Ronald Bell

Sir Ronald McMillan Bell QC (14 April 1914 – 27 February 1982) was a British barrister and Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, representing South Buckinghamshire from 1950 to 1974 and Beaconsfield from 1974 to 1982. He also briefly represented the Newport constituency from a by-election in May 1945 until the general election two months later.

He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1966 and was knighted in 1980.

Family and education Born in Cardiff, the younger son of John Bell, the young Bell was educated at Cardiff High School and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating BA in 1936 and MA in 1941.

Military and civilian life In 1938, Bell was called to the Bar from Gray's Inn, London, and then served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve from 1939 to 1946, during the Second World War. After demobilisation he returned to practise as a barrister in London and on the South-Eastern Circuit. He took silk (became a Queen's Counsel) in 1966. In 1975, he was appointed as a member of Court of the University of Reading.

He was a member of Paddington Borough Council in London from 1947 to 1949, and was elected as Conservative MP for South Buckinghamshire at the 1950 general election. When that constituency was abolished, with effect from the February 1974 general election, he was elected for the new Beaconsfield from 1974. That year, he became a member of the Parliamentary Select committee on European Legislation.

In a vote on 22 December 1964, Bell was one of the 91 Tory MPs to vote in favour of the abolition of the death penalty.

Bell was opposed to the entry of Ugandan Asians into Britain, stating that "They (Ugandan Asians) were either born in India or retain a close connection with India, they have no connection to Britain by either blood or residence."

In January 1973, Bell and Powell were opponents of Heath's Counter-Inflation Bill, with Bell arguing that prices and incomes policies were incompatible with the British way of life and were not Conservative measures. At the same time, Nicholas Ridley complained that what was needed was a "proper economic policy", and Richard Body stated that the real cause of inflation was too much government spending.

In 1975, Bell supported Margaret Thatcher's successful bid to lead the party, having firstly voted for Sir Hugh Fraser against Edward Heath.

Death Ronald Bell died of a heart attack in his office in the House of Commons on 27 February 1982. Earlier that day he had taken the chair at an anti-Common Market rally in London.

Honours Queen's Counsel, 20 April 1966 Knight Bachelor, in 1980 New Year Honours; knighted by Elizabeth II on 12 February 1980.

Publications Bell, Ronald, Crown Proceedings, London, 1948