Margaret Thatcher and the north Wales stalking horse

The current Conservative MP for Clwyd West is a big fan of Margaret Thatcher, but the same could not always be said of her predecessors.

Welsh Secretary David Jones has recalled meeting the former prime minister shortly after the 2005 general election.

"She asked me which constituency I represented, and I told her and she said: "who were your predecessors?" I mentioned Sir Anthony Meyer, who was of course the Member of Parliament who stood against her as a stalking horse and I told her that Sir Anthony was one of my predecessors.

"She looked at me and said, "Can't say I remember the name"."

Sir Anthony was deselected by local Tories after his "stalking horse" challenge. He died in 2004. A few years later, his son, Ashley, recalled his bid for the Tory crown in an article that explains how his father's pro-European views were influenced by his experience of war.