'Major John Herbrand William Astor-West, KG, KT, GCB, DSO, GBE, HML, PC (born 6 September 1959-29), previously styled Lord Buckhurst, is a British aristocrat, politician, army major and member of the House of Lords who served as Home Secretary from 7 October 2018 to 9 March 2019 and who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 9 March 2019 to 12 August 2019.
Early Life
He is the elder son of William Herbrand Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr, director of Credit Lyonnais Securities, and his wife, Constance Astor, daughter of John Jacob "Titanic Baby" Astor VI.
Lord De La Warr was educated at Eton College before reading a degree in 'politics and international relations' at Trinity College, Oxford.
Career
Lord De La Warr was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets as a second lieutenant in January 1984. He was promoted to full lieutenant in February 1986, and promoted captain in December of the same year. He attended the Army Staff Course in the same year prior to promotion to major in 1988. He became a Member of Parliament (MP) North Dorset in 1997. This quickly led to promotion and De La Warr became Minister for Local Government in 2001. He stepped down as MP in 2015 before the election of Lady Eleanor Bennett, when he was elected to the upper chamber.
Following the Sir Anthony's victory in the 2018 party election, he was appointed to the posts of Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State. He was appointed Party Chairman in January 2019. He stepped down from his roles following Sir Anthony's resignation, but continues to serve as chairman.
He is a member of White's and Pratt's, traditional gentlemen's clubs in London. In addition to his work as a politician, he was a dairy farmer, and as of 2015, continued to raise livestock at his Dorset estate, Buckhurst Manor.
Government in Carnegie-Bruce era (Etc.)
Lord De La Warr was soon dubbed as the 'spin doctor' of Sir Anthony's goverment, often being sent out to give interviews on the BBC 'cleaning up' after the Prime Minister.
Scandals
Lord De La Warr has been involved in various scandals during Sir Anthony'ts premiership. The most famous of these are 'WindowGate', where the Prime Minister and his party Chairman, The Earl De La Warr, threw themselves from a window following a Buckingham Palace state banquet; 'TonsureGate', where the Prime Minister and his government were criticised for their expense claims and which also featured, on the part of the Prime Minister, a claim for his hair products, and the accusation that the government's infrastructure policies personally benefitted the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
Outside of politics, De Le Warr has also been involved in controversy over hunting on his estate in Scotland. He has been involved in media battles with the RSPCA, defending the position of Countryside Alliance, for which he was chairman.
Interview1
Lord De La Warr on Newsnight, responding to the expenses scandal
WindowGate
During a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in October 2018 Sir Anthony and his First Secretary of State, later the Conservative Party Chairman, Lord De La Warr, threw themselves from a window in the state dining room. Their intentions were anticipated by the security staff, who erected several trampolines outside to cushion their falls. The pair were hospitalised with minor injures. When asked why they did it, Sir Anthony stated, 'We both felt that our efforts were being ignored and that we had nothing to lose. We are glad, in hindsight however, that we were saved by the security staff and are able to use this example to highlight the need to treat mental health issues suitably.'
TonsureGate
On 1 February 2019, The Telegraph broke the news that the government, including the Prime Minister, had claimed 'exorbitant amounts' in their expen
The leaked party memo
se claims. Other individuals implicated included The Earl De La Warr and The Duke of Somerset. The Telegraph noted that Lord De La Warr had been making under £1,000,000 p.a. by selling his London mansion - Vienna House - to American banker Humphrey Corvey (of Winston & Corp) and then renting it back for £419,000 as an expenses claim.
Tory Party Private Emails
On 25 February, 2019, a supposed in-party memo was leaked to the press implicating that the recently elected party leader - Chauncey Duval - was a user of cocaine. The memo, which contained innapropriate references to Downing Street staff was debunked by De La Warr on the same day. He explained that "I [The Earl] would never use a gerund in text form, especially not on an email!!"
Countryside Alliance
In a 2013 interview with The Daily Telegraph, the alliance's chairman, the then Lord De La Warr, called the RSPCA a "sinister and nasty" organisation and urged alliance members to stop donating to it. The RSPCA responded by saying: "Earl De La Warr's interview shows once again how far out of touch he and his colleagues at the pro bloodsports Countryside Alliance are with the reality of public opinion in this country." He has also called for the sacking of TV presenter Chris Packham.
Prime Minister
On 9 March 2019 Lord De La Warr was elected Prime Minister following his victory in the Conservative Party leadership election. He made a coalition pact with the Liberal Democrats following a hung parliament.
Following the failure of the budget, proposed by his then Chancellor, former Tory Prime Minister Theresa Covington, De La Warr resigned the Conservative leadership, triggering an internal election. On resigning the leadership, De La Warr installed Sir David Carnegie-Bruce as interim leader and default Prime Minister.
Apart from the budget, De La Warr's time in office was brief and relatively uncontroversial. He is more widely known for his time in the government of Sir Anthony Carnegie-Bruce.
Lord De La Warr responds to protestors outside Buckhurst Manor
Titles and Styles
- Lord Buckhurst (1959-1970)
- Baron Delaware (1970- 1986)
- His Lordship, The Earl De La Warr (1986-1988)
- Major, His Lordship, The Earl De La Warr (1988-1995)
- Major, His Lordship, The Earl De La Warr, DSO (1995-1997)
- Major, His Lordship, The Earl De La Warr, DSO, DSO (1997-2001)
- Major, His Lordship, The Earl De La Warr, KT, GCB, MP (1994-2015)
- Major, His Lordship, Earl De La Warr KG, KT, GCB, DSO, GBE, HML, PC (2015-Present)