Jump to content

Daniel Kawczynski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 92.40.184.73 (talk) at 18:19, 2 November 2021. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Daniel Kawczynski
MP
Member of Parliament
for Shrewsbury and Atcham
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded byPaul Marsden
Majority11,217 (19.0%)
Personal details
Born (1972-01-24) 24 January 1972 (age 52)
Warsaw, Poland
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse>
Fernando
​
​
(m. 2019)​
Children1
Residence(s)Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Alma materUniversity of Stirling
WebsiteOfficial Website

Daniel Robert Kawczynski (Polish: Kawczyński Polish pronunciation: [kaˈft͡ʂɨɲskʲi]; born 24 January 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician.

In the past he has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a parliamentary aide to the former Welsh Secretary David Jones,[1] as well as serving as a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and as Special Advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron on Central and Eastern Europe and on Central and Eastern Europeans living in the United Kingdom.[2]

Early life and education

Kawczynski was born on 24 January 1972 in Warsaw. His parents were Leonard and Halina Kawczynski.[3] He came to Britain with his mother at the age of six.[4][5] He was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, an independent Roman Catholic school in Surrey, followed by Birmingham Polytechnic and then the University of Stirling where he studied business studies and French, graduating in 1994.[6][7] He served as president of the university's Conservative Association in 1991.

He worked in the business entertainment industry before he became an international account manager in the telecommunications industry, a position he held for ten years from 1994 to 2004.[3][7]

Parliamentary career

Kawczynski unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative Party candidate in the 2001 general election for Ealing Southall in London, coming second with 18% of the vote.[8] At the following general election Kawczynski was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency. He was elected at the 2005 general election, succeeding the Labour MP Paul Marsden with 37.7% of the vote.[9]

Upon entering Parliament he established the Dairy All-Party Parliamentary Group to help milk farmers in his constituency.[10] He sat as a member of both the International Development Select Committee and the Justice Select Committee, but was criticised by the Birmingham Post in 2009 for failing to regularly attend the meetings of the Select Committees to which he had been appointed.[11] Kawczynski was recorded as having attended only 12.5% of all Justice Select Committee meetings and 31.3% of International Development Select Committee meetings during the previous last Parliamentary session. He stated the figure for the international development committee was wrong and he had been unable to attend the justice committee meetings because they clashed.[11]

Kawczynski speaking to the media about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.

In 2007, he signed an Early Day Motion that welcomed the "positive contribution made to the health of the nation by the NHS homeopathic hospitals".[12] In May 2008, he voted to lower the abortion time limit to 12 weeks,[13] and has said that he believes an abortion limit of 24 weeks is incompatible with the kind of "Christian society" he wishes to live in.[14] He voted against a House of Lords amendment to abolish the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel under common law.[15] In October 2009, Kawczynski appeared on The Doha Debates as a delegate supporting the motion of "This house deplores the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi".[16] In the wake of the Westminster Parliamentary Expenses scandal in 2009, Kawczynski was ordered to repay £4000 for rent costs that he had over-claimed.[17] In 2010, Kawczynski called for the ban on fox hunting to be repealed by the Conservative government.[18]

He was re-elected at the 2010 general election with 43.9% of the vote.[19] In September 2012, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the new Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones.[1] When Jones lost his role in 2014, Kawczynski became advisor to the Prime Minister David Cameron on Eastern and Central European Diaspora.[20] Kawczynski voted in favour of same sex marriage in 2013, stating shortly afterwards that he was in a same-sex relationship. Kawczynski was chair of the All-Party Group for Saudi Arabia between 2011 and 2016, during his time as chairman he led delegations to the country.[21][22][23][24] he was chair of the All-Party Group for Libya but that group has now ceased to exist.[25]

Kawczynski held his seat in the 2015 general election.[26] In the 2016 Conservative Party leadership election, he supported Michael Gove.[27]

He was re-elected in the 2017 general election. Kawczynski stated that he was against efforts to replace Theresa May but criticised her government for granting too many concessions to the EU. He opposed the preservation of a customs union.[28] In 2017, The Daily Telegraph reported that Kawczynski had been referred to the Conservative's new disciplinary committee.[29] In 2018, Kawczynski granted an interview to Bloomberg in which he stated that "we have given away too much" amidst ongoing Brexit negotiations with the EU.[28]

Kawczynski expressed support for a prospective leadership bid by Jacob Rees-Mogg in 2018.[30] From February 2018, Kawczynski was paid £6,000 per month by the Electrum Group, a New York City-based investment, advisory and asset management firm owned by Thomas Kaplan. Kawczynski described his association with the firm as a job he would work in his spare time, when parliament was not in session.[31] He also pointed out that it was common for sitting MPs to earn outside income. The Shropshire Star reported that, "there are currently 298 MPs - almost half of all members - who have made declarations of outside earnings according to the register of interests."[32]

On 2 February 2019, Kawczynski tweeted, in the context of a complaint about certain attitudes of the European Union, that, "Britain helped to liberate half of Europe. She mortgaged herself up to eye balls in process. No Marshall Plan for us only for Germany. We gave up war reparations in 1990. We put £370 billion into EU since we joined. Watch the way ungrateful EU treats us now. We will remember." It was pointed out that Britain did receive Marshall Plan aid.[33][34] Kawczynski apologised for the partial inaccuracy of his tweet.[35] He later clarified his point by explaining that Britain had stood alone for much of the war, and in his view, "the massive loans that Britain had to take out during the war from America outweighed the benefits of the aid received."[35]

In February 2020, Kawczynski generated controversy for sharing a platform with European politicians such as Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and the former deputy prime minister of Italy Matteo Salvini, at a conference organised by the Edmund Burke Foundation.[36] Labour MP Andrew Gwynne called for Kawczynski to be suspended from Parliament,[37] and he received additional criticism from some within the Conservative Party.[38] Kawczynski responded to his critics in an article, which he published in the weekly magazine The Spectator, that his reason for attending the conference was to make the case for nation states against European federalism. In the article, Kawczynski pointed out that both Orban and Salvini were duly elected leaders of their respective governments who had enjoyed popular support. He said, "I don't agree with each and every one of their policies. But I am not Hungarian or Italian and both leaders have been elected on huge popular mandates in their countries. They represent serious ideas and concerns, some of which are shared by people in Britain."[39]

House of Commons staff

On 14 June 2021 the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that Kawczynski had acted in a rude and impatient manner towards House of Commons staff.[40] A panel set up to determine what punishment he should face decided Kawczynski should apologise in the Commons chamber, a finding he appealed against. A second panel found the sanction was "proper and proportionate".[41][42] Kawczynski chose not to appeal the Commissioner’s decision and apologised.[43]

Political views

Saudi Arabia

In 2015, Kawczynski was described as a strong supporter of the Saudi Arabian government.[44] On a visit to Saudi Arabia, Kawczynski told then defense minister Salman Al Saud that he was proud of the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries. He later said that he was writing "the most pro-Saudi book ever written by a British politician" and that he had been "battling against extraordinary ignorance and prejudice against Saudi Arabia for many years".[44]

During an appearance on Newsnight in September 2018, Kawczynski defended the Saudi regime's approach to the war in Yemen and accused the BBC of bias against the gulf coalition. Kawczynski pointed out that less coverage had been given to atrocities committed by the Houthis, and called it "an extremely complicated war."[45] Kawczynski threatened legal action after its editor Ian Katz suggested his opinion on the issue might be linked to the size of the budget for his expenses on trips to Saudi Arabia.[46]

After Michael Gove cancelled a prison contract with Saudi Arabia, Kawczynski was so enraged that he slapped his forehead and shouted "no!" during a parliamentary debate on the issue.[44][47]

Anglo-Polish relations

Since becoming the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poland in 2014, Kawczynski has supported a range of enterprises from his constituency in seeking business partners and export markets in Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries, offering support and advice.[48] Kawczynski has been a frequent visitor to the British Polish Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw where he often described the importance of trade between Poland and the United Kingdom.

In 2016, Kawczynski was distinguished as an "Outstanding Pole Abroad of 2016" for his efforts in promoting trade and political relations between the United Kingdom and his country of birth.[49] In 2017, Kawczynski joined calls for Germany to pay war reparations for crimes committed against the Allies and for the destruction of Poland during the Second World War. On 15 October 2017, Kawczynski sent a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel urging her to stop demanding money from the UK during the Brexit negotiations and pay Poland.[50] In 2019, Kawczynski said he had asked the Polish Government to veto any requests for an extension of the Article 50 period that might be made by the UK Government.[51][52]

European Union

Kawczynski is a supporter of Brexit and a former member of the European Research Group (the ERG), which he left in April 2019.[53] In September 2018, Kawczynski took to Twitter to discuss his view that inefficiencies in the agricultural industries of certain EU member states created higher consumer prices for fruit.[54][55] Kawczynski has advocated for the Three Seas Initiative, a movement which would improve infrastructure in the EU's east and increase energy independence from Russia. Kawczynski's office has produced extensive research regarding the economic incentives of the initiative and has advocated UK contributions to investment funds associated with it.[56]

Personal life

|title=Kawczynski, Daniel, (born 24 Jan. 1972), MP (C) Shrewsbury and Atcham, since 2005|journal=Who's Who|year=2007}}</ref> In June 2013, he announced to his Conservative Association that his new partner was male.[57] He was the second MP in Britain to come out as bisexual, the first being Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes.[58][59] He married his Brazilian partner of eight years, Fernando, on 9 November 2019, in a civil partnership ceremony in the House of Commons.[60][61] Kawczynski is a practising Catholic.[62] In 2010, Kawczynski published a book called Seeking Gaddafi about Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.

References

  1. ^ a b Cornock, David (10 September 2012). "David Jones appoints English MP as his 'eyes and ears'". BBC News.
  2. ^ "Shrewsbury's MP Daniel Kawczynski relishing his new advisory role for David Cameron". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Kawczynski, Daniel, (born 24 Jan. 1972), MP (C) Shrewsbury and Atcham, since 2005". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U45508. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. ^ Andy McSmith (14 October 2015). "Daniel Kawczynski: 'Honorable member for Saudi Arabia' up in arms over prison training reversal". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  5. ^ Which Tory went where?, The Guardian, 1 Jun 2007
  6. ^ a b "Daniel Robert Kawczynski". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Ealing Southall". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Shrewsbury and Atcham". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  9. ^ "APPG for Dairy Farmers to meet with farmer co-ops - Farming UK News". Farminguk.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Erdington and Shrewsbury MPs under-fire for non-attendance". Birmingham Post. 9 April 2009.
  11. ^ "Early day motion 1240: NHS Homeopathic Hospitals". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill – Change abortion limit from 24 weeks to 12 weeks – rejected". The Public Whip. 28 May 2008.
  13. ^ "BBC News: MP Daniel Kawczynski interviewed on cabinet ministers' support for cut in abortion time limit". Christian Concern. 7 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill: Blasphemy". The Public Whip. 6 May 2008.
  15. ^ Walker, Tim (19 May 2009). "Daniel Kawczynski enters the den of very mad dog". The Daily Telegraph.
  16. ^ "Expenses claim figures are 'skewed' says MP Daniel Kawczynski". Shropshire Star. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  17. ^ Bowcott, Owen (29 April 2010). "Hunting ban should be repealed early in Conservative government, says Tory MP". The Guardian. London.
  18. ^ "Shrewsbury & Atcham". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  19. ^ "Shrewsbury's MP Daniel Kawczynski relishing his new advisory role for David Cameron". Shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  20. ^ Commons, The Committee Office, House of. "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Groups as at 30 March 2015: Saudi Arabia". Publications.parliament.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Commons, The Committee Office, House of. "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Groups as at 30 July 2015 : Contents". Publications.parliament.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Daniel leads All Party Parliamentary Delegation to Saudi Arabia". daniel4shrewsbury.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  23. ^ Kawczynski updated this on Newsnight 11/9/15 stating that Yasmin Qureshi was the current chair of the All-Party Group for Saudi Arabia
  24. ^ "Daniel meets Former Libyan Head of State". daniel4shrewsbury.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  25. ^ "Live UK election results". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  26. ^ Walker, Jonathan (30 June 2016). "Oops! MP Daniel Kawczynski backs 'Michael Grove' for Tory leader". Birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  27. ^ a b We Have Given Away too Much, Says U.K. Conservative Lawmaker Kawczynski, retrieved 25 October 2021
  28. ^ Hughes, Laura (5 November 2017). "Third Tory MP referred to party's investigation committee". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Theresa May not an 'authentic Brexiteer' and could 'destabilise' Conservatives 'like never before' - MP". Sky News. 23 May 2018.
  30. ^ Todman, Lucy (27 March 2018). "Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski hits back after taking second job". The Shropshire Star.
  31. ^ Todman, Lucy. "Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski hits back after taking second job". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  32. ^ Khan, Shehab (3 February 2019). "Pro-Brexit Tory MP criticised over false statements about Europe and Britain after Second World War". The Independent.
  33. ^ "Pro-Brexit MP makes 'totally false' claim about Europe after WW2 on Twitter". Shropshire Star. 2 February 2019.
  34. ^ a b "Tory MP finally admits he was wrong about Britain not receiving aid after Second World War". The Independent. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  35. ^ Syal, Rajeev; Giuffrida, Angela (4 February 2020). "Tories under pressure over MP who spoke at event with far-right figures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  36. ^ "MP criticised for attending 'far-right' conference". BBC News. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  37. ^ Rajeev Syal (6 February 2020). "Tory MP told by party attendance at far-right event 'unacceptable'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  38. ^ Kawczynski, Daniel. "Why I'm going to the National Conservatism conference in Rome | The Spectator". www.spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  39. ^ "Independent Expert Panel calls on Daniel Kawczynski MP to apologise in the House of Commons". www.parliament.uk.
  40. ^ Aubrey Allegretti (14 June 2021). "Tory MP told to apologise for 'intimidatory' behaviour". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  41. ^ "Tory MP apologises for bullying parliamentary staff". The Independent. 14 June 2021.
  42. ^ Daniel Kawczynski apologises for bullying parliamentary staff, retrieved 25 October 2021
  43. ^ a b c "The 'Honorable member for Saudi Arabia' up in arms over prison training reversal". Independent.co.uk. 14 October 2015.
  44. ^ James O'Brien grills Daniel Kawczynski MP on Saudi arms sales - BBC Newsnight, retrieved 25 October 2021
  45. ^ Johnston, Ian (September 2015). "Daniel Kawczynski: Tory MP considers legal action after 'patronising' BBC Newsnight interview". The Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  46. ^ Michael Deacon (13 October 2015). "The Tory MP standing up for the real victim... Saudi Arabia". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  47. ^ "MP Daniel Kawczynski: MP's Offer of Help with Export for Shropshire Businesses". Loveshrewsbury.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  48. ^ "Wybitni Polacy w Wielkiej Brytanii 2016 nagrodzeni". Pangeamagazine.com. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  49. ^ "Shrewsbury's MP calls for Germany to pay $1trillion war reparations to Poland". Shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  50. ^ "Calls for Shrewsbury MP to publish Brexit letter to Polish government". Shropshirestar.com. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  51. ^ "Polish-born MP accused of 'reckless' attempt to block Brexit delay". Sky News. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  52. ^ @DKShrewsbury (8 April 2019). "Have decided to resign from ERG. Despite excellent Chairmanship by @Jacob_Rees_Mogg who has accommodated all views I can no longer be a member of caucas [sic] which is preventing WA4 from passing. Hardcore element of 'Unicorn' dreamers now actually endangering #Brexit" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  53. ^ Jasmine Andersson (25 September 2018). "Brexiteer MP who tweeted about 'EU protectionist racket' while clutching lemons left sour after being schooled by an expert". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  54. ^ "Pro-Brexit MP ends up looking like a bit of a lemon..." ITV News. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  55. ^ "Strengthening European Unity: The Three Seas Initiative". rusi.org. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  56. ^ Eden, Richard (30 June 2013). "Divorced Conservative MP: 'I've fallen in love with a man'". The Telegraph.
  57. ^ Legge, James (30 June 2013). "Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski comes out as bisexual". The Independent. London.
  58. ^ Cohen, Benjamin (26 January 2006). "Simon Hughes: "I'm bisexual"". PinkNews. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  59. ^ Jones, Aimee (10 November 2019). "Daniel Kawczynski marries long-term partner in House of Commons ceremony". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  60. ^ Kawczynski, Daniel [@DKShrewsbury] (8 November 2019). "Tomorrow I get married to my Brazilian partner of 8 years Fernando. This evening spent night with 20 Jewish friends in Finchley for special meal. One of the best aspects of our island nation story is how we have welcomed people from all over world to join us. @ShrewsburyChron" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 June 2020 – via Twitter.
  61. ^ Andrews, Mark (5 September 2019). "MP talks about anguish of his sexuality". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel Kawczynski.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham
2005–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daniel_Kawczynski&oldid=1053233800"