William Yates

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This is about the Tory MP; for the Baptist missionary and orientalist see William Yates (Baptist missionary and orientalist)

William Yates (born 15 September 1921) has been a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for the marginal seat of The Wrekin from 1955 until 1966, when it was won by Labour's Gerald Fowler.

William Yates was born in 1921. Educated at Uppingham School and Hertford College, Oxford, he served with the Queen's Bays during the Second World War.

A member of the Conservative Party he was elected to the House of Commons in 1955. During the Suez Crisis Yates emerged as one of the government's staunchest critics. On 1st November, 1956, Yates, interrupted on a point of order and said, "I have come to the conclusion that Her Majesty's Government has been involved in an international conspiracy". Later that day representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union at the United Nations joined forces and demanded a cease-fire.

Yates was defeated in the 1966 General Election. The following year he left the Conservative Party over a dispute over the Arab-Israeli War.

A senior partner in World Wide Industrial Consultants, Yates moved to Australia where he was elected as a Liberal Member of the House of Representatives. He was one of a select few to have served in both the UK and Australian parliaments. After a successful parliamentary career he went on to spend a year (26 May 1982 - 9 Aug 1983) as administrator of the remote but idyllic Australian territory of Christmas Island.

He now lives with his wife, Camilla in the Albury-Wodonga region of Australia. In 2003 and at the age of 82 he became a Doctor of Political Science following publication of his thesis on British policy during the Suez crisis.