Charles Curran
Member of Parliament
for Uxbridge
In office
18 June 1970 – 16 September 1972
Preceded byJohn Ryan
Succeeded byMichael Shersby
In office
8 October 1959 – 10 March 1966
Preceded byFrank Beswick
Succeeded byJohn Ryan
Personal details
Born
Leslie Charles Curran

(1903-04-19)19 April 1903
Cardiff, Wales
Died16 September 1972(1972-09-16) (aged 69)
Kyrenia, Cyprus
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Mona Regan
​
(m. 1926)​
Children1
Profession
  • Journalist
  • barrister

Leslie Charles Curran (19 April 1903 – 16 September 1972) was a British Conservative Party politician, barrister, and journalist, who was the MP for Uxbridge from 1959 to 1966, and again from 1970 until his death.

Background

Born in Cardiff,[1] he was the son of C. J. Curran,[2] and was educated at Cardiff High School and Stonyhurst College, a large independent school.[3]

Career

Curran was a sub-editor of the Evening Express,[4] before becoming a barrister in 1932 of Gray's Inn.[5][6] He continued to work in journalism through his life, contributing variously to the Evening Standard, the Daily Mirror, and The Sunday Telegraph.[7] Curran published one satirical novel, You Know You Can Trust Me (Jonathan Cape, 1938).

Curran unsuccessfully contested West Walthamstow for the Conservatives at the 1945 general election.[7] He then lost at Uxbridge in 1951 and 1955 before being elected in 1959. He was defeated by Labour in 1966, but he regained the seat in 1970, holding it until he died in 1972.[7] Michael Shersby of his party was elected to succeed him in the subsequent by-election.

Curran is probably most remembered for a speech he made in the House on 19 June 1964, in which he mistook deliberately nonsensical poems written by John Lennon as a sign of Lennon being poorly educated and virtually illiterate, saying "one can see from it [...] two things about John Lennon: he has a feeling for words and story telling and he is in a state of pathetic near-literacy" and suggesting that he lacked "an education which would have enabled him to develop the literary talent that he appears to have".[8] Fellow Conservative Norman Miscampbell tried to downplay and make light of the misunderstanding, feeling that his words would be disastrous for the party in the upcoming elections that year.[9]

Personal life

Curran married Mona Regan in 1926, and had one son.[10][11] After a period of declining health due to heart problems, he died on 16 September 1972, aged 69, during a holiday in Kyrenia, Cyprus.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Dod's Parliamentary Companion parts 1 and 2, 1967, Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd, pg 386
  3. ↑ Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Ltd, 1951, pg 147
  4. ↑ Newspaper World and Advertising Review, issues 1878-1904, Newspaper World, 1934, p. 88
  5. ↑ The Law Times, volume 174, Office of The Law Times, 1932, p. 333
  6. ↑ Graya - A Magazine for Members of Gray's Inn, volume 3, Gray's Inn, 1932, p. 84
  7. 1 2 3 "Charles Curran". The Daily Telegraph. 18 September 1972. p. 10.
  8. ↑ Charles Curran, MP (19 June 1964). "Automation". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 1746.
  9. ↑ The Beatles Diary: Volume 1, pg. 266
  10. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Dod's Parliamentary Companion parts 1 and 2, 1967, Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd, p. 386
  12. ↑ "London Day by Day: Last Call". The Daily Telegraph. 16 September 1972. p. 14.
  13. ↑ "Charles Curran, MP, dies". Evening Standard. Reuters. 16 September 1972. p. 7.
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