John Moore (British MP) - Definition and Overview

John Edward Michael Moore, Baron Moore of Lower Marsh, PC (born November 26, 1937), is a British politician who was Member of Parliament for Croydon, Central, and under Margaret Thatcher was a cabinet minister. For a time he was considered a rising star of the Conservative Party and a potential leadership contender.

Margaret Thatcher named him to set direction for the National Health Service (NHS) as Secretary of State for Social Services. After he took office on June 13, 1987 the Labour Party attacked him as Mr. Privatisation for attempting to bring market forces into the service, and accused him of trying to abolish the NHS. The Conservatives joined the fray, accusing him of having no original ideas. His efforts in this area were largely ineffective. Then an illness caused him to lose his voice. He even fainted once in a Cabinet meeting. On July 25, 1988, Kenneth Clarke took over his Health Servce responsibilities, and after a further year handling Social Security, he fell into obscurity. After leaving the Commons in 1992 he became a Life Peer as Baron Moore of Lower Marsh.