Sir Richard Butler, President of the NFU from 1979 to 1986, died at the weekend at the age of 83.
Sir Richard worked the family farm near Halstead in Essex. He became involved in the NFU in the 1960s and was elected as Deputy President to Henry (now Lord) Plumb in 1970. He served in that role for nine years before being elected President in 1979.
Paying tribute to Sir Richard, the current President of the NFU Peter Kendall said today:
“Sir Richard Butler piloted the NFU through one of the most turbulent periods in its history. He had to contend with growing controversy over the EEC’s food mountains, the unfairness of the so-called ‘Green Pound’, the introduction of milk quotas and the passing of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. All this against a political backdrop which was far from benign, given the opinions of the recently elected Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher about both subsidies to farmers and the EEC.
“It was thanks not least to his shrewdness, intelligence, diplomatic skills and the enormous respect that he commanded among those around him that the NFU and British farmers emerged stronger than ever from an incredibly difficult period.
“The farmers and growers of England and Wales owe Sir Richard a huge debt of gratitude for the unwavering commitment that he showed as one of their most effective leaders.”
- John Jolly - 02/02/2012
I first got to know Richard as a fellow member, then Chairman of the Essex County Executive in the mid-60s. He was one of our two HQ Delegates, with the late Tim French. Compared with the ebullient Tim, Richard seemed rather quiet, shy even, but that was misleading; his sharp intelligence and diplomatic abilities enabled him to deal with the many tricky issues that emerged at that time, both nationally and locally- the Third London Airport controversy for example. This quickly propelled him to the Deputy Presidency, where he formed a highly successful partnership with another rather ebullient character, Henry Plumb. He succeeded Plumb as President in 1979 and quickly proved himself ideally qualified to deal with the challenges then emerging- the perceived anti- farmer attitude of Mrs. Thatcher and the cracks that were appearing in the CAP. He was also hugely respected in Europe, where his presidency of COPA underlined his diplomatic abilities.
Above all, he was a first class farmer and Penny Pot is a fine tribute to his practical expertise.
- Jeremy Squier - 02/02/2012
Richard welcomed me on to Council c 1980 and was always friendly and supportive and when he retired from the President position I tried to get him to stay on! He was a fine president and I was proud to know him.
- Andrew Dawes - 31/01/2012
A sad passing and a reminder of my first foray days into the industry, when as a 16 year old working on a hill farm I devoured everything coming out of the NFU and other farming media