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Thomas Lyttelton, 3rd Viscount Chandos

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The Viscount Chandos
Member of the House of Lords
as a hereditary peer
29 November 1980 – 11 November 1999
Preceded byThe 2nd Viscount Chandos
Succeeded bySeat abolished
as a life peer
19 April 2000
Personal details
Born (1953-02-12) 12 February 1953 (age 71)
Political partySDP (1981–88)
'Continuing' SDP (1988–90)
Labour (since 1990)
Spouse
Arabella Sarah Lucy Bailey
(m. 1985)
Children3
Parent(s)Antony Lyttelton, 2nd Viscount Chandos
Caroline Lascelles
RelativesSee Lyttelton family
EducationEton College
Alma materWorcester College, Oxford

Thomas Orlando Lyttelton, 3rd Viscount Chandos, Baron Lyttelton of Aldershot (born 12 February 1953), is a British hereditary and life peer and politician for the Labour Party.[1]

Early life

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A member of the Lyttelton family, Chandos is the elder son of Antony Lyttelton, 2nd Viscount Chandos and Caroline Lascelles, a daughter of Sir Alan Lascelles (Private Secretary to both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II). He was educated at Eton and Worcester College, Oxford.

Career

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Chandos succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1980.[2] He initially sat on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) benches, but when the party merged with the Liberals in 1988 he elected to become a member of the anti-merger 'continuing' SDP, led by David Owen, instead.[3] Alongside Owen and several other Social Democrats, Chandos established the Social Market Foundation (SMF) in 1989, becoming its first chairman. When the 'continuing' SDP collapsed a year later he decided to join the Labour Party, rather than defect to the Conservatives as many of his colleagues in the SMF did.[4]

Chandos lost his seat in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999. However, in 2000 he was created a life peer as Baron Lyttelton of Aldershot, of Aldershot in the County of Hampshire, and was able to return to the House of Lords.[2][5]

Personal life

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Chandos married Arabella Sarah Lucy Bailey, daughter of John Adrian Bailey and Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton, on 19 October 1985. They have three children:[6]

  • Hon. Oliver Antony Lyttelton (born 21 February 1986), heir apparent to the viscountcy.
  • Hon. Benedict Lyttelton (born 30 April 1988)
  • Hon. Rosanna Mary Lyttelton (born 19 March 1990)

References

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  1. ^ "Chandos". Who's Who. Vol. 1920–2015 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 23 December 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b "Chandos". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2015 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 23 December 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)[1]
  3. ^ "Cartwright calls on party to 'fight again'", The Guardian, 27 September 1989, p. 6.
  4. ^ David Owen, "EU Social Market and Social Policy: The SMF at Twenty-One" (London: Social Market Foundation, 2010), p. 10.
  5. ^ "Crown Office". thegazette.co.uk. Her Majesty's Government. 26 April 2000. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  6. ^ The peerage.com, entry for 3rd Viscount Chandos
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Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Viscount Chandos
1980–present
Incumbent