THE world was a very different place as Michael Jopling waited to hear if he had been elected to parliament in 1964.

As he awaited the result of the count for the Westmorland constituency, Nikita Khrushchev had just been deposed from power in the Soviet Union and the world had just had its first taste of the sound of Dr Robert Moog’s synthesizer.

However, his success in the election on October 15 was the beginning of 33 years at the area’s political helm, during which he would serve in key roles in the Conservative cabinet during a period of major political and social change.

October marked the 50th anniversary of Mr Jopling’s - now the Right Honourable Lord Jopling’s - first election as Conservative MP for Westmorland.

In the years that followed the Yorkshire farmer would serve in Margaret Thatcher’s government as Chief Whip between 1979 and 1983, then as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until 1987.

As chief whip Lord Jopling was in charge of making backbenchers and ministers toe the party line - including during the days running up to and during the Falklands War in 1982.

During his tenure at the head of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food Lord Jopling had a self-confessed “hideously difficult time” dealing with the issue of food surpluses thrown up by the European Economic Community’s (EEC) Common Agricultural Policy.

Locally, Lord Jopling - now 83 and living in the family home at Ainderby Hall - retained healthy majorities until he stepped down as an MP in 1997.

Today Lord Jopling, who still plays an active role in politics on the global stage, says he believes the world faces more dangers than it ever did during his time in power.

Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with the Ebola outbreak in Africa, meant Western Europe was surrounded by a "great arc of trouble," he said.

"I have never known an international situation which is more menacing than it is now and I think the world is in a very serious situation," he said.

The only way for the world to deal with these issues was for individual nations to work together and make a serious commitment to resolving them, he said.

His work on one of the European Union Committees dealing with defence and foreign affairs, as well as his work for the NATO Parliamentary Assembly meant he had little time to keep up to date on affairs in his old constituency.

He said: "I believe there is nothing worse than a former MP breathing down the neck of their successors and when I gave up I took the decision to detach myself and not second guess the sitting member."