Edward Davey
Edward Jonathan "Ed" Davey MP FRSA (born 25 December 1965) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997, and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change since 2012. He was previously the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs.
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Early life[edit]
The son of a solicitor father and teacher mother,[1] Edward Davey was born in Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire.[2] His father John died when Davey was four years old, and his mother Nina (née Stanbrook) eleven years later, following which he was brought up by his mother's parents.[1] After attending senior school at the independent Nottingham High School (in common with MPs Kenneth Clarke, Geoff Hoon and Ed Balls) in the year above Ed Balls, where he was head boy in 1984,[3] he furthered his education at Jesus College, Oxford[2] where he was awarded a first class BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1988.[1] Whilst at Oxford, he was also elected to the JCR presidency of Jesus College.[1]
As a teenager he worked at Pork Farms pork pie factory and at Boots. In 1989, he became an economics researcher for the Liberal Democrats[2] (principally to Alan Beith,[1] the party's Treasury spokesman), while studying at Birkbeck College, London[2] for a master's degree (MSc) in Economics.[1] During that time he proposed making the Bank of England independent[citation needed], a policy enacted by the Labour Party following their election in May 1997. In 1993, he took up the position of management consultant with Omega Partners [4] until being elected.[2]
Member of Parliament[edit]
Edward Davey was elected to the House of Commons at his first attempt at the 1997 General Election where he defeated the sitting Conservative MP for the former constituency of Surbiton Richard Tracey with a majority of just 56 votes and has remained the MP there since.[3] He made his maiden speech on 6 June 1997, in which he gave his support for the setting up of the London Assembly, but against the idea of a directly elected Mayor of London, he also talked about the effects governmental cuts were having on the education delivery in the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames.[5]
Davey was responsible for introducing the Liberal Democrat policy of penny on income tax to pay for education in 1997. He was one of the contributors to the Orange Book (2004).[3]
He also introduced New Clause 1 - Repeal of prohibition on promotion of homosexuality, Local Government Bill 2003 (www.theyworkforyou.com). "…In a liberal democracy, the need to protect minorities properly sometimes means that protection cannot be achieved through the ballot box and that some things are not appropriate for a vote." (Mr. Davey, House of Commons Standing Committee A (pt 8), Column Number: 553 [6])
Lib Dem spokesperson[edit]
In parliament Davey was given a job immediately by Paddy (now Lord) Ashdown and became the party's spokesman on Treasury Affairs, adding the post of Whip in 1998, and a third job to hold as the spokesman on London from 2000.
Davey was re-elected in the 2001 general election with an increased majority over former Conservative MP David Shaw. He entered the Charles Kennedy Liberal Democrat frontbench the same year by becoming Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Treasury matters. In 2002 he became the Liberal Democrat Shadow of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He was appointed Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Education and Skills in 2005 before becoming Liberal Democrats spokesperson for Trade and Industry in March 2006. In December 2006, he succeeded Norman Lamb as Chief of Staff to Sir Menzies Campbell, the party leader.[3] Davey is Chair of the party's Campaigns and Communications Committee. Following Nick Clegg's election as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Davey was awarded the foreign affairs brief, and continued to retain his chairmanship of the party's Campaigns and Communications Committee.[1]
On 26 February 2008, Davey was suspended from parliament for the day for ignoring a warning from the deputy speaker. He was protesting about the exclusion by the speaker of a Liberal Democrat motion to debate and vote on whether the UK should have a referendum on staying in the EU.[7]
At the 2009 Liberal Democrat conference, Davey caused controversy through declaring that it was 'time for tea with the Taliban.'[8]
Ministerial career[edit]
Following the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement, after the 2010 general election, Davey was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills[9][10] with responsibility for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs.[11][12]
On 3 February 2012, following the resignation of Chris Huhne due to his prosecution for perversion of the course of justice, Davey was appointed Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and appointed to the Privy Council on 8 February.[13]
On 22 September 2012, Davey was reported as preparing his own challenge for party leadership in the event of Nick Clegg being deposed.[14]
Personal life[edit]
In 1995, before his election as an MP, he won a Royal Humane Society bravery award and commendation from the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police for rescuing a woman who had fallen onto the railway line in the face of on oncoming train at Clapham Junction station.[1] In 2001 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Davey married Emily Gasson (Lib Dem candidate in North Dorset) in summer 2005 and their first child, John Alban Davey, was born in December 2007. Their son has speech difficulties leading to Davey's interest in speech therapy.[15] They live in Surbiton, Surrey as Davey has since prior to his election to parliament in 1997.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Liberal Democrats: Edward Davey MP, Kingston & Surbiton". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
- ^ a b c d e "Guardian Unlimited Politics". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
- ^ a b c d "BBC News - Profile: Ed Davey". bbc.co.uk. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ Omega partners - website
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 June 1997 (pt 14)". Hansard. 6 July 1997. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Lib Dem ordered out of EU debate". BBC News. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Ed Davey & Tea With the Taleban Iain Dale's Diary, 20 September 2009
- ^ Government ministers and responsibilities Cabinet Office
- ^ Cameron's government: A guide to who's who BBC News, 30 May 2010
- ^ Edward Davey Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
- ^ Ed Davey is new employment minister Personnel Today, 20 May 2010
- ^ Court Circular for 8 February 2012.
- ^ Right-wingers 'in secret plot to replace Clegg' and Labour-Lib Dem Coalition being planned
- ^ PRESS RELEASE – KINGSTON MPS AND Your Healthcare JOIN FORCES
Publications[edit]
- Making MPs Work For Our Money: Reforming Parliament's Role In Budget Scrutiny by Edward Davey, 2000, Centre for Reform, ISBN 1-902622-21-9
- "Liberalism and localism", Chapter 2 in The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism by David Laws and Paul Marshall (contributions et al.), 2004, Profile Books, ISBN 1-86197-797-2
External links[edit]
- Edward Davey MP Official site
- Profile at the Liberal Democrats
- Edward Davey MP (BIS archive)
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
- Articles authored at Journalisted
- Works by or about Edward Davey in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Profile: Edward Davey BBC News profile 17 October 2007
- Debrett's People of Today
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Norman Lamont as Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Thames |
Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Richard Tracey as Member of Parliament for Surbiton |
||
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Young of Norwood Green |
Undersecretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs 2010–2012 |
Succeeded by Norman Lamb |
| Preceded by Chris Huhne |
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 2012–present |
Incumbent |
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- 1965 births
- Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London
- Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
- English people of Welsh descent
- Liberal Democrat (UK) MPs
- Living people
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- People educated at Nottingham High School
- People from Nottingham
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- UK MPs 2010–
