{"id":4284,"date":"2022-03-04T22:55:04","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T22:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/03\/04\/tributes-to-true-gentleman-former-walsall-mp-who-has-died\/"},"modified":"2022-03-04T22:55:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T22:55:04","slug":"tributes-to-true-gentleman-former-walsall-mp-who-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/03\/04\/tributes-to-true-gentleman-former-walsall-mp-who-has-died\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes to ‘true gentleman’ former Walsall MP who has died"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tributes were paid to the ‘true gentleman’, former MP Sir Richard Shepherd, who has died aged 79.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Walsall Councilors paid tribute to former Conservative MP Aldridge-Brownhills, who served the constituency for 36 consecutive years between 1979 and 2015.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He died earlier this month after a short illness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Authority leader Mike Bird said he was “a man of great principles”. On Monday, his brother John said: “Our hearts are broken.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He added that the family was very reassured by the fact that “his life was well lived and that in many ways he was a true gold medalist.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As an MP, Sir Richard was known as a Eurosceptic and was freed from the whip by Prime Minister John Major after his rejection of the Maastricht Treaty. In 2013 he was knighted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His former Conservative colleagues and opposition members paid tribute to him at a full council meeting on Monday, during which they observed a minute’s silence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Councilor Garry Perry said Sir Richard influenced him to go into politics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He was absolutely loyal to Aldridge-Brownhills and never stuck to the party line,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He was loyal to the things he was passionate about. Brexit was one of them. It’s a sad fact, by the time we got Brexit Richard’s health had deteriorated.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Bird added: “It’s very sad when people retire at the peak of their careers and then drop off very quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Richard was well accepted by the people of Aldridge Brownhills and is still revered as a great MP.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Councilor John Murray, who joined the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association in 1979 and worked on Sir Richard’s first campaign, said his belief in democracy made him a leading Eurosceptic and at times a parliamentary rebel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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