John Patten, Baron Patten
John Haggitt Charles Patten, Baron Patten,
PC (born
July 17,
1945) was a
Conservative party
Member of Parliament in the
British House of Commons. He was raised
Roman Catholic, and educated by the
Jesuits at
Wimbledon College.
He was first elected for
Oxford in 1979, transferring to
Oxford West and Abingdon in 1983 after boundary changes divided his old seat. He stood down at the
1997 general election, and thus avoided losing his seat, which was won by the
Liberal Democrat Evan Harris.
He served as
Secretary of State for Education from
1992 to
1994. Patten's record as education secretary has been described as "appalling" by David Hart, who recently retired after 26 years as
general secretary of the NAHT, Britain's largest headteachers' union.
He was made a
life peer in
1997.
*
Education Guardian - reference to Hart's analysis of Patten's record
