Edward MacMillan Taylor was born in Glasgow on 18 April 1937. He was educated at Glasgow High School and University, where he joined the Conservative Party. He became a Councillor at 22 and in 1964 he was elected for Glasgow Cathcart in a by-election. He married Sheila Duncan in 1970.
He served as Minister for Health and Education in the Scottish Office during Edward Heath’s government, but resigned shortly afterwards in opposition to Heath’s decision to join the ECC. A member of Margaret Thatcher’s shadow cabinet in opposition, he lost his seat when the Conservatives returned to government in 1979, although he won the Southend East by-election in 1980 and held the seat until he retired in 2005. He was one of the ‘Maastricht Rebels’ who voted against John Major’s bill to implement the Maastricht agreement in 1992, and lost the party whip, continuing to sit as an independent.
Sir Teddy Taylor died on 20 September 2017, and his interview has been featured on our blog.