WITHOUT BENEFIT OF LAUNDRY

This is an autobiography of an insider in Edward Heath's cabinet and Margaret Thatcher's shadow cabinet, outside, but observant of Thatcher's and Major's cabinets. John Peyton was born in 1919 and was a Member of Parliament from 1951 until 1983. He was a Minister in Edward Heath's government, and was the only member of Margaret Thatcher's shadow cabinet not to become a minister following Thatcher's election triumph in 1979. It is likely that his rejection by Thatcher lay in her persistence in saying what he thought in the shadow cabinet. After education at Eton and Oxford, Peyton entered World War II and was one of the first British soldiers to be captured by the Germans. His account of five years as a POW is a story of endurance, camaraderie and the importance of humour, a quality with which Peyton is liberally endowed and which permeates the volume. In 1946, Peyton became Personal Assistant to Walter Monckton and worked with him in India at the time of Independence. During his 32 years in the House of Commons, and subsequently in the House of Lords, he has never been an unquestioning supporter of the party liine. He has pursued a variety of business and other interests.