RESEARCH
Butt, David (1953-)
Biography
- Born 1953
- Barnstaple Town Council
- North Devon District Council
- Election Agent, General Election, 1987 and 1992
- Liberal/Liberal Democrat
David Butt was born in Chulmleigh, North Devon. His mother’s family was Scottish but his father’s family can trace their roots in North Devon for over four hundred years. Both parents voted Liberal, although from very different standpoints – his father was a trade unionist and socialist, whereas David described his mother as an ‘old whig’. Both were Methodists and involved in community life and political campaigning.
David remembers his real introduction to politics in his teenage years through his friendship with Malcolm Prowse, who was the son of Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe’s agent, Lilian, and who would later become leader of the North Devon District Council. David met many national Liberal party figures at the Prowse’s home, and joined the Young Liberals. After grammar school David read modern studies at the University of Warwick where he was involved in student politics, motivated by his environmentalism, which was to become a life-long cause, and the anti-war movement.
After university David trained to be a teacher and joined Broughton Academy where he later became head of department and deputy headmaster. In his early thirties, motivated to stand for election by housing developments in his village, he was elected to Barnstaple Town Council, and later to North Devon District Council. He became Deputy Leader of the council for around sixteen years and twice acted for the Liberals/Liberal Democrats as election agent, or in his words ‘unpaid campaign manager’, in North Devon. In 1987 his efforts helped to reduce the Conservative majority from 9,000 to 4,500, this was overturned in 1992 when Sir Nick Harvey won the seat. David stood down from the Council in 2011. He now writes and volunteers for a local children’s hospice.
Transcript of clip
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Well we met at the age of eleven, at which was then Barnstaple Grammar School, and we naturally became friends, we shared a lot of interests, music, rugby, all sorts of thing. And Malcolm [Prowse] was probably my first real, true, introduction into politics. Malcolm was of course so involved, and he was always producing the odd leaflet or stickers that we used to wear. So that was the first introduction. Malcolm’s mum was Lilian Prowse, was Jeremy Thorpe’s agent, and of course Jeremy was often at Lilian’s house, and as National Leader the house was full of all sorts of people. You’d bump into David Steel or Jo Grimond or various people, which at the time, I think when you’re sixteen-seventeen, and the people on the television was quite impressive really and probably did make a difference. […] Well the late ‘60s, Malcolm was the biggest influence certainly, with the natural link into the Liberal Party and the Young Liberals. We were members of the Young Liberals and I remember conference in Plymouth and I can’t have been much more than seventeen, so that would have been late ’69, coming up to the ’70 election. And I remember being fairly active as a Young Liberal, putting up posters and going on odd campaigns and doing odd things…as I said, putting up posters where we shouldn’t have and stickers where we shouldn’t have and dressing up in daft costumes. The Young Liberals were particularly anti-apartheid at the time and the anti-Vietnam War stance was coming through, so I think when you’re young, I was a lot more left-of-centre then, than I am now perhaps.
And how did those campaigns play out here in North Devon? Were you actually on the doorstep talking about Vietnam, apartheid, so forth?
No, not so much that I can honestly say in North Devon at the time. We were certainly an influence on some of the older members of the party. You have to remember that we had an excellent MP that was able to able to state things in Parliament and obviously we didn’t want to embarrass him in any way. But we certainly did a few campaigns, I remember making some road signs to go up overnight, and things like that, and zebra crossings, and things on local issues. Interesting that we were involved in local issues I think, as well as national…You described to me earlier about a road that was suffering from speeding…
There was a local road that had a particularly bad speeding record and everyone complained and nothing really seemed to be done, so one night we made a zebra crossing. Totally irresponsible of course, but we designed it, remember the old beacons you used to get at zebra crossings with lights on them? …and put them up and produced a zebra crossing. I mean the whole point was to publicise events and I think even then we were aware of the idea of publicising things. Certainly I remember being about sixteen-seventeen going to Exeter and Plymouth…we used to march on the streets more in them days than people do now I think, you know, carrying a banner.
Interview Summary
Date of recording: 20/03/14 and 27/03/14
Interviewer: Richard Foord
20/03/14
[00.00] David Butt introduces himself, Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Landkey and Goodleigh, 1987 – 2011. Election Agent for the Liberal Democrat candidates at the 1987 and 1992 General Elections. [00.31] Description of the interviewee’s father’s politics and his mother’s politics and experiences in World War Two that had shaped their political views. [02.22] The influence of Methodism on the political views of the interviewee’s parents. [03.01] The interviewee’s influence on his children and their politics; a meeting between Jeremy Thorpe (North Devon MP / Leader of the Liberal Party) and the interviewee’s son. [04.22] Memories of being a Young Liberal in the late 1960s; participating at a conference in Plymouth in 1969; putting up posters; creating an unauthorised zebra crossing for the sake of publicity. [07.10] The interviewee’s relationship with Malcolm Prowse, son of Jeremy Thorpe’s agent, Lilian Prowse. [08.20] Environmental campaigning. [09.55] Perceptions of Socialism in the 1970s and of Trade Unionism. The social dimension of politics, growing up in Burrington / Umberleigh. [11.47] University at Warwick and training to become a teacher at St Lukes College, Exeter. Student politics at the University of Warwick; campaigning against the Vietnam War in London. Graduation in 1974. [14.45] Teaching at Chumleigh and at Braunton Academy, from Teacher to Deputy Head between 1975 and 2010. Working for a Children’s Hospice. [16.36] Interviewee’s motivation for becoming a Councillor. Elected to Barnstaple Town Council in 1979 and for Lankey as a Councillor on North Devon [District] Council between 1987 and 2011. [18.38] A “typical day” as a Councillor. Fitting Council commitments around work. Challenges and achievements. [23.42] The decision not to stand as a Parliamentary candidate; the election by North Devon Liberal Democrat Party members of the 1992 North Devon Parliamentary candidate. [25.08] The interviewee’s role as agent to the North Devon Parliamentary candidates in the 1987 and 1992 General Elections.
27/03/14
[00.00] Interviewer introduces David Butt, Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Landkey and Goodleigh, 1987 – 2011. Election Agent for the Liberal Democrat candidates at the 1987 and 1992 General Elections. [00.30] Interviewee describes the highlight of his time as a Councillor: the early 1990s when he saw his role as developing a sense of coherent community in villages that were subject to new housing developments. [02.42] Changes that have reduced community spirit and participation in local politics: less local industry and a loss of services. [04.55] Changes in people’s attitudes to politicians. The interviewee’s perception that people re-locating to the area were “buying-in” to the Liberal tradition of the West Country and of North Devon. [06.35] The interviewee’s description of his role as party agent / election organiser / coordinator / “unpaid campaign manager” in advance of the General Elections in 1987 and 1992. [09.19] The context of Thatcherism and the unpopularity of the Labour Party in North Devon, as described by the interviewee. [11.46] The selection process that led to the appointment of the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North Devon Nick Harvey, in advance of the 1992 General
Election. [13.29] The importance of family links and of local roots to North Devon. The importance of a local government base to the election of an MP. [16.09] Challenges working as an agent. Tension between traditional campaigning and newer techniques, such as the targeting of farmers, teachers and healthcare workers. [19.27] Types of people attracted to political activism. Gender. [21.26] The interviewee’s role as Deputy Leader of North Devon Council (and Vice-Chairman, prior to that). [23.32] The relationship with other political parties. The relationship between national issues and local issues: ‘council house’ sales as an example of this. [26.50] The erosion of the link between the local North Devon Liberal Party and the Liberal Clubs during the 1980s and early 1990s. The decline of the Liberal Party branches in North Devon villages. [29.05] The links between Methodism and
Liberalism; the interviewee’s perception of this as a “dying link”. [33.28] Scepticism over the place of party politics in local government. The interviewee’s view that the person is more important than party politics locally, if not nationally.
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Listen here to David Butt talk about his memories of being a member of the Young Liberals.