Daniel Kawczynski
Encyclopedia
Daniel Robert Kawczynski (born 24 January 1972) is the Conservative Party
Member for Parliament (MP) for Shrewsbury and Atcham
in Shropshire
, England
.
in 1940, after Poland's invasion by the Wehrmacht
.
Kawczynski was educated at St George's College
, an independent school
(at the time for boys only), in Weybridge
in Surrey
, followed by the University of Stirling
in the city of Stirling
in the Central Region
of Scotland, where he read Business Studies with Languages, and was President of the University Conservative Association in 1991.
After graduating, Kawczynski became an international account manager in the telecommunications industry, a position he held for ten years.
in the 2001 general election
for Ealing Southall and came a distant second with 18% of the vote. However, he won the seat for Shrewsbury and Atcham at the 2005 general election
, succeeding Labour
's Paul Marsden
with 37.7% of the vote, compared to 34.1% for Labour and 22.8% for the Liberal Democrats. Kawczynski was re-elected at the 2010 general election with 43.9% of the vote, compared to 29.0% for the Liberal Democrats in second.
At 6 feet 8½ inches (204 cm), Kawczynski is believed to be the tallest MP ever to sit in Parliament.
He sat as a Member of both the International Development Select Committee and the Justice Select Committee. He was criticised by the Birmingham Post
in 2009 for failing to regularly attend the meetings of the Select Committees to which he had been appointed. Indeed Kawczynski is recorded as having attended only 12.5 per cent of all Justice Select Committee meetings and 31.3 per cent of International Development Select Committee meetings during the last Parliamentary session. Kawczynski no longer sits on any Select Committees following his failure to get elected to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Kawczynski is a keen supporter of fox hunting and advocates keeping the First Past the Post voting system. He is a member of the socially conservative
Cornerstone Group
. In 2007, he signed an Early Day Motion
that welcomed the "positive contribution made to the health of the nation by the NHS homeopathic hospitals". In May 2008, he voted to lower the abortion time limit to 12 weeks and voted against a House of Lords
amendment to abolish the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel under common law. The abortion time limit vote failed and the blasphemy vote passed. He is a Vice-Chairman of Conservative Friends of Poland.
In 2006, Kawczyski briefly appeared on the Better Know A District
segment of American satirical programme The Colbert Report. In October 2009, Kawczynski appeared on The Doha Debates as a delegate supporting the motion of "This house deplores the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi".
In 2010, Kawczynski published a book called Seeking Gaddafi about Muammar Gaddafi
of Libya. Political blogger Paul Staines
(AKA Guido Fawkes) has accused Kawczynski of using 5000 word essay submissions by interviewees for an unpaid internship as the basis of his book commenting on the inconsistency of style throughout the book and similarity of chapter titles to the submitted essays. When Kawczynski recently advertised another unpaid internship for his new book entitled Saudi Arabia, Staines claimed that this was "nothing but a con."
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...
Member for Parliament (MP) for Shrewsbury and Atcham
Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)
Shrewsbury and Atcham 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....
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Biography
Kawczynski's family came to Britain from PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1940, after Poland's invasion by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
.
Kawczynski was educated at St George's College
St George's College, Weybridge
St George's College, Weybridge is an independent mixed Roman Catholic co-educational day school in Surrey, England. It had historically been an all-boys' boarding school. The first girls entered the 6th Form in the 1960s and the school decided to take girls at age 11 in 1998...
, an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
(at the time for boys only), in Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, followed by the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
in the city of Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
in the Central Region
Central Region, Scotland
Central Region was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the council areas of Falkirk, Stirling, and Clackmannanshire, which had previously been districts within Central...
of Scotland, where he read Business Studies with Languages, and was President of the University Conservative Association in 1991.
After graduating, Kawczynski became an international account manager in the telecommunications industry, a position he held for ten years.
Parliamentary career
Kawczynski first stood for ParliamentParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
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...
for Ealing Southall and came a distant second with 18% of the vote. However, he won the seat for Shrewsbury and Atcham at the 2005 general 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....
, succeeding 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...
's Paul Marsden
Paul Marsden
Paul William Barry Marsden is a British writer, businessman and former politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham from 1997 until 2005...
with 37.7% of the vote, compared to 34.1% for Labour and 22.8% for the Liberal Democrats. Kawczynski was re-elected at the 2010 general election with 43.9% of the vote, compared to 29.0% for the Liberal Democrats in second.
At 6 feet 8½ inches (204 cm), Kawczynski is believed to be the tallest MP ever to sit in Parliament.
He sat as a Member of both the International Development Select Committee and the Justice Select Committee. He was criticised by the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
in 2009 for failing to regularly attend the meetings of the Select Committees to which he had been appointed. Indeed Kawczynski is recorded as having attended only 12.5 per cent of all Justice Select Committee meetings and 31.3 per cent of International Development Select Committee meetings during the last Parliamentary session. Kawczynski no longer sits on any Select Committees following his failure to get elected to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Kawczynski is a keen supporter of fox hunting and advocates keeping the First Past the Post voting system. He is a member of the socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
Cornerstone Group
Cornerstone Group
The Cornerstone Group is a socially conservative or traditional conservative political organisation within the British Conservative Party. The group emphasises traditional values, exemplified by the motto: Faith, Flag, and Family. It consists of Members of Parliament with a traditionalist stance,...
. In 2007, he signed an Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
that welcomed the "positive contribution made to the health of the nation by the NHS homeopathic hospitals". In May 2008, he voted to lower the abortion time limit to 12 weeks and voted against a 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....
amendment to abolish the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel under common law. The abortion time limit vote failed and the blasphemy vote passed. He is a Vice-Chairman of Conservative Friends of Poland.
In 2006, Kawczyski briefly appeared on the Better Know A District
Better Know A District
Better Know a District is a recurring segment on The Colbert Report. It offers a humorous explanation of a different United States Congressional district in each segment and generally includes an interview with that district's member of Congress.- Structure :Each segment begins with basic...
segment of American satirical programme The Colbert Report. In October 2009, Kawczynski appeared on The Doha Debates as a delegate supporting the motion of "This house deplores the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi".
In 2010, Kawczynski published a book called Seeking Gaddafi about Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
of Libya. Political 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...
(AKA Guido Fawkes) has accused Kawczynski of using 5000 word essay submissions by interviewees for an unpaid internship as the basis of his book commenting on the inconsistency of style throughout the book and similarity of chapter titles to the submitted essays. When Kawczynski recently advertised another unpaid internship for his new book entitled Saudi Arabia, Staines claimed that this was "nothing but a con."