Eurosceptic former Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor dies aged 80
ARCH Eurosceptic Sir Teddy Taylor, a Tory ex-MP who backed Enoch Powell’s immigration policy, has died aged 80.
Sir Teddy, who also opposed gay rights and supported hanging, became MP for Glasgow Cathcart in 1964 but quit as a Scottish Office minister in 1971 over Edward Heath’s decision to join the Common Market.
In 1979 he was elected MP for Southend East, where he remained until he retired in 2005. But he was thrown out of the Conservative Party by John Major as one of the rebels opposing the Maastricht Treaty. SNP MP Stewart McDonald said: “He had that gift of being able to secure the respect and votes of those who opposed his politics.” Sir Teddy died in Southend Hospital on Wednesday after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Sheila, and their two sons and one daughter.