John Fraser (British politician) explained

John Denis Fraser
Office:Member of Parliament
for Norwood
Term Start:31 March 1966
Term End:8 April 1997
Party:Labour Party (UK)
Predecessor:John George Smyth
Successor:Constituency abolished
Office2:Member of Lambeth Metropolitan Borough Council
Term Start2:1962
Term End2:1965
Office3:Member of Lambeth London Borough Council
Term Start3:1964
Term End3:?
Birth Date:30 June 1934
Birth Place:London, England, UK

John Denis Fraser (30 June 1934 – 6 April 2017) was a Labour Member of Parliament for Norwood in London from 1966 to 1997 and a solicitor.

Early life and education

Fraser was born on 30 June 1934 in Wandsworth, London, to Frances Benedict and Archibald Fraser. He was of Scottish and Irish descent.

He was educated at Sloane Grammar School, Chelsea and the Law Society College of Law, becoming a solicitor. He was a senior partner at the law firm Lewis Silkin LLP.

Political career

Fraser was a councillor on Lambeth Borough Council from 1962 to 1965 and the London Borough of Lambeth from 1964. He was a founding member of the Co-operative (Housing) Development Society.

He was Under Secretary at the Department of Trade and Industry in 1966, Under Secretary of State for Employment from 1974 to 1976, and Minister of State at the Department of Prices & Consumer Protection from 1976 to 1979. He was largely responsible for steering the Unfair Contract Terms Act of 1977 through Parliament.

Norwood was abolished as a constituency in 1997. Fraser lost the selection contest for Dulwich and West Norwood to Tessa Jowell, then MP for Dulwich.

Personal life

Fraser was a devout Catholic, and he often gave readings at church. He married Ann Hathaway in 1960. Together they had three children: two sons and a daughter.

References