Peter Ainsworth, Tory whip who served in the Shadow Cabinet and was passionate about the environment – obituary
Described as ‘a Technicolor human being’, he was Campaigning Politician of the Year in 1993 and championed English classical music
Peter Ainsworth at the 2000 Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth
Credit: Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock
Peter Ainsworth, who has died suddenly aged 64, was Conservative MP for East Surrey from 1992 to 2010, a government whip under John Major, and shadow secretary for culture and later the environment under William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and David Cameron.
Yet he made as great a contribution to public life after leaving the Commons, as chairman of the Big Lottery Fund, the Churches Conservation Trust, the Elgar Foundation and the Heritage Alliance.
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