Members of Parliament for Yeovil - Yeovil Express

Member of Parliament for West Dorset

Party

Committees

Post Offices Group, Renewable Transport Fuels Group, Haemophilia Group, Markets Group, Horse Group, Renewable And Sustainable Energy Group (associate Group)

Biography

MP Since - 1997 Majority - 2,461 Born - 19/05/1956, Married, 1 son, 1 daughter.

Education - Eton College, Trinity College, Cambridge, London Business School.

Previous Occupation - - Editor of the Cambridge Review (1978-81). Visiting Fellow at Princetown University (1980-81), Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge (1981-82), Advisor to Sir Keith Joseph , Secretary of State for Education (1982-83), Special Advisor to the Prime Minister's Policy Unit (1983-86), Manager and Director in Corporate Finance at Rothschild & Son Merchant Bank (1986-2003).

Personal Overview - Has business and journalistic experience. He has also been an advisor to several senior Conservative figures, including at Downing Street at the time of the development of the idea of the Community Charge (Poll Tax). He moved from a Constitutional Affairs brief to enter the Shadow Cabinet for the first time in September 2000 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. His election campaign was a marked by his absence from front-line duty after his remarks about Conservative ambitions to proportionally lower public spending. Advanced to become Shadow Home Secretary after the Duncan Smith leadership win, his immediate performance was lacklustre, without the intellectual underpinning evident in his more recent public pronouncements. Setting his course against the Widdecombe tendency he has moved Conservative policy back towards the centre ground. He has a Portillo-like experience of political loss, having failed to retain the Hampstead & Highgate seat for the Conservatives against the candidacy of Glenda Jackson in the 1992 General Election. Was promoted into one of the major Opposition set piece roles in November 2003 as Shadow Chancellor, a move which gave him the opportunity to make his mark as a key party figure. However the marginality of his seat at the 2005 General Election limited the amount of time which he could spend in the limelight. With a role as Policy Director, is likely to be a key strategy developing figure under the David Cameron leadership.

Political History - Parliamentary Candidate, Hackney North (1987), Hampstead & HIghgate (1992), MP Dorset West (1997-). Chairman of the Conservative Home Affairs/Constitutional/Culture/Media/Sport Committee (2001-03), Conservative Party Economic Affairs Co-ordinator (2003-). Member of the Deregulation Select Committee (1998-99). Constitutional Affairs Spokesman (1998-99), Opposition Treasury Spokesman (1999-2000). Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2000-01). Shadow Home Secretary (2001-03), Shadow Secretary of State for Economic Affairs & Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2003-05). Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2005). Chairman of the Policy Review & the Conservative Research Department (2005-).

Characteristics - N/a.

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