Ian Grist, who has died at the early age of 63, was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales from 1987 to 1990. More at home as a constituency member than on the front bench, he was given office despite an independence of mind that had been shown in his opposition to water privatisation, his votes against the Education Bill in 1976 and his publicly voiced criticisms of the poll tax. Defeat in the 1992 General Election brought an eighteen year career in the Commons to an abrupt end, but he was almost immediately appointed by David Hunt to a four year term as chairman of the South Glamorgan Health Authority.
In many ways he was the classic mainstream Tory, hard-headed in matters of economics and soft-hearted on issues where compassion ought to come into play. Thus he resisted efforts to modify the legislation on abortion, favoured the abolition of corporal punishment in schools and voted against efforts to restore the death penalty. Although staunchly pro American, he backed entry into Europe, although it should be added that the Europe he favoured was a Europe of nation states. He was also a passionate opponent of Welsh devolution and acted as the Welsh secretary of the Union Flag group led by Maurice Macmillan, which ensured that the Conservative party opposed the move in the late 1970s.
The son of a successful Southampton garage owner, Ian Grist was educated at Hildersham House, Broadstairs and Repton. From there he won an open scholarship in history to Jesus College, Oxford, but chose to read PPE. Briefly he acted as a college secretary for the Oxford University Conservatives, but chose to look to the Colonial Service as a career. He acted as Plebiscite Officer in the South Cameroons 1960-61, then left what was looking an increasingly doomed service for the United Africa Company. From 1961 until 1963 he was a sales manager in Nigeria.
He had joined the Young Conservatives in Eastleigh in 1956 and on his return from Nigeria in 1963, he joined the Conservative party organisation, serving as their Information Officer for Wales. He was himself one quarter Welsh and his mother bore the good Welsh name of Hughes. After contesting the safe Labour seat of Aberavon in 1970 he worked for the Conservative Research Department. In the delayed boundary changes implemented after the Conservatives took office, the Cardiff North seat, which they had captured in 1970, was remodelled and a new North West seat created. The sitting MP chose to fight the new seat and Grist was chosen to succeed him in Cardiff North.
In February 1974 he won the seat in a four way fight with 42.9 % of the vote and held it until 1983. Almost immediately he became secretary of the Conservative MPs Welsh Committee, but his subsequent activities in the anti devolution camp did not prevent him from pursuing other work in the House. He was a member of the Select Committee on Violence in the Family 1977-79 and from 1977 to 1987 and again in 1991-2 chaired the Conservative West African Committee. He also became Vice Chairman of the Association of Conservative Clubs 1977-82.
After the Conservative election victory in 1979 he became PPS to the Secretary of State for Wales, but resigned in November 1981 in order to speak freely about Welsh affairs. He served on the Select Committee on Member's Interests 1984-87 and could consider the matter with some dispassion since he was always a full time MP.
His activities at the Welsh Office included responsibility for health and he served on the Ministerial Group on alcohol abuse and represented the Welsh Office on the Cabinet Committee dealing with urban regeneration. It fell to him to deny the links between high unemployment, poor health and suicides and he cannot have been altogether comfortable in doing so.
Although never hostile to the Government, he "never really took to Margaret's form of government" and towards the end of his time as a minister he became disillusioned with her leadership. Always a Heseltine supporter himself, he was in full agreement with David Hunt's decision to vote for him. The entire Welsh team was in fact to be found in the Heseltine camp in the leadership contest that followed Mrs Thatcher's defeat. Since he had shown himself to be a sensible junior minister, "a useful colleague to have, helpful in a quiet way", as Ken Clarke remembers, it was slightly surprising that Grist found himself out of the Major administration. "The problem with being a Welsh MP at that time, when the party was doing quite well, was that you got typecast and you had to be really exceptional to break out." Although a perfectly sensible and competent minister, Grist was never that.
Two years later he was out of politics altogether. After a further set of boundary changes, he had taken the Cardiff Central seat and from the start held it on a minority vote. In 1987 he retained it in a tight three way contest by only 2000 votes in the face of an increasingly strong Labour challenge. It was no surprise therefore when Labour swept Grist to defeat in 1992 although some observers felt that his supporters had given up the fight too soon.
Grist's final contribution to public life was as chairman of one of the new Health Authorities charged with planning and co-ordinating the newly reformed health service. Although it is likely that the appointment was made to a colleague with no career to fall back upon, Grist was a good choice, competent, moderate and as always wholly sensible.
In 1966 he had married Wendy White, a graduate like himself and they had two boys, Julian and Toby, whom characteristically he had educated at the local comprehensive school.
A tall man with an engaging, sometimes rather avuncular manner, he was too quiet perhaps to be a great success in the House. Although he could be thought reserved, he was reasonably gregarious, popular with colleagues and had a very down to earth practical view of what politics was about. Although never a memorable speaker, his performances at the box were well judged. In private he liked his Guinness, was grateful to have escaped with his life when a Jaguar wrecked his own car on the M4, and loved listening to music. He knew his own mind and, although his views rarely strayed from those common to his generation, was always a fount of shrewd common sense. He was unlucky enough to suffer a stroke while he still had much to give and his death comes after a protracted illness.