Colin Breed
Colin Breed | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Hicks |
| Majority | 6,507 (12.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 May 1947 Surrey |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal Democrat |
| Spouse | Janet Courtiour |
Colin Edward Breed (born 4 May 1947, Surrey) is a British politician. He is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall.
Early life
He was born just after the war in north-east Surrey, the son of a chef and he was educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School. He was appointed as an area manager with the Midland Bank in 1964. After 17 years with the bank, he became the managing director of Rowan Dartington & Co Ltd in 1981, before becoming a director with Gemini Abrasives in 1992 until his election to Westminster.
Political career
Breed was elected as a councillor to both the Caradon District Council and to the Saltash Town Council in 1982. He was twice selected as the Mayor of Saltash. He was selected to contest the parliamentary seat of Cornwall South East at the 1997 general election. The sitting Conservative MP Robert Hicks was retiring. The 1997 general election saw losses for the Conservatives across the UK and Breed was comfortably elected as the new Liberal Democrat MP for Cornwall South East with a majority of 6,480, and he had held the seat since. He made his maiden speech on 24 June 1997 on the preservation of plant varieties.
In Parliament, Breed was appointed as a Liberal Democrat spokesman on Trade and Industry by Paddy Ashdown in 1997. When Charles Kennedy was elected as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 1999, Breed was promoted to the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Agriculture minister. In the same year he became a member of the General Medical Council.
Breed was dropped from the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet following the 2001 general election, but was appointed as a spokesman on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, before moving to speak on Defence in 2002. He returned to be a spokesman on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs following the 2005 General Election.
Personal life
Breed is a Methodist lay preacher and votes conservatively on issues such as homosexuality.[citation needed] He married Janet Courtiour in 1968 in Torbay and they have a son and a daughter.
References
External links
- Colin Breed MP official site
- Colin Breed MP profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
- ePolitix.com - Colin Breed
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Colin Breed MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Colin Breed MP
- The Public Whip - Colin Breed MP voting record
- BBC News - Colin Breed profile 30 March 2006