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Verney, David (1928-)

Biography

  • Born 1928

  • Devon County Councillor

  • Liberal/Independent

David Verney was born on his family’s farm in North Devon, which is still farmed by his family today. Moving to Bishop’s Nympton at a young age, he spent the rest of his life there, eventually farming just outside the village.

David’s father was Chairman of the local Liberal Association and one of his earliest political memories is campaigning in the 1945 election. He became more involved with the Liberal party in the 1950s after the arrival of Jeremy Thorpe. Thorpe, in David’s words, was “a breath of fresh air” in North Devon, and like many others (for example, David Worden and David Butt) he became involved in canvassing and campaigning for Thorpe, who eventually won the North Devon seat in 1959.

Despite following his father by becoming Chairman of the local Liberal Association, David stood for Devon County Council as an independent, even after its reorganisation along political lines in 1973. He won the election ahead of a fellow-Liberal who also stood as an independent. He is proud of helping to provide a library for the town of Chulmleigh and save the Witherside primary school playing fields from development. He stood down from the Council in 1981 due to his increased responsibilities in the NFU, and still lives in Bishop’s Nympton.

Transcript of clip

  • I didn’t take any great part until Jeremy Thorpe came along, then of course he galvanised us all into working. To work with Jeremy Thorpe, he inspired you really. He came down and Liberalism in North Devon was at a very low ebb actually, after the 1945 election, all the elections Liberals had been second to the Conservatives and Labour third. But then when Mr Wilkey, a local man in Barnstaple, stood as the Labour candidate, the Liberal was forced into third place. When Jeremy Thorpe came down he said, not long afterwards: “when I came down Liberalism was like a smitchen old bodley!” Then he’d fanned Liberalism into a blaze. The first election that he fought, he came around to various Liberal branches and insisted that we canvass and make a list of all the voters, whether they were likely to be Liberal, or Conservative or doubtful. We had to man the polls, and obviously towards the end of the day had to get all the Liberals who hadn’t come in. The first election that he fought he came a good second, he had already said that he would stay on and fight again. He was almost aggressive in saying that he didn’t come down here to fight and lose, he came to win the seat. “You must work, so that I do win the seat!” He was quite aggressive on that really. We had a Barnstaple Liberal fair in the market on a Saturday in September, each branch would have a stand, and there would be a competition for the best stand and so on – there was a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. Thorpe could generate the enthusiasm. I don’t think he stood in any other constituency. He was a young man, you see, at the time, a very young man. He’d taken North Devon as an area where he thought he could revive Liberalism and the first election that he fought he wasn’t under any illusions about whether he was going to win, he didn’t think he would win. But he was building to win the second election.
    What was it that made you support him?
    He had political meetings in Barnstaple, well all the political candidates did, but he would half-fill the market in Barnstaple. His voice would ring out so clear, and the way that he answered an opponents’ question. Perhaps you could take it as an aggressive question but he would invite him up, and treat him with very great respect, answer the question fairly – he was a very attractive character.

Interview Summary

Date of recording:    25/02/14
Interviewer:        Richard Foord

[00.00] Interviewer introduces David Verney, Liberal activist between 1945 – 1981.  Chairman of Liberal Party Branch (Bishops Nympton Parish).  Devon County Councillor, 1963 – 1981.  Description of his father’s politics and the interviewee’s early life near Bishops Nympton, Devon.  [02.15] Memories of the 1945 General Election and of the election of George Lambert (the younger) as a Liberal National in the South Molton constituency.  [03.57] Comments on the young Jeremy Thorpe becoming a candidate in North Devon; activists “galvanised into working” and Liberalism “fanned into a blaze”.  Liberalism had been like a “smitchen old bodley” before he arrived, according to Thorpe.  [07.48] Memories of a Liberal Fair in Barnstaple Pannier Market.  Description of canvassing and the ‘count’ at the 1959 General Election.  [11.40] Jeremy Thorpe’s motivation of activists; Thorpe’s illness.  [14.30] Support for Thorpe after the allegation of Conspiracy to Murder.  [15.09] the interviewee’s experience as County Councillor, Witheridge Division, 1963 – 1973.  South Molton Division, 1973 – 1981.  Standing as an independent candidate; a difficult conversation with Jeremy Thorpe.  [19.35] The pity of party politics in local government; automatic opposition.  [21.40] Issues of personal interest in local politics: the library at Chulmleigh and the playing fields for the primary school at Witheridge.  [29.15] The role of national issues in motivating activists.  The current badger cull.  The 1956 Suez crisis.  International aid.  Britain’s 1973 entry into the European Common Market.  [33.00] The General Elections of 1964 and 1966.  Jeremy Thorpe winning the Liberal Party leadership election in 1967 and his reception at the boundary of the North Devon constituency on his return from London.  [36.00] The Party machine.  [37.25] Sympathy for the defeated Conservative opponent of Jeremy Thorpe, Mr James Lindsay.  [38.10] “Rinkagate”, trial and reasons for the loss of Jeremy Thorpe’s seat at the 1979 General Election.  [42.38] The role of class in the constituency.  [43.30] Ambition for Liberalism across the country.  Reflection on satisfaction at the interviewee’s time in local politics.

  • Listen here to David discussing the impact Jeremy Thorpe had on the Liberal party in North Devon

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