Sir Gordon Cosmo Touche, 1st Baronet (8 July 1895 – 19 May 1972) was a British barrister and politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for more than 30 years and became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.
Touche was a very 'clubbable' man who was prominent in London society; he served on the Executive Committee of the United Club for many years and was chairman in 1938.
This was a high-profile campaign caused by the bankruptcy of the sitting Conservative MP in a three-way marginal constituency; Touche stressed his support for 'safeguarding' vulnerable industries with protective tariffs on foreign imports.
On foreign affairs and defence issues, Touche opposed the reform of government in India (his wife was the daughter of an Indian colonial administrator).
In 1937 he joined with others including Admiral Roger Keyes and Brendan Bracken in urging rejection of the Finance Bill because of its proposal for a 'National Defence Contribution', a separate tax on the most profitable businesses to pay for rearmament.
He voted against the American loan in December 1945, and opposed the establishment of the new town of Crawley and London Gatwick Airport in the south of his constituency.
This took him out of the normal party political fray as the Deputy Speaker did not speak, although in December 1958 he was involved in a row over a defence debate.
Touche insisted that he had no choice, while Bevan and Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell objected; eventually the Speaker took the chair and endorsed his Deputy's actions.
There was another angry clash in the House of Commons in February 1961 when Touche was seen having a private conversation with Martin Redmayne, the Government Chief Whip; opposition MPs demanded to know what had been said, and insisted that the Speaker be sent for.