Jim Lester

{{Redirect|James Lester|the Primeval character|James Peregrine Lester}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| office = Member of Parliament
for Broxtowe
Beeston (1974–1983)

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2021|10|31|1932|5|23}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1932|5|23}}

| birth_place = Nottingham. Nottinghamshire, England

| termend = 8 April 1997

| termstart = 28 February 1974

| party = Conservative

| predecessor = Constituency established

| successor = Nick Palmer

}}

Sir James Theodore Lester (23 May 1932 – 31 October 2021) was a British Conservative Party politician.{{cite web|url=http://www.burkes-peerage.net/familyhomepage.aspx?FID=0&FN=LESTERJAMES|title=Preview family record – Lester|publisher=Burkes peerage and gentry|accessdate=28 March 2009}}

Parliamentary career

Born in Nottingham in May 1932, Lester first stood for Parliament in a by-election at Bassetlaw in 1968, when he almost overturned a Labour majority of 10,428 votes, failing to beat Joe Ashton by just 740 votes. He contested the seat again at the 1970 general election, but Ashton stretched his advantage to 8,261 votes.

He was member of parliament (MP) for Beeston between February 1974 and 1983, then for Broxtowe until the 1997 election, when he lost his seat to Labour. During his time in the House of Commons, he served as a party whip and a junior employment minister.

Lester died on 31 October 2021, at the age of 89.{{cite news|title=Sir James Lester, well-liked Nottinghamshire MP and junior minister who was an archetypal one-nation Tory – obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/11/02/sir-james-lester-well-liked-nottinghamshire-mp-junior-minister/|work=The Telegraph|date=2 November 2021}} {{subscription required}}