Daniel Crewe examines the career of Sir Clement Freud, artist, journalist, chef, bon viveur – and Liberal MP, 1973–87. ‘ONE OF NATURE’S LIBERALS’ n the years immediately pre- Clement Freud as David Steel put it, he was ‘one Clement Raphael Freud was ceding Sir Clement Freud’s addressing Liberal of nature’s liberals’. In political born on 24 April 1924 – he election as an MP in July conference terms, as Freud himself said: ‘I later felt that 24 was his lucky 1973, he had starred in a was an anti-conservative who number – and was the youngest pet food commercial, had couldn’t join a Clause 4 Labour of the three sons of Lucie and Idebuted on Just a Minute and Party, and I hugely admired Jo Ernst Freud, an architect. Jew- appeared on Jackanory (inspir- Grimond.’2 ish, though not religious – Freud ing many children to cook), During his career he made himself was non-practising – they and had won the Daily Mail positive references to the ideas fled Nazi Germany for England London–New York air race. It of Lloyd George,3 and com- in early 1933. With his two was thought by many – not least munity politics were certainly brothers, Clement was first sent within the Liberal Party – that fundamental to his political to the progressive Dartington he would not be a heavyweight work. ‘He has created a formi- Hall in Devon and then, after political figure. But he served dable local following,’ wrote a further move, to Hall School, as an excellent constituency J. W. M. Thompson during Hampstead. He later described MP for the Isle of Ely from July the February 1974 election his two and a half years at the 1973 until 1983, and then for campaign.4 Freud recalls that Hall School as ‘the happiest of Cambridgeshire North East, his later success was influenced my life … In my last year at the and, although the seat was lost by his military training in Glas- Hall I was house captain, played in 1987, he played a significant gow, when he spent numerous first-team soccer, rugby, cricket role in the Liberal revival of the evenings thanking the hospi- and squash and wrote regularly 1970s. table residents of the city. But for the school magazine.’5 Known to friends as Clay within Freud there was also a He was then educated at St – and to the illiterate as ‘Frood’1 Millite freedom from conform- Paul’s School, London, and went – he was the grandson of Sig- ity. Like many Liberals, he was on to be an apprentice chef and a mund Freud, nephew of Anna pluralist, honest and anarchic, waiter at the Dorchester Hotel in and brother of Lucian. He and supported community poli- London, as he describes in Chap- was progressive, eccentric and tics, innovation in policies and ter Three of his witty autobiogra- dedicated to individual liberty; constitutional change. phy: ‘In which I discover that life 14 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 15 ‘ONE OF NATURE’S LIBERALS’ out there is neither middle class Antipodes to select the winner majority of 1,470 and arguing: nor necessarily celibate.’ Freud of the Great Australian Bake Off, ‘[O]ur main attraction was that recalls: ‘I … had set my heart on and sailing in the race from Cape we were neither Labour nor reading English at Exeter Col- Town to Rio. Conservative’.13 Jeremy Thorpe lege’, but his father could not It was in the spring of 1973, noted: ‘The last time Liberals had afford ‘to send a third son into during a period of Liberal revival victories on this sort of scale was tertiary education.’6 During the and concentration on commu- in March 1929’.14 Freud had put war he served with the Royal nity politics, that Freud sought a bet on himself at 33 to 1 and Ulster Rifles and emerged a lieu- to become an MP. A by-elec- won more than £3,000. tenant in 1947. tion had been called following In his maiden speech he said After the war Freud worked the death of Sir Harry Legge- that Britain’s tourist industry was in a restaurant in Soho, in hotels Bourke, the Conservative MP a ‘laughing stock’.15 (When he in Cannes and near Barnstaple, for the Isle of Ely, who had taken had taken his seat he had been and was an innovative catering the seat in 1945 after it had been met with calls of ‘woof woof’, manager at the Arts Theatre Liberal for sixteen years. ‘[M]y and he later enjoyed commenting Club near Leicester Square credentials as a Liberal were upon the maiden speech from the (helped along the way by royal- impeccable,’ Freud wrote. ‘My new MP for Barking.16) In Febru- ties from the work of his grand- father had voted Liberal: “They ary 1974 he increased his major- father). It was here, on 2 April have no policies either, but tend ity to 14.8 per cent but in the 1950, that he met June Beatrice to be nicer people.”’9 He thought second general election of that Flewett (Jill); they married that that he had failed to capture the year, in October, his majority fell September and in London the party’s nomination, but won by to 5.1 per cent, the Liberal share wedding was front-page news. thirteen votes to eight, and his of the vote falling in most seats. A fortnight after his honey- friend Lord Beaumont of Whit- In 1979 he increased his major- moon he lost his job and ended ley, who had helped the finan- ity to 5.9 per cent, beating the up marketing Campari before cially struggling party and was Conservative Dr Thomas Stut- managing a nightclub. ‘I had the Liberal spokesman on edu- taford. Boundary changes meant determined that by my twenty- cation in the Lords, then helped that the Conservatives felt that eighth birthday I would have a to organise Freud’s campaign. It the new seat of Cambridgeshire wife, a child, a house, a car and was notable for Freud’s demon- North East would be winnable £1000 in the bank’, he wrote.7 stration of his competitive spirit. in 1983, but again Freud held the Aged twenty-seven, he had all (He has owned or part-owned seat, this time with a majority of except the money. The couple many horses – and when riding 9.7 per cent. was to have five children: Mat- himself his colours were orange In 1987, however, a 6.1 per thew, Emma, Ashley, Nicola and black.) ‘[M]y cre- cent swing to the Conserva- and Dominic. The constituency – large, flat tives led to his losing the seat. From 1952 until 1962 Freud and wet, created in 1885 and tak- dentials Writing in the Sunday Times on was the proprietor of the Royal ing in Ely, March and Wisbech as a Lib- September 20, 1987, he cited Court Theatre Club, but when – had not been contested by the ‘complacency compounded by the restaurant made way for an Liberals in 1970 and the Con- eral were five consecutive victories’ as the extension to the auditorium, servative Party had a majority of reason for his defeat. Lord Beau- he became a professional writer 9,606. Freud recalls of his previ- impecca- mont says: ‘He had not taken – having written, from 1956, ous political experience: ‘I had enough trouble with the new on sport for the Observer. Ini- been to the House of Commons ble,’ Freud influx of electorate.’ The national tially he was a columnist for the once, for an article in the Daily wrote. ‘My vote for the Alliance went down News of the World. From 1961 Telegraph on “How to Lobby by 3 per cent, and the seat was until 1963 he was the cookery your MP” … Nor did I know father had one of five Liberal losses of the correspondent of Time and Tide, the Isle of Ely very well …’10 He nineteen seats then held. and in 1964 he became food and goes on: ‘Prior to the election I voted Lib- Given the size of the parlia- beverage editor of the Observer had … been supportive rather mentary party, Freud was likely magazine. But once he became than passionate about the Liber- eral: “They to have had an impact on it dur- a celebrity – with increased fre- als.’11 But according to the Daily have no ing his period in Parliament, and quency his voice was described Telegraph: ‘He claims to have he did, though it was perhaps as ‘lugubrious’, his facial expres- extracted promises of votes from policies not as great as it might have sion as ‘hangdog’ – his com- a large number of people who are been. In November 1973 he was mercial alongside a bloodhound dissatisfied, especially with prices either, but appointed party spokesman on called Henry ‘made me virtually and wages’.12 education, and from November unemployable … I grew a beard Freud won a battle with tend to be 1974 he was also spokesman to avoid immediate recogni- Young, the Labour candidate, nicer peo- on the arts and broadcasting. tion.’8 The years of 1970 and for the non-Conservative vote, He was ‘a very good educa- 1971 included periods in the eventually triumphing with a ple.”’ tion spokesman,’ recalls Lord 16 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 17 ‘ONE OF NATURE’S LIBERALS’ Steel, ‘very assiduous at going ‘I don’t of the Policy Committee, but in the election to become rector round universities and colleges.