Rab Butler - Retirement From Politics

Retirement From Politics

At the comparatively early age of 62, Butler left office for the last time with one of the longest records of ministerial experience amongst contemporary politicians. Butler remained on the Conservative front bench for the next year, when he was appointed Master of Trinity College Cambridge. The same year, he was awarded a life peerage as Baron Butler of Saffron Walden. He would then sit as a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords. He had declined offers of an hereditary earldom, both by Alec Douglas-Home in his resignation honours list and by Harold Wilson.

At the time of his retirement from Parliament he was the longest continuously serving member of the Commons and Father of the House. As Master of Trinity, Butler was publicly promoted as a mentor and counsellor to Charles, Prince of Wales when he was enrolled in university; a humorous cartoon of the time showed Butler telling the Prince that he was to study a specially made-up History course "in which I become Prime Minister". Butler also actively served as the first Chancellor of the University of Essex from 1966 until his death in 1982 at Great Yeldham, Essex. He is buried in the churchyard of the parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Saffron Walden.

Butler's son Adam served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1987 and as a junior minister under Margaret Thatcher.