Claim 595514e8Checked 21 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“Cricket was Sir Alan Haselhurst’s greatest passion in Parliament and perhaps in life.”
—Mrs Kemi BadenochConservativeCon / North West Essex·Engagements·03 Jun 2026Factual · claimed non public knowledge
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
The claim that cricket was Sir Alan Haselhurst's greatest passion in Parliament and perhaps in life is well-supported by multiple independent sources.
1. **BBC News** reported Badenoch's tribute noting "that, outside Parliament, his greatest passion was cricket" and that he tried to get her to join the parliamentary cricket team.
2. **PoliticsHome** published Badenoch's own fuller tribute, which stated: "Away from politics there was cricket, perhaps his greatest passion. He helped found the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cricket, served on the Essex County Cricket Club committee and somehow found time to write seven novels about a fictional Essex cricket club."
3. **The Independent** quoted a colleague saying: "Friends will know Alan was mad about cricket" and that he was a long-serving officer of the All Party Parliamentary Group on cricket.
4. **Multiple colleagues** corroborated this characterization. Tom Pursglove (MP) said Alan had "an infectious love of cricket." Speaker Lindsay Hoyle mentioned he would miss "our discussions about cricket."
5. His cricket involvement is well-documented: he was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), served on the Essex County Cricket Club committee, helped found and chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cricket, and wrote seven novels about a fictional Essex cricket club.
The claim is a subjective characterization of someone's personal passion, but it is strongly and consistently supported by multiple public sources, including those who knew him personally. The qualifier "perhaps" in "perhaps in life" further hedges the claim appropriately.
Sources: BBC News (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3p95wyrl9o), PoliticsHome – Tribute by Kemi Badenoch (https://www.politicshome.com/opinion/article/tribute-lord-alan-haselhurst-by-kemi-badenoch), The Independent (https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/politics/alan-haselhurst-death-conservatives-mp-b2988977.html), Bishop's Stortford Independent (https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/conservative-party-leader-kemi-badenoch-pays-tribute-to-form-9468538/), Yorkshire Post (https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/alan-haselhurst-obituary-the-yorkshire-born-life-peer-who-first-became-an-mp-in-1970-8763762)
From speech
I echo the Prime Minister’s words on Lance Corporal James Freeman and about the Royal Navy helicopter crash in Devon. I also send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Henry Nowak. The circumstances around Henry’s wrongful arrest and tragic murder must be a wake-up call to the entire country and our institutions that every life matters, and it is the responsibility of everyone in this House to bring people together, not divide them. Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Sir Alan Haselhurst—Lord Haselhurst—who died on Monday. Sir Alan served Parliament for over 50 years, eight of them in the Lords and 40 years as my predecessor as MP for Saffron Walden, while from 1970 to 1974 he was the Member of Parliament for Middleton and Prestwich. He was respected on all sides of this House, and was elected multiple times as your predecessor as Deputy Speaker, before he concluded in the other place. Apart from serving his constituents, Sir Alan’s greatest passion in Parliament and perhaps in life was cricket, as you said, Mr Speaker. He was chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on cricket, a role which he encouraged me to take up and which I graciously declined, telling him I knew absolutely nothing about cricket. However, I think colleagues should know that Sir Alan’s intense lobbying is the reason that Sky Sports can be found on the parliamentary TV network. There is so much to say, but just to let everyone know, he was a good and kind man and he will be very much missed. My thoughts are with his wife Angela, his children Mark, David and Emma, and his grandchildren. May I ask the Prime Minister by how much the welfare bill has risen since he came to office?
Sources opened
| [1] | bbc.co.uk |
| [2] | the-independent.com |
| [3] | politicshome.com |
| [4] | bbc.com |
| [5] | bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk |
| [6] | yorkshirepost.co.uk |