Neil Parish
Encyclopedia
Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (born 26 May 1956) is a British
Conservative Party
politician
. He is the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Tiverton and Honiton, elected at the 2010 general election. He had been a Member of the European Parliament
(MEP) for South West England
from 1999 to 2009.
. He began his career in local government, serving as a Parish, District and County Councillor. In the 1997 general election
he contested Pontypool
in Wales
. He was soundly defeated by 24,536 votes.
Parish was elected to the European Parliament
in the 1999 European Parliament election for the South West England
region. He was re-elected in 2004 on the top of the Conservatives' party list.
Parish acted as an election monitor during Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2000, where he criticised the conduct of Robert Mugabe's regime. During the 2008 Presidential election Neil Parish called on the British Government to reject the legitimacy of ZANU-PF and to recognise Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party as the democratically elected Government of Zimbabwe. Neil is still banned from re-entering the country after voicing his criticism.http://www.neilparish.co.uk/about
For his entire career in the European Parliament he was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
. From January 2007 to July 2009 he was Chairman of the Committee. In December 2001, he was appointed Conservative spokesman on agriculture and he was also the delegation's deputy chief whip. He was instrumental in setting up the year long European Parliament's public Inquiry into the Foot and Mouth Outbreak and he is also a member of the European Parliament's inquiry into the collapse of Equitable Life
. He also served as a substitute member on the Committee on Fisheries
.
During his time as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, it was reported that David Milliband, at the time the Secretary of State for DEFRA, had described Neil Parish as a "Rottweiler" for his dogged persistence.http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/the-rottweiler-neil-parish/57254.aspx
In February 2007 Parish was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Tiverton and Honiton. The seat was previously held by the Conservative Angela Browning
who is retiring. Parish did not stand for re-election in the 2009 European Parliament election
.
In June 2010, weeks into be elected MP, Neil was elected by his fellow MPs onto the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. The committee is elected by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its associated public bodies including the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Commission for Rural Communities.http://www.middevonstar.co.uk/news/8242893.Neil_Parish_on_rural_affairs_committee/
Neil Parish was elected by Conservative backbenchers as Chairman of the 1922 Backbench Environment Policy Committee on Wednesday 20th July 2010. The Policy Committees play a significant role both in policy formation and acting as a channel of communication between backbenchers and ministers.http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2010/07/john-redwood-heads-the-list-of-those-elected-to-chair-the-conservative-backbench-policy-committees.html
Neil Parish is currently the Chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare. The Group's purpose is to raise awareness of animal welfare issues amongst Parliamentarians.http://www.apgaw.org/about-apgaw/chairman-of-apgaw
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 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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. 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,...
(MP) for Tiverton and Honiton, elected at the 2010 general election. He had been a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) for South West England
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
from 1999 to 2009.
Career
Prior to beginning his career in politics, Parish managed his family's farm in SomersetSomerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. He began his career in local government, serving as a Parish, District and County Councillor. In the 1997 general 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...
he contested Pontypool
Pontypool (UK Parliament constituency)
Pontypool was a county constituency in the town of Pontypool in Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He was soundly defeated by 24,536 votes.
Parish was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in the 1999 European Parliament election for the South West England
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
region. He was re-elected in 2004 on the top of the Conservatives' party list.
Parish acted as an election monitor during Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2000, where he criticised the conduct of Robert Mugabe's regime. During the 2008 Presidential election Neil Parish called on the British Government to reject the legitimacy of ZANU-PF and to recognise Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party as the democratically elected Government of Zimbabwe. Neil is still banned from re-entering the country after voicing his criticism.http://www.neilparish.co.uk/about
For his entire career in the European Parliament he was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is a committee of the European Parliament.-Responsibilities of the Committee:AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for:...
. From January 2007 to July 2009 he was Chairman of the Committee. In December 2001, he was appointed Conservative spokesman on agriculture and he was also the delegation's deputy chief whip. He was instrumental in setting up the year long European Parliament's public Inquiry into the Foot and Mouth Outbreak and he is also a member of the European Parliament's inquiry into the collapse of Equitable Life
Equitable Life
The Equitable Life Assurance Society , founded 1762, is a life insurance company in the United Kingdom. The world's oldest mutual insurer, it pioneered age based premiums based on mortality rate laying “the framework for scientific insurance practice and development” and “the basis of modern life...
. He also served as a substitute member on the Committee on Fisheries
Committee on Fisheries
The Committee on Fisheries is a committee of the European Parliament. is the Chairman.-Members 2009 -:-Members 2004-2009:-External links:* *...
.
During his time as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, it was reported that David Milliband, at the time the Secretary of State for DEFRA, had described Neil Parish as a "Rottweiler" for his dogged persistence.http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/the-rottweiler-neil-parish/57254.aspx
In February 2007 Parish was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Tiverton and Honiton. The seat was previously held by the Conservative Angela Browning
Angela Browning
Angela Frances Browning, Baroness Browning is a British Conservative Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Honiton from 1997 to 2010, having previously been MP for Tiverton from 1992 to 1997....
who is retiring. Parish did not stand for re-election in the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
.
Parliamentary career
Neil Parish was elected Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Honiton on the 6th of May 2010. The Conservative vote was 3.6 per cent up, with Mr Parish attracting 27,614 votes - a 50.3 per cent share of the overall votes cast. He won with a majority of 9,320 votes.http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/midweekherald/news/story.aspx?brand=MDWOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsmdw&itemid=DEED07%20May%202010%2009%3A38%3A17%3A770In June 2010, weeks into be elected MP, Neil was elected by his fellow MPs onto the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. The committee is elected by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its associated public bodies including the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Commission for Rural Communities.http://www.middevonstar.co.uk/news/8242893.Neil_Parish_on_rural_affairs_committee/
Neil Parish was elected by Conservative backbenchers as Chairman of the 1922 Backbench Environment Policy Committee on Wednesday 20th July 2010. The Policy Committees play a significant role both in policy formation and acting as a channel of communication between backbenchers and ministers.http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2010/07/john-redwood-heads-the-list-of-those-elected-to-chair-the-conservative-backbench-policy-committees.html
Neil Parish is currently the Chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare. The Group's purpose is to raise awareness of animal welfare issues amongst Parliamentarians.http://www.apgaw.org/about-apgaw/chairman-of-apgaw