Nigel Forman

Francis Nigel Forman (25 March 1943 – 11 May 2017) was a British Conservative politician.

He obtained various degrees from the latter four including a Master of Public Administration from Harvard, a Certificate of Advanced European Studies (equivalent to a master's degree) from the College of Europe (class of 1965–66) and a Ph.D. from Sussex University.

In his Times obituary he was described as "something of a perpetual student".

His first significant job was from 1967 to 1968 as an information officer at the Confederation of British Industry.

After working in the Conservative Research Department from 1968 to 1976 he was elected as an MP.

In 1968 he joined the Conservative Research Department ('CRD' – the research operation of the party) and began the quest to find himself a seat in Parliament.

He progressed rapidly in the CRD, acting as ‘external affairs adviser’ to Official Opposition leader Edward Heath.

He was married to Susan Forman in 1971.

The couple had no children.

Forman was born in Simla, India where his father served as a brigadier in the Indian Army.

Forman was educated at the Dragon School, Shrewsbury School, New College, Oxford, College of Europe (Bruges), Harvard and Sussex University.

He contested the Coventry North East seat as a member of the party in the February 1974 contest but was not elected.

He took the seat with a 10,000 majority over Labour, compared with Carr's 4,000 majority in October 1974.

He served Margaret Thatcher in the same capacity from 1975 to 1976.

He was promoted to Assistant Director with special responsibility for European affairs.

After the elevation of Robert Carr to the peerage in 1976, Forman was centrally recommended and selected as his replacement for the resultant by-election.

Forman was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton at its by-election on 11 March 1976.

In 1976 it had much social housing yet had streets of expensive detached houses and many middle class voters.

All three major parties (Conservative, Labour and Liberal) had entrenched support and Forman's lead looked vulnerable to tactical voting.

The local Conservative leaders of the Council soon showed themselves to be resistant to concepts of modernisation that Forman espoused.

Sutton was one of the few remaining councils in the UK that kept selective education and council meetings were unusual in that Conservative councillors wore ceremonial robes to "give dignity" to them.

Forman soon established himself as a bright and enthusiastic MP.

During his first three months in the House he asked 64 formal questions of Ministers in the Labour government.

His particular interests were nuclear power, incomes policy, education policy and ministerial patronage.

After the Conservatives returned to government in 1979, it was widely expected that Forman would soon obtain ministerial office.

He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) first to Lord Carrington in the Foreign Office and later to Douglas Hurd in the Home Office.

Forman soon became known as a moderate Conservative who differed with some of Thatcher's policies.

In 1980 he spoke for greatly increasing child benefits and James Prior’s attempt to have member votes bind trade unions through their voluntary agreement to do so.

That year he was in the majorities who opposed reintroducing capital punishment and limiting abortion rights.

He also expressed alarm at mounting unemployment arising from the government’s economic and financial policies.

He frequently called for a "one nation" approach in his speeches and writings.

He disapproved of government policies which promoted London-bound internal migration and were socially divisive.

He favoured closer integration of Britain with the European Union.

In February 1981, Labour MPs cheered him in the House when he asked the Chancellor (Howe) to act to halt the rise in unemployment.

Forman advocated employment and economic policies which were broadly consistent with those pursued by the Callaghan ministry.

When the seat's boundaries were revised for the 1983 election it was renamed Carshalton and Wallington.

The seat, the eastern half of the London Borough of Sutton, was socially mixed.

He became a junior minister, Minister of Higher Education, in April 1992, but resigned from that office after 8 months.

Forman lost his Parliamentary seat in the 1997 general election.

He later worked as a lecturer, academic writer and Parliamentary expert/instructor.