Sir Cyril David Townsend (21 December 1937 − 20 November 2013) was a British politician. Townsend was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath at the February 1974 election, and held the seat until retiring at the 1997 election. Early life Townsend was born in Woking to Lois Henderson and Lieutenant Colonel Cyril Townsend. He was educated at Bradfield College and Sandhurst. Military career He was commissioned in 1958 into the Durham Light Infantry. He served during the end of the Cyprus Emergency. He was promoted to captain in December 1963. In 1966 he fought in Malaysia in the confrontation with Indonesia. He was the Hong Kong Governor's aide-de-camp from 1964 to 1966, and in March 1968, after two years serving as adjutant to the first battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, retired from the army at the rank of captain. Politics After joining the Conservative Party, Townsend was recruited as a personal assistant by Edward Heath, the party leader, in 1968. When the party returned to government in 1970 he became political secretary to the leader of the Greater London Council, Sir Desmond Plummer. In 1972 he was selected as the new Conservative candidate for Bexleyheath, whose predecessor constituency, Bexley, Edward Heath had left in favour of neighbouring Sidcup due to boundary changes. In February 1974 Townsend was elected with a majority of 3686 votes, despite his party being defeated overall and the seat being considered marginal. Member of Parliament Townsend was made a member of the Select Committee on Violence in the Family, and, concerned about child sex abuse, was the sponsor of the Protection of Children Act 1978, which he introduced as a private member's bill in 1977. A liberal Conservative, he never obtained ministerial office under Margaret Thatcher, whom he frequently opposed. In 1979, after six months as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Reg Prentice, he resigned over immigration restrictions on Asian fiancés. He criticised Geoffrey Howe's 1981 budget and in November 1982 was the only Conservative MP to oppose benefit cuts. A strong supporter of local government, he opposed the Local Government Act 1985, including the abolition of the Greater London Council. In 1988 and 1989 he opposed the government's move not to increase child benefit. As a former officer he advocated a robust defence policy, supporting the Trident nuclear programme and opposing defence cuts under John Major. He also supported the boycott of the Moscow