Gregory Barker

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Gregory Barker MP
Minister of State for Climate Change
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 May 2010
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Unknown
Member of Parliament
for Bexhill and Battle
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 June 2001
Preceded by Charles Wardle
Majority 12,880 (23.6%)
Personal details
Born 8 March 1966 (1966-03-08) (age 45)
Worthing, West Sussex, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Celeste Harrison (1992-2006)
Alma mater Royal Holloway, University of London; London Business School
Website www.gregorybarker.com

Gregory Leonard George "Greg" Barker (born 8 March 1966) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he currently serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born in Sussex, Barker was educated at Upper Beeding Primary School, Steyning Grammar School and Lancing, before going on to Royal Holloway, University of London, where he earned a BA (Hons) degree in History & Politics,[1] and the London Business School.

He was a researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies in 1987, before joining Gerard Vivian Gray[2] as an Equity Analyst in 1988. In 1990, he became the Director for International Pacific Securities. He was the Deputy Chairman of Hammersmith Conservative Association in 1993. From 1998, he was a Director of Daric pls, an advertising company.

Barker also developed strong links to the Russian oil companies, being Head of Communications at the Anglo Siberian Oil Company from 1998–2000 and also worked in Russia for the Sibneft Oil Group, owned by Roman Abramovich.

[edit] Parliamentary career

Barker was at first unsuccessful in his attempts to be elected to Parliament when he contested the safe Labour seat of Eccles, where he was defeated by Ian Stewart. Barker then became the Deputy Chairman of Tooting Conservative Association and an advisor to Conservative MP David Willetts.

In 2001, Barker became the MP for Bexhill and Battle after the retirement of the sitting Conservative MP, Charles Wardle. Barker's nomination by the Conservative Party was hotly debated when sitting MP and former Home Office Minister Charles Wardle accused Barker of being disingenuous about his business career and formally requesting Conservative Party Leader Iain Duncan Smith to investigate possible links between Barker and the infamous Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky.[3] Wardle supported Nigel Farage (who later became the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party), but Barker won the safe seat by over 10,500 votes from Stephen Hardy of the Liberal Democrats. Close to Conservative leader David Cameron, Barker, in his capacity as Shadow Environment Secretary, accompanied Cameron on his trip to the Arctic Circle in April 2006 for a fact-finding mission on global warming.

In April 2011, Barker was filmed addressing an audience at the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, during which he said of the Conservative-led British government: “We are making cuts that Margaret Thatcher, back in the 1980s, could only have dreamed of.” [4]

Barker was implicated in the 2009 MPs' expenses scandal for his purchase and sale of London flats.[5][6]

[edit] Personal life

Barker married Celeste Harrison, an heiress to the Charles Wells brewery fortune, in 1992. Following a diary report in The Observer,[7] Barker confirmed he and his wife had separated and on 26 October 2006. British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mirror revealed that he had left his wife and children for a man. The paper backed the story by quoting his mother-in-law.[8] The Sun reported that the man was an interior designer employed to oversee renovations on the Barkers' Peasmarsh family home.[9] It was later revealed that Barker was divorcing his wife. The Independent on Sunday later reported that Barker has confirmed that he is gay.[10]

Barker's wealth is estimated at £3.9m.[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Election highs for Royal Holloway alumni Royal Holloway University of London, 19 October 2007
  2. ^ "Gerrard Investment Management". Gerrard. Barclays Wealth. http://www.gerrard.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  3. ^ Anne Perkins (13 April 2001). "Row over Tory candidate threatens safe seat". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/apr/13/politics.conservatives. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  4. ^ http://politicalscrapbook.net/2011/04/greg-barker-thatcher-video/
  5. ^ Watt, Holly (9 May 2009). "Greg Barker: The £320,000 profit on flat bought with taxpayer help". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5298307/Greg-Barker-The-320000-profit-on-flat-bought-with-taxpayer-help.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  6. ^ "MP will pay thousands to taxman". Brighton Argus. 16 May 2009. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4373780.MP_will_pay_thousands_to_taxman/. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  7. ^ "Can Dave really get his eco policies to fly?". The Observer. 3 February 2010. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/7days/story/0,,1884960,00.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  8. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: TOP TORY DUMPS WIFE FOR MAN". Daily Mirror. 26 October 2006. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=it-s-such-a-shock---but-men-think-they-can-get-away-with-it-these-days---mother-in-law-georgina-&method=full&objectid=17992356&siteid=94762-name_page.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  9. ^ Reilly, Tom (26 October 2006). "Gay fling for Tory MP". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006490561,00.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  10. ^ "The pink list 2007: The IoS annual celebration of the great and the gay". The Independent. 6 May 2007. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2516664.ece. Retrieved 15 May 2010. 
  11. ^ Samira Shackle, Stephanie Hegarty and George Eaton The new ruling class New Statesman, 1 October 2009

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Charles Wardle		 Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle
2001–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
 Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
2002–2008		 Succeeded by
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