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About Peter
Peter Bruce Lilley, Baron Lilley, is a British politician and life peer who held senior cabinet positions under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Born in Kent in August 1943, he studied economics at Clare College, Cambridge, before embarking on a political career with the Conservative Party. He represented St Albans in Parliament from 1983 until boundary changes led to his election for Hitchin and Harpenden, a seat he held from 1997 until his retirement in 2017.
During his ministerial career, Lilley served as Trade and Industry Secretary between July 1990 and April 1992, before moving to head the Department of Social Security from April 1992 to May 1997, where he introduced Incapacity Benefit. A longstanding Eurosceptic, he campaigned for Brexit in the 2016 referendum and supported the Leave Means Leave pressure group. Following his departure from the Commons in 2017, he was nominated for a peerage and now sits in the House of Lords. Peter Lilley writes commentary for Comment Central on politics and policy matters.