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Controversial former schools minister Sir Rhodes Boyson dies aged 87.
Sir Rhodes Boyson, the cane-wielding headteacher and Conservative MP, was renowned as much for his controversial views on corporal punishment, comprehensive schools and gay rights as he was for his no-nonsense approach, sideburns and broad Lancashire accent.
The former politician, who has died aged 87, with his mutton-chop whiskers and Victorian values, was a character who could have stepped straight from the pages of a Dickens novel. Even his fellow MPs gave him the nickname Wackford Squeers after the brutal schoolmaster in Nicholas Nickleby.
Born in Rossendale in 1925, Sir Rhodes was originally brought up as an old-fashioned socialist and represented Labour as a local councillor. But he turned his back on the Left after becoming disillusioned with socialism and its championing of comprehensive education.
He failed the 11-plus but still managed to attend Haslingden Grammar School, thanks to an aunt who paid his fees. It was there that Sir Rhodes learned first hand about the supposed merits of strict discipline. Although he was an accomplished reader, he discovered...