Constituency : Truro 1974-86
The October 1974 election saw the Liberal vote dip slightly with a net loss of one seat.
The only gain was David taking Truro from the Tories at the second attempt. His majority was 464.
David's father was a sub-postmaster. He was a cousin of the actress Susan Penhaligon. He was educated at Truro School and Cornwall Technical College. He became a mechanical engineer working on rock drilling as well as taking over his father's business. In 1964, he was a defence witness in one of the last capital cases in Britain and subsequently joined the Liberals. He built up his local party virtually from scratch but was rejected as a candidate in 1966 due to concerns about his Cornish accent. He stood in Totnes in 1970 coming third. In February 1974, he cut the Tory majority to less than 3,000 in Truro.
David had to transfer the sub-postmaster office to his wife on his election. He quickly became popular on all sides of the house for his good humour. He campaigned for a national minimum wage and increased state pensions. He wasd also a champion of Cornish interests in mining, fishing and transport infrastructure. He once declared "You need more in an economy than just tourism, ice cream and deckchairs". He was sceptical about the Lib-Lab pact but came round, declaring it had achieved an "economic revolution" in 1977. He vetoed Tony Benn's plans for centralising electricity control.
David opposed Jeremy Thorpe's standing in 1979 and refused to help his campaign. He was returned with a much-increased majority as Thorpe and Pardoe went down in 1979. He opposed nuclear power but supported NATO and multilateral nuclear disarmament describing Labour's policy as "behaving like a virgin in a brothel".
David supported the alliance with the SDP and was nominated a "fireman" who could sort out disputes between the parties alongside John Horam. He was described by The Guardian's Hugo Young as having "a closer grasp of national electoral politics.. than any other Liberal MP". He further increased his majority in 1983. He subsequently took charge of the party's by-election unit.
David was party President from 1985 to 1986 and presided over a difficult Assembly in the latter year when the parties disagreed on defence policy.
In December 1986 he was killed when a van skidded on ice and smashed into his car. The inquest suggested he had not been wearing a seatbelt at the time. He was 42. David Steel suggested that David had been his most likely successor. He is commemorated by the Penhaligon Award in the Liberal Democrats for the most active local party. His appearance on Desert Island Discs was broadcast after his death.
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