Peter Bottomley
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter James Bottomley (born 30 July 1944) is a British
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. 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 Worthing West. A globalist, Bottomley is Chairman of the All-Party United Nations Group.

Early life

Bottomley was born in Newport, Shropshire
Newport, Shropshire
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...

, the son of Sir James Bottomley, retired from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and of the late Barbara, née Vardon, a social worker. After seven school changes before the age of eleven, he was educated at a junior high school in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and then Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 before reading economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, following his father, grandfather, father-in-law and father-in-law's father to the College. His supervisor was James Mirrlees
James Mirrlees
Sir James Alexander Mirrlees is a Scottish economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was knighted in 1998....

, who later gained the Nobel prize for Economics
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

. After university, he became a lorry driver and joined the Transport and General Workers Union before moving on to industrial sales and industrial relations. In the early 1970s he co-founded in South Lambeth the Neighbourhood Council, resulting in the creation of football pitches and other facilities at Larkhall Park. His last job before entering Parliament was putting lights outside theatres and cinemas in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

.

Member of Parliament

Bottomley contested the Woolwich West
Woolwich West (UK Parliament constituency)
Woolwich West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983. It was based around Eltham, now in the London Borough of Greenwich in south-east London....

 parliamentary
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 seat in the February 1974 General Election and in October failing to defeat the sitting Labour MP William Hamling
William Hamling
William "Bill" Hamling was a British Labour Party politician.Hamling was educated at Liverpool University and was a signals officer in the Royal Marines during World War II....

. William Hamling died on 20 March 1975, and in the space of 18 months, Bottomley faced the electors of Woolwich West for the third time at the June by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in the last year Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...

 led the Labour government. Peter Bottomley was elected as the Conservative MP for Woolwich West on 26 June 1975 with a majority of 2,382, and held this marginal seat and its successor, Eltham
Eltham (UK Parliament constituency)
Eltham is a borough 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 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...

 for the next 22 years. Margaret Thatcher was apparently surprised to be told by him that Ian Smith in Rhodesia was morally wrong, a military loser in the longer term and on either count should be told he would not have Conservative support.

In 1978 he became the President of the Conservative Trade Unionists
Conservative Trade Unionists
Conservatives at Work, formerly Conservative Trade Unionists , is an organisation within the British Conservative Party made up of Conservative-supporting trade unionists.Under Margaret Thatcher's leadership there was a drive for recruitment...

, a position he held for two years. Before the 1979 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...

, Peter Bottomley became a trustee with Christian Aid
Christian Aid
Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...

 in 1978 until 1984. In 1978 as member of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, he campaigned to help delay the anticipated assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero
Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....

 and represented the British Council of Churches at the funeral in El Salvador in 1980 when 14 people died around him. In 1979, he made a visit to Washington DC days before the defeat of the Vote of Confidence in 1979 to help persuade the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 that Margaret Thatcher if Prime Minister would not lift sanctions on Southern Rhodesia nor would recognise the government of Bishop Abel Muzorewa
Abel Muzorewa
Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979...

. He was for some years a member of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...

 despite disagreeing with their policies on immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

, race relations, Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

 and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. He has been chairman of the Church of England's Children's Society, a trustee of Mind and of Nacro
Nacro
Nacro is a registered criminal justice charity operating in England and Wales. It is not formally linked with Sacro in Scotland or NIACRO in Northern Ireland.-History:...

 and on the policy committee of One Parent Families. He served on the successor committee to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

's commission Faith in the City and chaired the churches' review group on the Churches Main Committee. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee and has been appointed the Parliamentary Warden at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. He is leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

In 1982, he became 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...

 Cranley Onslow in 1982. Peter Bottomley's seat of Woolwich West had minor boundary changes and a name change. Bottomley fought the new seat of Eltham which he won by over 7,500 votes. Following the 1983 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...

, Peter Bottomley became the PPS to the Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Security
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Social Services.-History:...

 Norman Fowler
Norman Fowler
Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, PC is a British Conservative politician who was from 1981 to 1990 a member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet.-Early life:...

.

Member of Thatcher Government

After nine years on the backbenches, Bottomley became a member of Margaret Thatcher's
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

 government when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the then Department for Employment in 1984, moving sideways at the Department of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

 in 1986 to become the Minister of Roads and Traffic. In 1989 he moved sideways again to the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...

. He was dropped by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

 in 1990, when he briefly became PPS to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...

 Peter Brooke
Peter Brooke
Peter Leonard Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and was a Member of Parliament representing the Cities of London and Westminster from...

. He has been a captain of the Parliamentary football team, no longer wins the parliamentary swimming competition and organises the annual dinghy sailing against the House of Lords, claiming never to have done worse than second. He was captain of the Commons eight, winning the first Thames rowing race in gigs against the Lords 2007.

As backbencher

Since 1990 he has been a backbencher, described as a maverick but not a rebel . Peter Bottomley decided not to contest Eltham after major boundary change at 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...

, but sought nomination elsewhere. Following the retirement of the veteran Conservative MP Terence Higgins
Terence Higgins, Baron Higgins
Terence Langley Higgins, Baron Higgins KBE DL PC is a British Conservative politician.He was Member of Parliament for Worthing from 1964 to 1997, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury between 1972 and 1974....

, Bottomley contested the newly formed constituency Worthing West, won with a majority of over 9,000, now built to over 12,000 with 50% of the vote. He has held the seat comfortably since and has now been a Member of Parliament for 36 years and is one of the nine longest serving MPs . In 2002-2003 he was Master of the Worshipful Company of Drapers
Worshipful Company of Drapers
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London; it has the formal name of The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London but is more usually known...

.

Bottomly is in the most parliamentary groups of all MPs . He was Chairman of the All-Party United Nations Group, is co-Chairman of PACTS the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety and vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group 

His campaigns have included KWASH, Keeping the Worthing and Southlands hospital; clemency for Krishna Maharaj
Krishna Maharaj
Krishna Maharaj is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British businessman and brother of Ramesh Maharaj, former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1987 he was convicted by a Florida court for the double murders of Derrick Moo Young and his son, Duane Young, and was sentenced to death...

; changing the troublesome system of Modernising Medical Careers for doctors in training and now tackling the absurdities of a hospital consultant having up to 20 computer names with changing passwords.

Peter Bottomley has been a long time supporter of the "frozen" British pensioners living overseas, living in mainly Commonwealth countries (47 out of 54) who have their British state pension frozen at the rate at which it is first paid or as at the date of migration. British pensioners living in 7 Commonwealth countries and those living in a number of non-Commonwealth countries have their British state pensions uprated each year, just as if they were living in the UK, despite all pensioners having paid into the National Insurance fund under exactly the same rules.

Personal Life

In 1967 he married Virginia Garnett
Virginia Bottomley
Virginia Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, PC, DL is a British Conservative Party politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005. She was raised to the peerage in 2005...

 who later became a social scientist, an MP, a Cabinet Minister, and a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...

 as Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone. They have a son and two daughters who went to Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

. They live in Worthing, West Sussex, Milford, Surrey
Milford, Surrey
Milford is a large village, situated south west of Godalming in Surrey, England. Nearby villages include Witley, Elstead and Eashing, and the hamlets of Enton and Hydestile. It is situated in the Borough of Waverley.-Transportation:...

 and Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

.

His brother was a Lambeth councillor; his brother-in-law was mayor of Cambridge; a first cousin was a Wandsworth councillor; his first cousins twice removed included Lord Tranmire who as Robin Turton MP for Thirsk and Malton for 44 years was Father of the House; Sir Robin Chichester-Clark
Robin Chichester-Clark
Sir Robert Chichester-Clark was member of parliament for Londonderry in the British House of Commons from 1955 until February 1974, and was the only member representing Northern Ireland to be a British government minister since the Government of Ireland Act 1920.-Early life:Chichester-Clark was...

 MP and his brother Lord Moyola who as Major James Chichester-Clark
James Chichester-Clark
James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for South Londonderry for 12 years beginning at the by-election...

 served as Northern Ireland Prime Minister. His aunt's husband Ian Beddows was chairman of Wolverhampton South West when J. Enoch Powell stood down as Conservative candidate before the February 1974 general election. One niece is Kitty Ussher
Kitty Ussher
Katharine Anne "Kitty" Ussher is a British economist and former Labour Party politician.After training as an economist, she was elected Member of Parliament for Burnley from 2005 until 2010, succeeding Peter Pike. Ussher formerly held the position of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in Gordon...

 the economist, the former Labour MP and Minister. His great grand father Sir Richard Robinson led the Municipal Reformers, allied to the parliamentary Conservatives, to victory in the 1907 London Council election. Sir Richard's daughter Alice's husband Sir (William) Cecil Bottomley served in the Colonial Office before being the Senior Crown Agent for the Colonies. Cecil's son, Peter's father, James Bottomley was made KCMG when becoming Ambassador to South Africa when it was outside the Commonwealth. Peter's other grandmother's grandfather Sir William Lenox-Conyngham was the Drapers' Company's Agent in Northern Ireland.

Bottomley was present at the Heysel stadium disaster
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy...

 in Brussels on 29 May 1985 and was present at the later stages of the rescue work at the Kings Cross fire 18 November 1987 and at the Kegworth air crash on 8 January 1989. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

 in the 2011 New Year Honours for public service.

In 2003 Bottomley was banned from driving for six months after being caught exceeding the speed limit by four sperate speed cameras. During the ban he was donated the services of an electirc bicycle by Powabyke based in Bath. The use of the bicycle was delcared on the register of interests for MPs and a donation to charity was made to cover the hiring charge of the bicycle.

External links

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