Geoffrey Cox

For other people named Geoffrey Cox, see Geoffrey Cox (disambiguation).

Geoffrey Cox QC MP
Geoffrey Cox QC MP
Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	John Burnett
Majority	2,957 (5.4%)
Personal details
Born	30 April 1960 (1960-04-30) Wroughton, Wiltshire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Jeanie Cox
Alma mater	Downing College, Cambridge

Charles Geoffrey Cox, QC, MP (born 30 April 1960 in Wroughton), is a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he is currently a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituency of Torridge and West Devon.

Early life

Geoffrey Cox was educated at King's College, Taunton, and Downing College, Cambridge, where he read Law and Classics. He was called to Bar at the Middle Temple in 1982, following which he practiced as a barrister. He co-founded Thomas More Chambers in 1992 and served as its Head of Chambers. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 2003.

For part of his career as a barrister, Geoffrey Cox was Standing Counsel to the government of Mauritius.

He is widely regarded as a gifted advocate and successfully led for the defence in numerous high profile cases. One case in which Mr Cox was instructed prior to his election to parliament, that of Nicholas van Hoogstraten, is often raised by political opponents seeking to imply a measure of controversy to Mr Cox's legal career, which, however, has also encompassed a very wide range of cases in the constitutional and human rights field both in the UK and overseas.

Parliamentary career

Geoffrey Cox was first selected to stand for Parliament in 2000 by the Torridge and West Devon Conservatives. In the following 2001 general election, he was narrowly defeated by the Liberal Democrat John Burnett reducing his majority to 1,194 votes.

After the 2001 election Geoffrey Cox was reselected. In 2003 John Burnett announced he would not be contesting the seat again. Geoffrey Cox successfully contested the seat again at the 2005 general election, and defeated a new Liberal Democrat candidate, David Walter, with a majority of 3,236.

Cox made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 28 June 2005, which was voted one of the four best maiden speeches of the parliament.

Cox is a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Geoffrey Cox was re-elected as MP for Torridge and West Devon at the 2010 general election with a majority of 2,957, which represents an increased share of the vote after a change of boundaries.

Personal life

Cox is married to Jeanie. The couple have one daughter and two sons.

External links

• Geoffrey Cox QC MP - Parliamentary site
• Campaign site
• Thomas More Chambers - Chambers of Geoffrey Cox QC MP
• Conservative Party - Geoffrey Cox MP - biography
• Torridge and West Devon Conservatives - constituency site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Geoffrey Cox MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Geoffrey Cox MP
• The Public Whip - Geoffrey Cox MP - voting record

News items

• Geoffrey Cox website rolling news
• Heating grants in November 2007
• Appledore shipyard in November 2006

References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Burnett	Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon 2005–present	Incumbent