John Pardoe
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John Pardoe (born July 27, 1934) is a retired British politician and businessman.
Educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he was active in the famous Footlights Society- one critic of their 1955 revue panned future comedian Jonathan Miller whilst predicting a bold comedic future for Pardoe.
In the 1964 general election Pardoe stood as the Liberal Party's candidate against Margaret Thatcher in Finchley. In the 1966 election, the Liberal Party increased its number of MPs from nine to twelve - one of them was Pardoe, capturing the North Cornwall seat. He rapidly became the party's Economic Affairs spokesman in parliament, respected for the intellect of his views if not the often partisan nature of his comments.
In 1976, after the resignation of Jeremy Thorpe, Pardoe was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party. He lost to David Steel by a wide margin.
In the 1979 general election, he lost his seat , possibly because of his outspoken support for neighbouring MP Jeremy Thorpe, who was then standing trial at the Old Bailey for conspiracy and incitement to murder.
In the general election of 1987, Pardoe served as campaign manager of the SDP-Liberal Alliance.