Lord Jenkin dead: Former Conservative MP and Thatcher cabinet member dies, aged 90

He is survived by his son, the Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin

(PA wire)

Lord Jenkin, the former Conservative minister and member of Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, has died.

He was aged 90.

A statement said the peer died peacefully at his home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk surrounded by his family.

Patrick Jenkin was elected to the House of Commons in 1964 as MP for Wanstead and Woodford following the lead of Sir Winston Churchill who was MP for the constituency before the boundaries were altered.

He began his governmental career serving as financial secretary in Edward Heath's cabinet before progressing to chief secretary for the treasury and minister of energy. He held the role of head of the energy department during the three-day week when he urged the country to clean its teeth in the dark to save electricity, yet his London home was spotted with all the lights blazing.

Under Margaret Thatcher, he was made secretary of state for social services in 1979, followed by industry secretary and environment secretary.

He left Ms Thatcher's cabinet, reluctantly, in 1985 and joined the House of Lords as a Life Peer in 1987.

In his later political career, he backed David Cameron's proposals for same-sex marriage reform telling the House: "I have come to the firm conclusion that there is nothing to fear in gay marriage and that, indeed, it will be a positive good not just for same-gender unions but for the institution of marriage generally." A practising Christian, he also called on the Anglican church to accept gay marriage.

He stepped down from the Lords in 2014 becoming the first peer to retire publicly telling the Telegraph: "I have done 50 years, I am now 88 and quite frankly I have had enough. My wife, Monica, and I will probably move away from London. There is no hurry about this but we are reaching the end of our lives, we are both nearer 90 than 80 and you can't go on forever."

He is survived by his wife and son the Tory MP Bernard Jenkin.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.