Andrew Rosindell - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Andrew Richard Rosindell (born 17 March 1966) is an English

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...

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...

politician. He is 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,...

for the Romford

Romford (UK Parliament constituency)

Romford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

constituency in Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

. He is also the international director of the European Foundation

European Foundation (think tank)

The European Foundation is a respected and leading Eurosceptic think tank based in the United Kingdom. It is chaired by Bill Cash, a British Conservative MP. The organisation produces the European Journal....

, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flags & Heraldry Committee, and member of the Flag Institute

Flag Institute

The Flag Institute is a research and documentation centre for flags and flag information, founded on St George's Day, 23 April 1971 by William Crampton and Captain EMC Barraclough CBE RN. Although not an official body, it is the principal advisor and designer of flags to the government of the...

Early life

He was born in Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

and attended Rise Park and then Marshalls Park School

Marshalls Park School

Marshalls Park School is a mixed secondary school for 11 to 16 year olds in Romford, London, England.In January 2006, Marshalls Park School was granted Performing Arts College Specialist Status.Marshalls Park was United Kingdom awarded the ICT mark...

on Pettits Lane. Before entering politics on a full-time basis, he was a freelance journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

and public relations

Public relations

Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

consultant.

He was chairman of the Young Conservatives

Young Conservatives (UK)

The Young Conservatives was the youth wing of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party until the organisation was replaced in 1998 by Conservative Future.-Origins:...

from 1993 to 1994. He was chairman of the International Young Democrat Union

International Young Democrat Union

The International Young Democrat Union is an international grouping of centre-right political youth organisations, encompassing conservative, classical liberal, and Christian democratic traditions. It is the youth wing of the International Democrat Union , which brings together centre-right...

from 1998 to 2002. From 1997-2001, he was Director of the European Foundation

European Foundation (think tank)

think tank.

Before becoming an MP he was a local councillor in Romford on Havering Council

London Borough of Havering

The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in North East London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in Havering is Romford and the other main communities are Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. The borough is mainly characterised by suburban development with large...

, winning the Chase Cross

Chase Cross

Chase Cross is a district of the London Borough of Havering in London, England....

and Havering-atte-Bower

Havering-atte-Bower

Havering-atte-Bower is a village and outlying settlement of the London Borough of Havering, located 15 miles northeast of Charing Cross and close to the Greater London boundary. It was one of three former parishes whose area comprised the historic Royal Liberty of Havering...

ward from the Liberal Democrats in 1990. In 1998 he took an 81% share of the vote, a record for a Conservative in a London borough.

Parliamentary career

After unsuccessful attempts to win seats in Glasgow

Glasgow Provan (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow Provan was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1955 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...

and Thurrock

Thurrock (UK Parliament constituency)

Thurrock is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

, Rosindell finally reached Parliament in the 2001 general election

United Kingdom general election, 2001

The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

, defeating the former teacher and Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

MP, Eileen Gordon

Eileen Gordon

Eileen Gordon is a politician in the United Kingdom.She was Labour Member of Parliament for Romford from 1997 to 2001, when she lost her seat to Conservative Andrew Rosindell....

. Rosindell won 18,931 votes (53% share) – a swing of 9.2% from Labour to Conservative. It was one of the few seats the Conservatives managed to regain after the Labour landslide at the 1997 election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

. During the election he campaigned with his Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a medium-sized, short-coated, old-time breed of dog. It is an English dog, where it is the 5th most popular breed, and related to the bull terrier...

Spike, who wore a union flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

waistcoat.

At the 2005 election

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....

Rosindell increased his majority to 11,589, winning 21,560 votes on a 59.1% share. This was the second highest Conservative share of the vote anywhere in the UK. During the election campaign a clash between Labour and Conservative activists distributing leaflets at Romford railway station

Romford railway station

Romford station is located in Romford, London Borough of Havering. It is situated between Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park. It is the western terminus of the Upminster branch line from Upminster....

resulted in the police being called.

Blogger Paul Staines

Paul Staines

Paul Staines is an English-born Irish right-wing political blogger. Writer of the pseudonymous "Guido Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours & conspiracy", which had as of February 2009, 118,000 visitors per month, his political blog has been described as "one of Britain's leading political...

has said Rosindell is "becoming a left-wing hate figure", as well as calling him a future Mayor of London

Mayor of London

The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...

. He has also been called a "local champion who defied the trend in 2001 winning Romford from Labour. He is 'Mr Romford' in tune with his voters and viewed as a local son and 'our MP'".

Rosindell's political views are firmly right-wing: he is a Eurosceptic

EuroSceptic

EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...

and supports the re-introduction of the death penalty and the detention of asylum seekers. He is a member of the Freedom Association, and was a member of the Monday Club, until he was compelled to resign in 2001 by the then Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith

Iain Duncan Smith

George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...

.

Rosindell was elected a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party in 2004, and in December 2005, he became an Opposition Whip

Chief Whip

The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...

. In July 2007, he was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Home Affairs

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

. On 5 February 2008 Rosindell became founding chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group (APPFG) on which day he also introduced The Union Flag Bill (under the Ten Minute Rule, SO No 23). In April 2010 the APPFG changed its name to the Flags & Heraldry Committee.

At the 2010 election Rosindell increased his majority to 16,594, winning 26,031 votes on a 56.0% share. He has since been elected onto the Foreign Affairs Select Committee as well as taking the Chairmanship of various all-party parliamentary group

All-Party Parliamentary Group

An all-party parliamentary group is a grouping in the UK parliament that is composed of politicians from all political parties.-All-party parliamentary groups:...

's. In July 2010 Rosindell was appointed by the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi

Sayeeda Warsi

Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi is a British lawyer and politician. She is the co-Chairman of the Conservative Party ....

, onto the board of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Westminster Foundation for Democracy

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body set up to promote democratic institutions overseas. It was established in March 1992 and registered as a company limited by guarantee. It receives funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the...

.

In September 2010 Rosindell again courted controversy when he sponsored the first Erotica

Erotica

Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...

event to be held in the Houses of Parliament. Rosindell maintained that he was promoting the hosts, a Romford based business, as is his constituency duty.

On June 23rd 2011, Rosindell opposed the ban on animals in circuses, saying that "these animals are born in captivity and know no different". The ban was introduced by fellow MPs without the need for a vote.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.