STORY
Sir Jeremy Hanley, the former Conservative Party chairman and minister under Sir John Major, has died at the age of 80 following a short illness. His family confirmed that he died on 22 May 2026 and thanked staff at Torbay Hospital for the care they provided during his final days.
Hanley served as Conservative MP for Richmond and Barnes from 1983 until 1997, and was brought into the Cabinet in 1994 as party chairman and minister without portfolio. He held the post for a year before moving to the Foreign Office, having previously served as a defence minister in Major’s Government.
After leaving front-line politics, Hanley remained involved in business and public life, including work with Brain Games Network and other organisations. He was also known beyond Westminster as the son of actors Dinah Sheridan (1920–2012), best remembered for The Railway Children, and Jimmy Hanley (1918–1970).