Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler

Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (13 January 1934 – 29 May 2020) was a British politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1983. In 1981, he defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the only Conservative MP to do so. He then joined the Liberal Democrats, followed by Labour, thereby being a member of four political parties within 15 years.

Early life and education Brocklebank-Fowler was born in Banbury on 13 January 1934, as the second son of the solicitor Sidney Brocklebank-Fowler and his wife Iris Beechey. He attended primary school on the west coast of Scotland during the Second World War, where his father served in the Royal Air Force, and the family lived at Culzean Castle.

He served his National Service in the Royal Navy on submarines and later worked on a coffee farm in Kenya.

In 1981 Brocklebank-Fowler defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), crossing the floor during a parliamentary debate on the budget. In the House of Commons he represented the SDP on agriculture and overseas development issues.

Personal life Brocklebank-Fowler was married three times. With his first wife, Joan Nowland, whom he married in 1957, he had two sons. In 1975, they divorced and he married his second wife, Mary Berry; they divorced in 1986. He was then married Dorothea Rycroft from 1996 until their divorce in 2000.

He later moved to Thurso, Scotland, where he restored a fishery on the Forss Water. He died from pneumonia on 29 May 2020.