Richard Shepherd
| Richard Shepherd MP | |
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| Richard Shepherd photographed in September 2007 | |
| Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 May 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Geoffrey Edge |
| Majority | 15,256 (39.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 December 1942 Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics (BSc), Johns Hopkins University (MSc) |
| Profession | Underwriter |
| Website | www.richardshepherd.org.uk |
Richard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd (born 6 December 1942, in Aberdeen, Scotland) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. He is currently a Member of Parliament, having represented the constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills since 1979.
A Eurosceptic, Shepherd was one of the Maastricht Rebels that had the whip withdrawn over opposition to John Major's legislation on the European Union. Shepherd is also a libertarian,[1] and had a three line whip imposed against him by Margaret Thatcher when he introduced an amendment loosening the Official Secrets Act 1911.
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[edit] Early life
Shepherd was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and educated at Isleworth Grammar School (now Isleworth and Syon School) in Isleworth. He then went on to the London School of Economics where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, and where he studied with and became a friend of Robert Kilroy-Silk. At the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Shepherd received an Master of Science in Economics.
Shepherd was a director of the retail food businesses Partridges[2] of Sloane Street and Shepherd Foods in London. He was then an underwriter at Lloyd's of London from 1974-94.
[edit] Parliamentary career
Shepherd contested the constituency of Nottingham East in February 1974, where he was defeated by the Labour Party candidate Jack Dunnett. Shepherd was formerly an assistant to Sir Teddy Taylor, and has been the Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills since 1979. He was selected as 'Backbencher of the Year' in 1985 and the Spectator's 'Parliamentarian of the Year' in 1995. In 1989, he was identified by a Mori poll of his fellow MPs to be one of the ten most effective MPs currently sitting in Parliament.
One of the most significant events in Shepherd's career came in 1988 when he introduced his Protection of Official Information Bill,[3] which was to replace parts of the Official Secrets Act 1911, with intent to provide limited protection to some whistleblowers. The government introduced a three line whip which called on its MPs to vote against the bill, even though it was introduced by a member of their own party. This brought considerable debate at the time both in parliament and in the media. The bill was defeated. However Shepherd successfully introduced similar provisions into law in 1998.
Shepherd was one of the Maastricht rebels, and is known to have libertarian leanings. He had close links to fellow Maastricht rebels Nicholas Budgen and Christopher Gill, even giving the eulogy at Budgen's funeral at Lichfield Cathedral.
Shepherd is a strong advocate of Parliament's power to hold the government to account.[4] Shepherd stood to be Speaker of the House of Commons in 2000, and won 136 votes: the third-closest to defeating Michael Martin of eleven opponents. When Martin was forced out, in 2009, he stood for the position again. An outsider, at 14/1,[4] he won only 15 votes, and was eliminated on the first ballot.[5]
Shepherd is rated as one of the Conservatives' most rebellious MPs.[6]
[edit] Personal life
Shepherd is single. He has served as President of Walsall Football Club.
[edit] References
- ^ "Time to stand up and be counted?". BBC News. 1 December 1988. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/office_life/224584.stm.
- ^ "Partridges". Partridges. 1975-12-15. http://www.partridges.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
- ^ "Whistleblowing". Cfoi.org.uk. http://www.cfoi.org.uk/whistle.html. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
- ^ a b Sparrow, Andrew; Owen, Paul (19 May 2009). "Who will be the next Speaker?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/18/who-will-be-the-next-speaker.
- ^ Prince, Rosa (22 June 2009). "Speaker election: candidate pitches and reaction". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/5603508/Speaker-election-candidate-pitches-and-reaction.html.
- ^ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/parliament/2010/12/the-latest-league-table-of-tory-backbench-rebellion.html
[edit] External links
- Richard Shepherd MP Conservative Party profile
- Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- 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
- Richard Shepherd at ConservativeHome
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Geoffrey Edge |
Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills 1979–present |
Incumbent |
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- Living people
- 1942 births
- People from Aberdeen
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Johns Hopkins University alumni
- British libertarians
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1979–1983
- UK MPs 1983–1987
- UK MPs 1987–1992
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- UK MPs 2010–
- Politics of Walsall
