My friend John Davies, who has died aged 82, came to national attention in 1987 when, for the Labour party, he stood against Margaret Thatcher in her constituency during the general election. He succeeded in reducing her majority in Finchley, but, of course, the seat remained rock solid for the prime minister.
John also served for a time as leader of the Labour group in Barnet, north London, and thoroughly enjoyed fighting vigorously against the Tories, defying the usual political progression by becoming increasingly leftwing as he grew older. However, he left formal politics soon after he stood against Thatcher.
John was born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, the eldest child of Ivor, a book publisher and Liberal party councillor who stood for parliament on three occasions, and his wife, Jean (nee McLeod), a magistrate. After attending Magdalen College school in Oxford, John went to Oxford University, where he studied English, edited the student newspaper, Cherwell, and just missed out on the Union presidency in 1963. One of the few people able to recite the whole of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood from memory, he was also an amateur versifier, taking Thomas as his model.
After Oxford, John took a postgraduate librarian qualification at Sheffield University, working for a time as a librarian in mid-Wales before becoming director of the Educational Publishers Council for the rest of his career, often opposing measures favoured by Thatcher that led to budget cuts in school libraries.
Outside work and politics he maintained his interest in poetry, was fascinated in anything to do with Wales, and had a passion for cricket.
John married Laura (who was also born with the surname Davies), a museum administrator, in 1972. She died in 2012. His sister, Mary, and brother, Michael, predeceased him. He is survived by four nephews and nieces.
