Lord Freeman, who died 2 June, 2025, aged 83, was the least-known of the seven members of John Major’s Cabinet who lost their seats as New Labour swept to power in 1997; he had been Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the public service (effectively Lord High Everything Else) for almost two years.
Roger Norman Freeman, Baron Freeman, was born 27 May 1942 – 2 June 2025),[1] was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major from 1995 to 1997. He was the Conservative MP for Kettering from 1983 to 1997, and was made a life peer in 1997. His peerage was gazetted as Baron Freeman, of Dingley in the County of Northamptonshire. He sat in the House of Lords until his retirement on 1 October 2020.
After an unsuccessful attempt to be elected as MP for Don Valley in 1979, Freeman was finally elected as MP for Kettering in 1983. Before joining the Cabinet, he served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (1986–88), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (1988–90), and Minister for Public Transport (1990–1995) ranking as Minister of State. In that post he was responsible for steering through the House of Commons the Railways Bill, providing for the privatisation of British Rail and enacted as the Railways Act 1993. At the time he achieved a degree of notoriety with his comment on a "cheap and cheerful" rail service being provided for typists. In the 1993 Birthday Honours, Freeman was sworn of the Privy Council.
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