Edward Garnier
Encyclopedia
Edward Henry Garnier, QC
, MP
(born 26 October 1952) is a barrister
and Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom
. A former Guardian Newspaper lawyer he is on the socially liberal
wing of his party and has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Harborough
in Leicestershire
since 1992. He currently serves as the Solicitor General for England and Wales
.
, the son of a British Army
colonel, was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
and Jesus College, Oxford
where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
degree in modern history
in 1974 and a master's degree
in 1976. He went on to study at the College of Law in Chancery Lane in the City of London
.
He was called to the bar
at the Middle Temple
in 1976 and is a practising barrister specialising in libel
. He took silk in 1995 (Queen's Counsel
) and was appointed as a Crown Court Assistant Recorder in 1998 and as a Recorder
(part-time Circuit Judge) in 2000.
seat of Hemsworth
in West Yorkshire
at the 1987 general election
. He was elected MP for Harborough with a majority of 13,543 at the 1992 general election
following the retirement of the veteran Tory Sir John Farr and made his maiden speech
just after midnight on 20 May 1992.
In parliament
, he served on the home affairs
select committee from 1992 until he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Minister of State
at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Alastair Goodlad and David Davis
for a year in 1994. In 1996 he became the PPS to the Attorney General Nicholas Lyell
, in 1997 he was briefly the PPS to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Roger Freeman
. He joined the frontbench
under William Hague
as a spokesman on the Lord Chancellor's Department
in 1997 and entered the Shadow Cabinet
in 1999 as the Shadow Attorney General, "earning wide acclaim for a thoughtful performance in that role, in which he demonstrated his legal expertise without becomingly excessively partisan". He returned to the backbenches
after the 2001 general election
but became spokesman on home affairs after the 2005 general election
and later Shadow Attorney General.
In 2009 he was elected Chair of the newly formed All Party Parliamentary Group on Privacy.
, Frank Field
and Libdem pensions spokesman Steve Webb
he introduced the Retirement Income Reform bill. This bill was dropped in July 2003, reintroduced on 7 January 2004 and eventually withdrawn in April 2004.
, around 20 times in Parliament. One of them, Pennbury, housing 40,000 people, was to be near Stoughton, Leicestershire
. Garnier was granted an Adjournment debate
on 29 January 2008 He argued that although the eco-town principle was sound, Pennbury, a rural not a Brownfields site lacked the necessary transport infrastructure and was unlikely to be able to provide jobs. Furthermore, building a suitable road from the M1 Motorway
, "a distance of about 20 miles ..would cost the thick end of £1 billion" The Pennbury proposal was dropped in July 2009.
workers who lost their pensions following the company entering Administration in 2000.
Workers joined Dr Ros Altmann's Company Pensions campaign blaming Venture Capitalist Apax Partners
for having engineered the collapse and Garnier was the first East Midlands
MP to question Apax's role. Apax's chairman at the time was a major donor to the Labour Party and Garnier asked what discussions "ministers
have had with Sir Ronald Cohen ..about the collapse of the pension scheme". Garnier raised the issue again with the new Minister for Pensions Reform Stephen Timms
citing the "mysterious circumstances" under which the pensions disappeared. Timms agreed to "look into" the complaints saying that "in recent years, there have been too many instances of that kind."
The press expected a proper enquiry but although in September 2005 Timms wrote back to Garnier refusing this, December 2007 saw compensation of £2.9 Billion awarded nationally to failed Company Pension Scheme workers. In all Garnier referenced BUSM twelve times, and "was a really valuable advocate in the campaign to recover the pensions".
. He speaks French very well and enjoys 19th century francophone literature.
News articles
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, MP
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,...
(born 26 October 1952) is a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
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...
. A former Guardian Newspaper lawyer he is on the socially liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
wing of his party and has been 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 Harborough
Harborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Harborough is a county 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:...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
since 1992. He currently serves as the Solicitor General for England and Wales
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
.
Education and professional career
Edward Garnier was born in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the son of a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
colonel, was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
and Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in modern history
Modern World
Modern World or The Modern World may refer to:*Modernity, a popular academic term.*The modern era, the age in which people today now live.*Modern World, a song by Wolf Parade from their 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary....
in 1974 and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1976. He went on to study at the College of Law in Chancery Lane in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
He was called to the bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1976 and is a practising barrister specialising in libel
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
. He took silk in 1995 (Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
) and was appointed as a Crown Court Assistant Recorder in 1998 and as a Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
(part-time Circuit Judge) in 2000.
Politics
Garnier unsuccessfully contested the safe LabourLabour 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...
seat of Hemsworth
Hemsworth (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1940s :- Elections in the 1930s :- Elections in the 1920s :...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
at the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
. He was elected MP for Harborough with a majority of 13,543 at the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
following the retirement of the veteran Tory Sir John Farr and made his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
just after midnight on 20 May 1992.
In parliament
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, he served on the 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,...
select committee from 1992 until he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
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...
(PPS) to the Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
Alastair Goodlad and David Davis
David Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
for a year in 1994. In 1996 he became the PPS to the Attorney General Nicholas Lyell
Nicholas Lyell
Nicholas Walter Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate, PC QC was an English Conservative politician, known for much of his active political career as Sir Nicholas Lyell.-Early life:...
, in 1997 he was briefly the PPS to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
Roger 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...
. He joined the frontbench
Frontbencher
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then known as being on the frontbench and are described as...
under William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
as a spokesman on the Lord Chancellor's Department
Lord Chancellor's Department
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....
in 1997 and entered the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
in 1999 as the Shadow Attorney General, "earning wide acclaim for a thoughtful performance in that role, in which he demonstrated his legal expertise without becomingly excessively partisan". He returned to the backbenches
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
after 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...
but became spokesman on home affairs after 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....
and later Shadow Attorney General.
In 2009 he was elected Chair of the newly formed All Party Parliamentary Group on Privacy.
Compulsory annuity purchases
Garnier has long campaigned against compulsory annuity purchases for sums above the minimum income threshold and has introduced or supported several Private members bills on the issue. On 21 November 2002, he came 4th in the ballot for Private members bills. With cross party support from leading back bench pensions experts Sir John ButterfillJohn Butterfill
Sir John Valentine Butterfill FRICS is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West from 1983 until he stood down at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
, Frank Field
Frank Field
Francis or Frank Field may refer to:*Frank Field *Frank Field *Frank Field - English cricketer who took over 1,000 first-class wickets...
and Libdem pensions spokesman Steve Webb
Steve Webb
Steven John Webb, better known as Steve Webb , is an English Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Thornbury & Yate and the Minister of State for Pensions.-Background:...
he introduced the Retirement Income Reform bill. This bill was dropped in July 2003, reintroduced on 7 January 2004 and eventually withdrawn in April 2004.
Pennbury eco-town.
Garnier raised the issue of eco-townsEco-towns (UK)
Eco-towns are a government-sponsored programme of new towns to be built in England, which are intended to achieve exemplary standards of sustainability.In 2007, the...
, around 20 times in Parliament. One of them, Pennbury, housing 40,000 people, was to be near Stoughton, Leicestershire
Stoughton, Leicestershire
Stoughton is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire.It is just east of Leicester, and sits in countryside between two protusions of the Leicester urban area . The closest part of the city of Leicester is Evington...
. Garnier was granted an Adjournment debate
Adjournment debate
In the Westminster system, an adjournment debate is a debate on the motion, "That this House do now adjourn." In practice, this is a way of enabling the House to have a debate on a subject without considering a substantive motion.- Types of debate :...
on 29 January 2008 He argued that although the eco-town principle was sound, Pennbury, a rural not a Brownfields site lacked the necessary transport infrastructure and was unlikely to be able to provide jobs. Furthermore, building a suitable road from the M1 Motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
, "a distance of about 20 miles ..would cost the thick end of £1 billion" The Pennbury proposal was dropped in July 2009.
British United Shoe Machinery
Garnier's constituents were amongst 544 British United Shoe MachineryBritish United Shoe Machinery
thumb|right|300px|US Founders of British United Shoe Machinery.thumb|right|200px|Charles Bennion, UK founder of British United Shoe MachineryBritish United Shoe Machinery Ltd...
workers who lost their pensions following the company entering Administration in 2000.
Workers joined Dr Ros Altmann's Company Pensions campaign blaming Venture Capitalist Apax Partners
Apax Partners
Apax Partners LLP is a global private equity and venture capital firm, headquartered in London. The company also operates out of eight other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel-Aviv, Madrid, Stockholm, Milan and Munich. The firm, including its various predecessors, have raised...
for having engineered the collapse and Garnier was the first East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
MP to question Apax's role. Apax's chairman at the time was a major donor to the Labour Party and Garnier asked what discussions "ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
have had with Sir Ronald Cohen ..about the collapse of the pension scheme". Garnier raised the issue again with the new Minister for Pensions Reform Stephen Timms
Stephen Timms
Stephen Creswell Timms is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for East Ham since 1994. He is a former Cabinet Minister having served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007...
citing the "mysterious circumstances" under which the pensions disappeared. Timms agreed to "look into" the complaints saying that "in recent years, there have been too many instances of that kind."
The press expected a proper enquiry but although in September 2005 Timms wrote back to Garnier refusing this, December 2007 saw compensation of £2.9 Billion awarded nationally to failed Company Pension Scheme workers. In all Garnier referenced BUSM twelve times, and "was a really valuable advocate in the campaign to recover the pensions".
Personal life
He married Anna Caroline Mellows on 17 April 1982 and they have two sons (born July 1986 and January 1991) and a daughter (born September 1983). He was a visiting fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford in 1996, and is a follower of cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. He speaks French very well and enjoys 19th century francophone literature.
Publications
- Halsbury's Laws of England contribution by Edward Garnier, 1985, Butterworth ISBN 0-406-03000-6
- Bearing the Standard: Themes for a Fourth Term contribution by Edward Garnier, 1991, Conservative Political Centre ISBN 0-85070-824-9
- Facing the Future by Edward Garnier, 1993
External links
- Edward Garnier QC MP official constituency website
- Harborough Conservative Association
- Website at ePolitix.com
- BBC Democracy Live
News articles