Andrew Murrison
Encyclopedia
Dr Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961, Colchester
) is a doctor
and Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom
. After serving as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Westbury
from 2001 to 2010, at the 2010 general election he was elected for the new seat of South West Wiltshire.
and Marion Murrison, he grew up in Harwich
, Essex
, and went to local schools there, Harwich High School
, and the Britannia Royal Naval College
, Dartmouth
.
scholarship
, Murrison qualified as a doctor from the Bristol University medical school
in 1984 and holds the degrees of MD, MB ChB.
Until 2000, he served in the Royal Navy
as a medical officer based at Fareham
. He served in the Gulf War
of 1990-1991 and retired with the rank of Surgeon-Commander. During his Naval career he served as an Honorary Research Registrar
at Southampton General Hospital
and spent one year as a postgraduate student at Hughes Hall
, Cambridge University, obtaining a Diploma
in Public Health. From 2000, he worked as a general practitioner
locum
in Wiltshire
and as a Consultant
at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
.
In 2003, as a naval reserve officer
, he was recalled to serve in Iraq
for a six-month tour of duty.
In September and October 2008, he took part in Exercise Apollo, based at RAF Akrotiri
in Cyprus
, to refresh his skills, including dealing with combat casualties.
, an assistant to Sir Peter Lloyd
, the member of parliament for his home constituency of Fareham, and then from 1999 to 2000 an assistant to Lord Freeman
, whose role at Conservative Central Office was screening potential parliamentary candidates
.
In September 2000, Murrison was selected as the prospective
Conservative
candidate for the West Wiltshire
constituency of Westbury
and in June 2001 he was elected as Member of Parliament
for the constituency. He was then appointed to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee and was also a member of the Standing Committee on the NHS Reform Bill.
In the 2001 Conservative leadership election
, Murrison supported Michael Portillo
.
On 9 July 2003, Murrison asked the Prime Minister
in parliament "The Criminal Records Bureau
is blaming its disclosure fee and tight targets for its terrible performance. Last week, the fee doubled, the targets were scrapped and the disclosure deadline was kicked into the long grass. Who is responsible for this Horlicks, which is affecting so many of our constituents, and what is the Prime Minister doing about it?" He received the reply "The actual output of the Criminal Records Bureau has improved significantly over the past few months... It has been difficult to establish the Criminal Records Bureau and to get it working in the way that we want."
In November 2003, Murrison was appointed as a Conservative Shadow Minister for Health
, while also taking an active interest in defence policy.
In 2004, in a free vote, he voted against the bill to ban foxhunting and hare coursing
which became the Hunting Act 2004
.
He was re-elected to parliament at the General Election in May 2005
, and was appointed as shadow defence minister
.
In 2005, he spoke in parliament against European military union, saying "The threat that the proposed Euro force might pose to one of the most successful post-war organisations, NATO, and to our symbiotic
relationship with the United States
, has surely not been adequately explored".
In 2006, Murrison asked the Prime Minister in the House of Commons about the proposed closure of all four community hospitals in his constituency: "Given that the Secretary of State for Health today declined me an audience to discuss the impending disaster facing my constituents in West Wiltshire, will the Prime Minister at least attempt to reconcile the rhetoric in her White Paper with the bitter reality facing my constituents on the ground?"
In House of Commons divisions in 2007 on a number of House of Lords
reform options, Murrison voted for options 7 and 8, proposing a 100% elected House of Lords, including the removal of all remaining hereditary peer
s, and against options 4 and 5, which proposed a partly elected and partly appointed upper chamber.
In the debate on a Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill in May 2008, he supported amendments to the bill aimed at reducing the maximum gestational age
for an abortion
from twenty-four to twenty weeks, commenting: "The shock of the abortion list twenty-five years ago is still clear in my mind. Since then, societal attitudes have changed, in part because of improved imaging of the unborn child. I'm sure the law needs updating and twenty weeks appears to strike the right balance".
He is a member of the Cardiac Risk in the Young All Party Parliamentary Group.
Murrison's Westbury constituency was formally abolished at the end of the parliament of 2005 to 2010, but he was selected as the Conservative candidate for the new South West Wiltshire constituency, which includes most of his former electoral area, and was duly elected on 6 May 2010.
Following Murrison's re-election to Parliament, he was appointed as PPS
to the Health Secretary
, Andrew Lansley
owing to his experience as a medical physician.
in Wiltshire
.
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
) is a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. After serving as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Westbury
Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
from 2001 to 2010, at the 2010 general election he was elected for the new seat of South West Wiltshire.
Early life
The son of William Gordon Murrison RDDecoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve
The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve was a medal awarded in the Royal Naval Reserve of the United Kingdom to officers with at least fifteen years of active duty...
and Marion Murrison, he grew up in Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and went to local schools there, Harwich High School
Harwich High School
Harwich High School is a public high school located in Harwich, MA. The school colors are Gold and Blue and their team is the Rough Riders. Harwich High School is the third smallest public high school school on Cape Cod.-Overview:...
, and the Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
, Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
.
Medical and naval career
With the benefit of a Royal NavalRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
, Murrison qualified as a doctor from the Bristol University medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
in 1984 and holds the degrees of MD, MB ChB.
Until 2000, he served in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as a medical officer based at Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
. He served in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
of 1990-1991 and retired with the rank of Surgeon-Commander. During his Naval career he served as an Honorary Research Registrar
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
at Southampton General Hospital
Southampton General Hospital
Southampton General Hospital is a large Teaching Hospital in Southampton, England, operated by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust...
and spent one year as a postgraduate student at Hughes Hall
Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Hughes Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It is often informally called Hughes, and is the oldest of the four Cambridge colleges which admit only mature students...
, Cambridge University, obtaining a Diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
in Public Health. From 2000, he worked as a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
locum
Locum
Locum, short for the Latin phrase locum tenens , is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another. For example, a locum doctor is a doctor who works in the place of the regular doctor when that doctor is absent, or when a hospital/practice is short-staffed...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and as a Consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is an NHS district general hospital in Great Western Road, Gloucester, England. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has more than 600 beds and 14 operating theatres. It serves western and southern Gloucestershire and parts of Herefordshire.A hospital first appeared on the...
.
In 2003, as a naval reserve officer
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
, he was recalled to serve in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
for a six-month tour of duty.
In September and October 2008, he took part in Exercise Apollo, based at RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri
Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, more commonly known as RAF Akrotiri , is a large Royal Air Force station, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a...
in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, to refresh his skills, including dealing with combat casualties.
Political career
Before entering full-time politics, Murrison was a member of the Bow GroupBow Group
The Bow Group is one of the oldest think tanks in the United Kingdom. Taking its name from the Bow area of London where it first met, it was founded in 1951...
, an assistant to Sir Peter Lloyd
Peter Lloyd (politician)
Sir Peter Robert Cable Lloyd, is a retired English Conservative Party politician.Sir Peter was Member of Parliament for Fareham in the south of England from 1979 to 2001, when he retired and was succeeded by Mark Hoban....
, the member of parliament for his home constituency of Fareham, and then from 1999 to 2000 an assistant to Lord Freeman
Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman
Roger Norman Freeman, Baron Freeman, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major from 1995 to 1997...
, whose role at Conservative Central Office was screening potential parliamentary candidates
Prospective parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate is a term used in British politics to refer to candidates selected by political parties to fight individual constituencies in advance of a general election. This terminology was motivated by the strict limits on the amount of expenses incurred by an actual...
.
In September 2000, Murrison was selected as the prospective
Prospective parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate is a term used in British politics to refer to candidates selected by political parties to fight individual constituencies in advance of a general election. This terminology was motivated by the strict limits on the amount of expenses incurred by an actual...
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for the West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, further to the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former urban districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury, along with Bradford and Melksham Rural District and...
constituency of Westbury
Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
and in June 2001 he was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the constituency. He was then appointed to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee and was also a member of the Standing Committee on the NHS Reform Bill.
In the 2001 Conservative leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2001
The 2001 Conservative leadership election was held after the United Kingdom Conservative Party failed to make inroads into the Labour government's lead in the 2001 general election. Party leader William Hague resigned, and a leadership contest was called under new rules Hague had introduced...
, Murrison supported Michael Portillo
Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...
.
On 9 July 2003, Murrison asked the Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
in parliament "The Criminal Records Bureau
Criminal Records Bureau
The Criminal Records Bureau , is an Executive Agency of the Home Office, which provides wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service for England and Wales...
is blaming its disclosure fee and tight targets for its terrible performance. Last week, the fee doubled, the targets were scrapped and the disclosure deadline was kicked into the long grass. Who is responsible for this Horlicks, which is affecting so many of our constituents, and what is the Prime Minister doing about it?" He received the reply "The actual output of the Criminal Records Bureau has improved significantly over the past few months... It has been difficult to establish the Criminal Records Bureau and to get it working in the way that we want."
In November 2003, Murrison was appointed as a Conservative Shadow Minister for Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
, while also taking an active interest in defence policy.
In 2004, in a free vote, he voted against the bill to ban foxhunting and hare coursing
Hare coursing
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight and not by scent. It is a competitive sport, in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the capture of game. It has a...
which became the Hunting Act 2004
Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...
.
He was re-elected to parliament at the General Election in May 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, and was appointed as shadow defence minister
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
In 2005, he spoke in parliament against European military union, saying "The threat that the proposed Euro force might pose to one of the most successful post-war organisations, NATO, and to our symbiotic
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
relationship with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, has surely not been adequately explored".
In 2006, Murrison asked the Prime Minister in the House of Commons about the proposed closure of all four community hospitals in his constituency: "Given that the Secretary of State for Health today declined me an audience to discuss the impending disaster facing my constituents in West Wiltshire, will the Prime Minister at least attempt to reconcile the rhetoric in her White Paper with the bitter reality facing my constituents on the ground?"
In House of Commons divisions in 2007 on a number of House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
reform options, Murrison voted for options 7 and 8, proposing a 100% elected House of Lords, including the removal of all remaining hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
s, and against options 4 and 5, which proposed a partly elected and partly appointed upper chamber.
In the debate on a Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill in May 2008, he supported amendments to the bill aimed at reducing the maximum gestational age
Gestational age
Gestational age relates to the age of an embryo or fetus . There is some ambiguity in how it is defined:*In embryology, gestational age is the time elapsed since conception. This interval is also termed fertilisation age....
for an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
from twenty-four to twenty weeks, commenting: "The shock of the abortion list twenty-five years ago is still clear in my mind. Since then, societal attitudes have changed, in part because of improved imaging of the unborn child. I'm sure the law needs updating and twenty weeks appears to strike the right balance".
He is a member of the Cardiac Risk in the Young All Party Parliamentary Group.
Murrison's Westbury constituency was formally abolished at the end of the parliament of 2005 to 2010, but he was selected as the Conservative candidate for the new South West Wiltshire constituency, which includes most of his former electoral area, and was duly elected on 6 May 2010.
Following Murrison's re-election to Parliament, he was appointed as PPS
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Health Secretary
Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...
, Andrew Lansley
Andrew Lansley
Andrew David Lansley, CBE, MP is the UK Secretary of State for Health, who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire since the 1997 general election, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Health from June 2004 until becoming Secretary of State for Health in May 2010...
owing to his experience as a medical physician.
Family
Murrison is married to Jennifer Jane Munden (Jenny), a physiotherapist. They have five daughters and live near MereMere, Wiltshire
Mere is a small town in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset....
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
External links
- Dr Andrew Murrison MP official site
- Profile at the Conservative Party website
- Biography at ePolitix.com for Andrew Murrison MP
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Andrew Murrison MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Andrew Murrison MP
- The Public Whip - Andrew Murrison MP voting record
- BBC News - Dr Andrew Murrison profile 10 February 2005