He contested
Manchester Gorton in 1979 and was first elected as an MP for Central Suffolk in
1983. He was a Deputy
Speaker of the House of Commons from 1997, and therefore did not take political stances or vote in the Chamber. Before his position, he was a
eurosceptic who was one of the
Maastricht Rebels. He was
knighted in the
2001 Birthday Honours. Lord did not seek re-election at the
2010 general election. On 19 November 2010, it was announced that he would be created a
life peer and sit as a
Conservative in the
House of Lords. Created on 14 January 2011 and introduced into the House of Lords on 18 January 2011, he took the title
Baron Framlingham, of Eye in the
County of Suffolk. Though life peers usually use their surname in their title, Framlingham was advised he could not become "Lord Lord"; though this nickname has since been used occasionally in jest. ==Personal life==