Thomas Martin (Conservative politician)

Thomas Ballantyne Martin (13 November 1901 – 28 January 1995) was a British politician, stockbroker and journalist. After an early career as a private secretary he was unexpectedly elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Blaydon, a traditionally extremely secure Labour constituency. After standing up in Parliament for the local mining industry he opted out of defending his seat, and could not find election elsewhere; he then became a political journalist. After wartime service in intelligence, he supported Winston Churchill's attempt to bring European unity and then became a stockbroker. A very clubbable man, he attracted interest in the 1990s as a rare survivor of the pre-Second World War Parliament.