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Gummer claimed limited expenses in his first months as MP.<ref>http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/mps-expenses-at-two-ends-of-the-scale/</ref> His constituency office is in Fore Street, Ipswich, and has itself attracted some controversy.<ref>http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/ben-gummers-office-in-fore-street/</ref>
Gummer claimed limited expenses in his first months as MP.<ref>http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/mps-expenses-at-two-ends-of-the-scale/</ref> His constituency office is in Fore Street, Ipswich, and has itself attracted some controversy.<ref>http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/ben-gummers-office-in-fore-street/</ref>

Gummer is portrayed as a Lego character in a local website by an anonymous poster.<ref>http://www.blinkybenmp.com/</ref>


===Political Views===
===Political Views===

Revision as of 22:43, 25 January 2012

Ben Gummer
MP
File:Gummer.JPG
Member of Parliament
for Ipswich
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byChris Mole
Majority2,079 (4.4%)
Personal details
Born (1978-02-19) 19 February 1978 (age 46)
London
NationalityUnited Kingdom
Political partyConservative
RelationsJohn Gummer (father)
Peter Gummer (uncle)
ResidenceIpswich/London
Alma materPeterhouse, Cambridge
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.bengummer.com

The Hon. Benedict Michael (Ben) Gummer[1] is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ipswich. His father is the former Conservative Cabinet minister John Gummer,[2] who was the MP for the nearby constituency of Suffolk Coastal until the 2010 general election.

Early life and Education

Gummer is the eldest child of John Gummer, Baron Deben and Penelope Jane Gardner [3]. He attended St Saviour's Church of England Primary School in Ealing, west London. Between 1987 and 1991 he was a chorister at St John's College, Cambridge, where he sang under George Guest and Christopher Robinson. Gummer was a music scholar at Tonbridge School in Kent. Having won the Vellacott Historical Essay Prize he took a starred double first in History at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University, where he was an exhibitioner and scholar.[4]

Business Career

After graduating, Gummer ran a small engineering firm,[5][which?] and between 2005 and 2010 was Managing Director of family-owned Sancroft International;[6] in his five year tenure the company's revenues more than doubled.[7]

Historian

Gummer published his history of the Black Death, The Scourging Angel, in 2009.[8][9] The book received favourable reviews. In the Times Literary Supplement, Jonathan Sumption commented that Gummer "establishes the facts more thoroughly than any of his predecessors".[10] However, Louise Foxcroft, author of Hot Flushes, Cold Science: The History of the Modern Menopause, criticized the book for its "scholarly dilligence".[11]

Politician

Gummer was selected by open primary as the Conservative candidate in August 2007 for the Ipswich constituency.[12] He campaigned largely on public service issues, particularly the retention of services at Ipswich Hospital. Gummer defeated incumbent MP Chris Mole and became MP for the Ipswich constituency in the general election of 2010, enjoying the largest majority of any Conservative in Ipswich since 1935.[13]

In parliament, Gummer has spoken on a wide range of issues,[14] although he has shown a particular interest in prisons policy. He is a member of the Justice Select Committee[15] and the Regulatory Reform Select Committee.[16]

Gummer is also a member of the UK parliamentary delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and a patron of the Longford Trust.[17]

Member of Parliament for Ipswich

Gummer claims to have won £72.9m of investment in his first year as the town's MP.[18] He was criticized for lacking a website in the first year, although he has argued that he wanted to pay for it from private fund-raising rather than taxpayer funds.[19]

Gummer claimed limited expenses in his first months as MP.[20] His constituency office is in Fore Street, Ipswich, and has itself attracted some controversy.[21]

Political Views

Gummer used his maiden speech to argue for rapid deficit and debt reduction and penal reform.[22] Gummer has spoken strongly against sovereignty being transferred to the European Union[23] and against votes for prisoners,[24] but in favour of more constructive prison and probation sentences.[25] He also takes a keen interest in defence and transport matters.[26] He has described himself as "a libertarian" and has said that he has "absolutely no problem" with gay marriage.[27] He has also defended free speech, adding his name to an amendment to clause one of the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which calls for the word 'insulting' to be dropped from clause five of the Public Order Act.[28]

Personal Life

Gummer lives in Ipswich, not far from Portman Road, and London. He is a member of The Ipswich Society, the Ipswich Maritime Trust, and is a season ticket holder of Ipswich Town Football Club.[29]

Works

  • Benedict Gummer, The Scourging Angel: The Black Death in the British Isles, The Bodley Head Ltd (4 Jun 2009), ISBN 978-0224077675

References

  1. ^ http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251219/
  2. ^ About John Gummer
  3. ^ http://www.thepeerage.com/p21291.htm#i212901
  4. ^ http://www.thescourgingangel.com/
  5. ^ Ben's CV
  6. ^ Sancroft
  7. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/blog_growing_the_economy.html
  8. ^ First Proofs, 5th February 2009, Ben's Blog
  9. ^ The Scourging Angel - Andrew Lownie Literary Agency
  10. ^ http://www.thescourgingangel.com/
  11. ^ http://newhumanist.org.uk/2122/the-scourging-angel-the-black-death-in-the-british-isles-by-benedict-gummer
  12. ^ Tory candidate chosen for next election, Evening Star, 16 August 2007
  13. ^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge35/i10.htm
  14. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/parliament.php
  15. ^ http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/membership/
  16. ^ http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/regulatory-reform-committee/membership/
  17. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/aboutben.php
  18. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/cms/uploads/7a349f993a10c6a8b0a8724b2f5e076e/Ben%20Gummer%20Annual%20Report%202010-11.pdf
  19. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/blog_website.html
  20. ^ http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/mps-expenses-at-two-ends-of-the-scale/
  21. ^ http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/ben-gummers-office-in-fore-street/
  22. ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm100706/debtext/100706-0003.htm#10070666000184
  23. ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110125/debtext/110125-0003.htm#11012578000989
  24. ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110210/debtext/110210-0003.htm#11021059001994
  25. ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110523/debtext/110523-0002.htm#11052321000041
  26. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/parliament.php
  27. ^ http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/the-ambassador-from-ipswich/
  28. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/blog_dragons_in_ipswich.html
  29. ^ http://www.bengummer.com/aboutben.php
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