Long-serving MP for Hastings and Rye dies

Former MP for Hastings and Rye, Sir Kenneth Warren, has died aged 92.
Sir Kenneth Warren and Michael Foster SUS-190716-095751001Sir Kenneth Warren and Michael Foster SUS-190716-095751001
Sir Kenneth Warren and Michael Foster SUS-190716-095751001

Sir Kenneth, who was MP for 22 years until 1992, was for many years chairman of the Trade and Industry Select Committee and a loyal ally of Margaret Thatcher.

He was universally renowned for his great sense of humour and always had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of amusing stories to tell, friend Richard Stevens said.

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After his retirement from Parliament, he accepted the position as president of the 119-year-old Hastings Old Town charity, the Winkle Club.

Mr Stevens, a vice-president of the Winkle Club, said: “Although Ken and I had our political differences, we remained firm friends for almost 30 years.

“Ken was a great supporter of our club and of the local fishermen. We will all miss him greatly.”

Sir Kenneth was born in August 1926 and attended Midsomer Norton Grammar School and Aldenham School before studying at King’s College London and the London School of Economics (LSE), winning a Fulbright Scholarship to the United States in 1949.

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As reported in the Telegraph, Sir Kenneth was elected for the Hastings constituency in 1970, succeeding Sir Neil Cooper-Key, from whom he bought the number plate MP 1066 for £350.

He was Conservative MP for the Hastings and Rye constituency from 1983 until he retired in 1992.

Sir Kenneth’s background was as an aeronautical engineer before entering Parliament.

He was knighted in 1994 and married Anne in 1963. She died in 2013 and he married his second wife, Susan in 2017.

Sir Kenneth died on June 29.

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He is survived by his second wife Susan, his son and two daughters.

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