Norman Baker
A tenacious and idiosyncratic Liberal Democrat MP who became known for his relentless, often solitary, campaigns on civil liberties and government transparency.
Born 1957 (age 69)·British politician·Birthday: July 26·Baby Boomers
Biography
Norman Baker entered Parliament in 1997 as the MP for Lewes, bringing with him the demeanor of a persistent, slightly rumpled campaigner rather than a slick party man. A former local councilor and music journalist, he operated from the backbenches with a fierce independence that often unsettled his own party whips as much as the government. He was a constant thorn in the side of the establishment, using Freedom of Information requests and dogged parliamentary questions to probe issues from the murder of government weapons expert David Kelly to the misuse of MPs' expenses. His most prominent role came as a junior minister in the Home Office during the Coalition government, a brief and reportedly fraught experience. Defeated in 2015, he left a legacy as a maverick who treated his constituency as a platform for forensic scrutiny.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Norman was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Norman Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Norman's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes for 18 years, from the 1997 Labour landslide until his defeat in 2015.
- Appointed as Minister of State for Crime Prevention in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2013.
- Authored a controversial and bestselling book, 'The Strange Death of David Kelly,' which challenged the official narrative of the weapons inspector's death.
- Was a leading parliamentary campaigner for freedom of information and civil liberties, often utilizing FOI laws himself.
Did You Know?
Before politics, he worked as a music journalist and was a press officer for the band Supertramp.
Baker is a published author of books on transport, including one about the history of the main road through his constituency.
He is a vegetarian and an environmental campaigner who often cycled to Parliament.
“I ask the questions in the room that others want to ignore.”
