John Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley

The Right Honourable The Lord Cope of Berkeley PC
Opposition Chief Whip of the House of Lords
In office 18 September 2001 – 2 July 2007
Leader	Iain Duncan Smith Michael Howard David Cameron
Preceded by	The Lord Henley
Succeeded by	The Baroness Anelay of St John's
Paymaster General
In office 14 April 1992 – 20 July 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Lord Belstead
Succeeded by	David Heathcoat-Amory
Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of the Conservative Party
In office 1 November 1990 – 1 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	David Trippier
Succeeded by	Angela Rumbold
Minister of State for Northern Ireland
In office 25 July 1989 – 28 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Ian Stewart
Succeeded by	Brian Mawhinney The Lord Belstead
Minister of State for Employment
In office 13 June 1987 – 25 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Kenneth Clarke
Succeeded by	Tim Eggar
Treasurer of the Household
In office 11 June 1983 – 15 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Anthony Berry
Succeeded by	David Hunt
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 9 January 1981 – 13 June 1983
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John MacGregor
Assistant Whip
In office 16 May 1979 – 9 January 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	James Tinn
Member of Parliament for Northavon
In office 9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Steve Webb
Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire
In office 28 February 1974 – 13 May 1983
Preceded by	Frederick Corfield
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 4 October 1997 – 13 May 2020 Life Peerage
Personal details
Born	(1937-05-13) 13 May 1937
Political party	Conservative
Education	Oakham School

John Ambrose Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley, PC (born 13 May 1937) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Education

Cope was educated at Oakham School before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.

Career

Cope contested Woolwich East in the 1970 general election, but was defeated by Labour's Christopher Mayhew. Thereafter he served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire from 1974 to 1983. When that constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, he was returned for the new Northavon constituency, serving until his defeat in the 1997 general election by the Liberal Democrat Steve Webb. Within the Conservative Party, he was an Assistant Whip from June 1979 to June 1981.

His first political office was as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (June 1981 to June 1983), and then he was Treasurer of HM Household (1983–1987), and was then appointed Minister of State for Employment (with a special focus on small businesses) 1987–1989. He was then Minister of State for Security and Finance at the Northern Ireland Office until November 1990. In the meantime, in 1988, he was sworn as a member of the Privy Council. Cope served as Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1 November 1990, succeeding David Trippier. He was succeeded by Dame Angela Rumbold on 1 April 1992. Cope served as Paymaster General (HM Treasury) in John Major's government between 1992 and 1994.

He was made a life peer as Baron Cope of Berkeley, of Berkeley in the County of Gloucestershire on 4 October 1997. He served as Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords, on the Conservative front bench, from 2001 to 2007, when he was replaced by Baroness Anelay.

In 2012, Cope made the opening speech to the House of Lords, presenting a motion for the Loyal Address on the opening day of Parliament.

He retired from the House of Lords on 13 May 2020, his 83rd birthday.

Charity work

Cope is a patron of the charity Kids for Kids, helping children in rural areas of Darfur, Sudan. He is a patron of The West of England MS Therapy Centre, a charity helping those in Bristol and the surrounding areas live independent lives whilst coping with MS and other neurological conditions, Cope is also President of the Friends of the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath.

Cope has also been a Trustee of War Memorials Trust since 1999; this is a conservation charity that works for the protection of war memorials across the United Kingdom.