Talk:Norman St John-Stevas

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Private life[edit]

Nothing about his private life? It's all a bit "Who's Who?" at the moment ...

Well, he's a confirmed bachelor and a committed aesthete. Will that do you?

Name[edit]

The name of this article is absurdly long. There is little chance of someone correctly typing its name into the search box.mgekelly 09:07, 24 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But that is his name Franny-K 20:46, 5 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not acting Prime Minister[edit]

Removed "He was technically the UK's acting Prime Minister for 68 minutes on 27 June 2007. This covered the period between Tony Blair resigning as Prime Minister, and Gordon Brown formally accepting the post." The reference, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6246866.stm, actually cited St John-Stevas's opinion that Tony Blair was still prime minister. 151.200.242.14 14:22, 28 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How disappointing. St John Stevas might not sensibly be considered "the best Prime Minister we never had", but he's certainly the most amusing. Deliberately or otherwise. AuntFlo (talk) 11:15, 7 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Partner[edit]

Can anyone justify the assertion that he "controversially bestowed on his partner, Adrian, a life fellowship at the college". This seems highly dubious for several reasons:

  • No surname is given for this "Adrian"
  • There is no one with the name Adrian in the college's list of fellows
  • As far as I know the Master does not have the power to bestow fellowships: this is done by the Governing Body as a whole.

Unless a citation is found I suggest the sentence should be deleted. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:43, 14 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Two weeks later, no justification provided, so I've removed the claim, as well as the reference to "Adrian" in the "Personal life" section. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:02, 31 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Adrian could be like Adrian Stanford he is a honorary member of Emmanuel College and was a friend of St John Stevas —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.8.33.210 (talk) 22:53, 25 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Greek relations?[edit]

There is a list of famous Greeks. Norman Stevas is listed. Father Spiro from Corfu? Is this correct? No mention in this article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.158.5.47 (talk) 20:06, 26 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Civil ceremony November 19, 2009[edit]

[1] Regards, Anameofmyveryown (talk) 11:30, 17 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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If anyone has the sources to hand[edit]

When he went to Oxford, he tried to become President of the Oxford Union, having already held the same position at Cambridge. Robin Day (who had been President in summer term 1950, the same term NStJS had held the Presidency at Cambridge) helped run the campaign to block him, feeling that this was "pot-hunting". It's in Day's memoirs but I don't have a copy to hand.

When she sacked him from the Cabinet, Thatcher is said to have commented "Norman was too much ... " after he is alleged to coined all sorts of derogatory nicknames for her - the Leaderene etc.Paulturtle (talk) 03:52, 2 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Report of Sir Geoffrey[edit]

@Gak:—you mentioned the (quite amusing) habits of Stevas at the RFAC and associated Chipperfield report at https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Norman_St_John-Stevas&diff=prev&oldid=262238132&diffmode=source; I skimmed the report the other day and it doesn’t seem that terribly much about butlers, red boxes, or adornment of offices was directly stated by Sir Geoffrey, and, although by civil service standards, it might count as ‘savage’, it was far less detailed than I thought it would be—mere hints that ‘impressive accommodation’ at 7 St James’s Square was probably a tad unnecessary, and no direct personal criticism of Stevas. I propose the alternate formula ‘The necessity of such extravagance was questioned in a government report by Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield.’ Docentation (talk) 17:09, 7 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I see your point and I welcome the change that you propose. Gak (talk) 15:21, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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