Richard Law, 1st Baron Coleraine

Richard Kidston Law, 1st Baron Coleraine (27 February 1901 – 15 November 1980), was a British Conservative politician.

Early Life

He was born in 1901 as the youngest son among six children of Bonar Law, a businessman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923, and his wife, Annie Pitcairn Robley. Annie was the daughter of Harrington Robley, a merchant based in Glasgow. Richard Law's siblings included Charlie Law, a lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers who was killed at the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917, and James Law, a captain in the Royal Fusiliers who was shot down and killed on 21 September 1917. His sisters included Isabel, who married Sir Frederick Sykes, and Catherine, who married The 1st Baron Archibald in 1961. Law was educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Oxford.

Political Career

Law was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull South West in the 1931 general election, holding the seat until 1945. In 1940, he was appointed Financial Secretary to the War Office, later serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs until 1943. During his tenure at the Foreign Office, he participated in the Bermuda Conference concerning European Jewry and was sworn of the Privy Council in the 1943 New Year Honours. He subsequently served as Minister of State at the Foreign Office until 1945 and briefly as Minister of Education in the Churchill caretaker government.

Following this, Law was elected MP for Kensington South at a by-election in November 1945, a position he held until February 1950. He was re-elected as MP for Haltemprice in the 1951 general election but resigned from this seat in January 1954. In February 1954, he was elevated to the House of Lords with the peerage title Baron Coleraine of Haltemprice in the East Riding of the County of York.

After his elevation, Law undertook a two-week lecture tour in the United States, following a two-week visit to Russia invited by the Russian government.

Published Works

In 1950, Law authored "Return from Utopia," in which he expressed the view that attempting to use state power to create a utopian society is both unattainable and harmful, as it compromises individual freedom and choice. He emphasized that freedom is fundamental to human virtue and that utopian visions are incompatible with personal liberty.

In 1970, Lord Coleraine published "For Conservatives Only," criticizing contemporary Conservative leadership for abandoning core Tory principles in favor of electoral gains and centrist policies. At that time, he was a Patron of the Selsdon Group, a Conservative caucus.

Personal Life

On 26 January 1929, Richard Law married Mary Virginia Nellis, the second daughter of Abraham Fox Nellis of Rochester, New York. Her father, a silk manufacturer, died in 1923. The couple had two children: James Law, who became the 2nd Baron Coleraine (1931–2020), and Hon. Andrew Bonar Law, born in 1933.

James Law married Emma Elizabeth Richards in 1958; they divorced in 1966, after which James married Elizabeth Hughes. Andrew Law married Joanna Margarette Neill in 1961.

Lady Coleraine died on 3 April 1978 in Helensburgh, Scotland. Lord Coleraine died on 15 November 1980 at the age of 79. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, James Martin Bonar Law.

Descendants

Through his son James, he was a grandfather of Elizabeth Mary Law (born 1961), who married Charles Ironside, 3rd Baron Ironside, in 1985; Sophia Anne Law (born 1964); James Peter Bonar Law (born 1975); Henrietta Margaret Law (1968–1993); and Juliana Caroline Matilda Law (born 1971). Through his son Andrew, he was grandfather to Richard Pitcairn Bonar Law (born 1963) and Charlotte Mary de Montmorency Law (born 1964).