source/Betty_Boothroyd), later to become the [Speaker of the House of Commons](/source/Speaker_of_the_House_of_Commons_(United_Kingdom)).<ref name="Sir Marcus Fox">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1388125/Sir-Marcus-Fox.html|title=Sir Marcus Fox|date=19 March 2002|website=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> He attended Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys (now a campus of [Kirklees College](/source/Kirklees_College)) in [Dewsbury](/source/Dewsbury).<ref name = ODNB/>

Fox served in the [Duke of Wellington's Regiment](/source/Duke_of_Wellington's_Regiment) as a [Lieutenant](/source/Lieutenant), a detail which he was sometimes known to mention in after-dinner speeches. Fox left the Army and began his political career with his election to [Dewsbury](/source/Dewsbury) Council in 1956, remaining there until 1963. He then became a bank clerk, a sales manager for [Woolworths](/source/Woolworths_(United_Kingdom)) and for [Terry's](/source/Terry's) in [York](/source/York), and then a company director.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/mar/19/guardianobituaries.conservatives|title=Sir Marcus Fox|first=John|last=Biffen|date=19 March 2002|work=The Guardian}}</ref> He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of [Dewsbury](/source/Dewsbury_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in 1959, followed by [Huddersfield West](/source/Huddersfield_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in 1966, before eventually being elected for [Shipley](/source/Shipley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in 1970.<ref name = ODNB/>

==Parliamentary career==
Following Fox's election to parliament as the MP for Shipley, he served as a [whip](/source/whip_(politics)) under [Edward Heath](/source/Edward_Heath), and then was a junior minister under [Margaret Thatcher](/source/Margaret_Thatcher). He was moved back to the back-benches in 1981, and started ascending the pole to become chairman of the [1922 Committee](/source/1922_Committee), becoming vice-chairman in 1983 and chairman in 1992.<ref name = ODNB/> He received an [MBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire) in [1963](/source/1963_New_Year_Honours) for political services in Yorkshire,<ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=42870 |date=28 December 1962 |pages=16   |supp=y}}</ref> was [knighted](/source/Knight_Bachelor) in [1986](/source/1986_Birthday_Honours) for political service,<ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |date=13 June 1986 |supp=y |issue=50551 |pages=2 }}</ref> and became a member of the [Privy Council](/source/Privy_Council_(United_Kingdom)) in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-marcus-fox-9150771.html|title=Sir Marcus Fox|date=19 March 2002|access-date=7 July 2021|work=The Independent}}</ref>

Fox lost his seat at the [general election in 1997](/source/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election) to [Chris Leslie](/source/Chris_Leslie), the [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) candidate.<ref name = ODNB/>

==Personal life==
He married Ann Tindall in 1954; they had a son and a daughter.<ref name="Sir Marcus Fox"/>

Fox was in poor health in the last years of his life, suffering from [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease) as well as having multiple strokes.<ref name = ODNB/> He died at a care home in [Shipley, West Yorkshire](/source/Shipley%2C_West_Yorkshire), on 16 March 2002, at the age of 74.<ref name = ODNB/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-marcus-fox | Marcus Fox }}
* {{NPG name}}

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{{succession box | before=[Geoffrey Hirst](/source/Geoffrey_Hirst) | title=[Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Shipley](/source/Shipley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) | years=1970–1997 | after=[Chris Leslie](/source/Chris_Leslie)}}
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{{succession box | before=[Cranley Onslow](/source/Cranley_Onslow) | title=Chairman of the [1922 Committee](/source/1922_Committee) | years=1992–1997 | after=[Archie Hamilton](/source/Archie_Hamilton)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Chairmen of the 1922 Committee}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Marcus}}
Category:1927 births
Category:2002 deaths
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:Chairmen of the 1922 Committee
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:Councillors in Kirklees
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England
Category:English twins
Category:Green Howards officers
Category:Knights Bachelor
Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Category:People from Dewsbury
Category:Politicians from Bradford
Category:UK MPs 1970–1974
Category:UK MPs 1974
Category:UK MPs 1974–1979
Category:UK MPs 1979–1983
Category:UK MPs 1983–1987
Category:UK MPs 1987–1992
Category:UK MPs 1992–1997

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