Dingle Foot - Education and Career

Education and Career

He was educated at Bembridge School, a boys' independent school on the Isle of Wight, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Union in 1928. He was called to the bar in 1930. From 1931 to 1945 he was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare in Winston Churchill's wartime coalition, and a member of the British delegation to San Francisco Conference in 1945. At the 1945 election he lost his seat to Labour.

At the 1950 general election, Foot defended the formerly Liberal seat of North Cornwall, following the defection of its member Tom Horabin to Labour in 1947, but he lost to Harold Roper (Conservative).

Foot left the Liberals and joined the Labour Party in 1956. He was Labour MP for Ipswich, 1957–1970. Following his appointment as Solicitor General in the first government of Harold Wilson, he was knighted and made a Privy Counsellor in 1964. He served in this post for almost 3 years, from 18th October 1964 until 24th August 1967, until he was replaced by Arthur Irvine following a major government reshuffle. In 1970 he was again defeated, this time by the Conservative Party. His publications included Despotism in Disguise (1937) and British Political Crises (1976).

In the late 40's and early 50's he was often seen on the BBC Current Affairs programme called In the News, where he was the moderator. Often appearing with him were Michael Foot and Sir Bob Boothby.