# Neil Thorne

Colonel Sir Neil Gordon Thorne, OBE TD DL (born 8 August 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician. He contested the constituency of Ilford South six times from October 1974 to 1997, and was the Member of Parliament for the seat from 1979 to 1992, when he lost by 402 votes to Labour's Mike Gapes.

## Biography

Thorne served in the Territorial Army Royal Artillery, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1989, he founded the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, which aims to improve the quality of debate on military issues, and does this by exposing Members of Parliament to first-hand experience of the armed forces.
Thorne is a member of the Steering Group Committee for the British Chinese Armed Forces Heritage project which started in 2015. This is a joint project in collaboration between the Ming-Ai (London) Institute and Regent's University London. Thorne is a freemason, and was Provincial Grand Master of Essex Freemasons for ten years from 1995 to 2005.
In 2018, Thorne attracted media criticism for his application for planning permission to relocate a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst. Suffragettes raised funds and twice negotiated the site of the statue in 1930 and 1956, when the government also attempted to remove the statue. The proposed site in Regent's University London has no link to Pankhurst or suffragette history.

## Honours

| Description | Notes |
| Order of the British Empire (OBE) | Officer Military Division 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours List |
| Order of St John (K.StJ) | Knight of Justice 22 August 1995 |
| Knight Bachelor (Kt) | 6 June 1992 |
| Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | 1977 UK Version of this Medal |
| Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | 2002 UK Version of this Medal |
| Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | 2012 UK Version of this Medal |
| Efficiency Decoration (TD) | With 1 Clasp. |
| Special Constabulary Long Service Medal | |
| Service Medal of the Order of St John | |
* Sir Neil Thorne also serves as a deputy lieutenant for the London Borough of Brent, allowing him the Post Nominal Letters "DL" for Life.
* He was appointed as the Honorary Colonel of the University of Leeds Officers' Training Corps on 8 August 1999.

## Footnotes

* ↑ "Colonel Sir Neil Thorne honoured for 60s years' service to Freemasonry". Retrieved 21 March 2018.
* ↑ "Friends of St Cross volunteer who survived the blitz meets Prince Edward at Battle of Britain commemoration". Retrieved 21 March 2018.
* ↑ "Mr Neil Thorne". Hansard. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
* ↑ "Sir Neil Thorne". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
* ↑ Calvert, Jonathan; Rowell, Andy (31 August 2008). "Tory MP Douglas Carswell 'punished' for damning army kit". The Sunday Times.
* ↑ "Conservatives at the heart of Freemasonry". The Independent. 31 October 1995. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
* ↑ Khomami, Nadia (17 August 2018). "Anger over plan to move Pankhurst statue away from parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
* ↑ "THE MOST VENERABLE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM". The London Gazette. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
* ↑ "CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD Knights Bachelor". The London Gazette. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
* ↑ Day, Rosie (21 October 2015). "Coventry Blitz survivor who become only female instructor at the Fire Guard enjoys St Paul's visit". The Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
* ↑ "Friends of St Cross volunteer who survived the blitz meets Prince Edward at Battle of Britain commemoration - Rugby Advertiser". Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
* ↑ "The London Gazette 10 August 1999". The London Gazette. Retrieved 19 August 2022.