Smooth Operator

From a humble background in Barry, where his
father was a butcher and local politician in the
formative years of the new town, Cyril Lakin studied
at Oxford, survived the First World War, and went
on to become a Fleet Street editor, radio presenter
and war-time member of parliament. As literary
editor of both the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday
Times, Lakin was at the centre of a vibrant and
radical generation of writers, poets and critics,
many of whom he recruited as reviewers. He gained
a parliamentary seat and served in the National
Government during World War II.
The different worlds he inhabited, from Wales
to Westminster, and across class, profession and
party, were facilitated by his relaxed disposition,
convivial company, and ability to cultivate
influential contacts. An effective talent-spotter and
catalyst for new projects, he preferred pragmatism
over ideology and non-partisanship in politics: a
moderate Conservative for modern times.