John Hoyle Cockcroft (6 July 1934 – 25 April 2023) was a British Conservative politician and journalist.

Cockcroft was born on 6 July 1934 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, to Lionel Cockroft and Jenny Hoyle.^[1][2] He was educated at Oundle School, and attended St John's College, Cambridge, as a senior major scholar, graduating with a degree in History and Economics in 1958. That same year, he was elected president of the Cambridge Union Society.^[3] He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Army from 1953 to 1955.^[1]

Cockcroft worked as a journalist from 1959 to 1974, and again from 1981 through to 1986, writing for the Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, and Sunday Telegraph.^[1] He was member of Parliament for Nantwich in Cheshire from February 1974 until his retirement in 1979.^[1][4][5] He served on numerous boards and commissions.^[1]

In 1971, Cockcroft married Tessa Shepley. They had three daughters.^[2] In retirement, Cockcroft lived in Chelmsford. He continued to write and read, despite failing eyesight. Cockcroft died on 25 April 2023, at the age of 88.^[6]

Cockcroft's uncle was the Nobel-prize winning physicist Sir John Cockcroft.^[6]