James Arbuthnot
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| James Arbuthnot MP | |
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| In office 6 November 2003 – 6 May 2005 |
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| Leader | Michael Howard |
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| Preceded by | David Willetts (Pensions) Tim Yeo (Trade) |
| Succeeded by | David Willetts (Trade) Malcolm Rifkind (Pensions) |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 11 June 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Patrick Jenkin |
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| Born | 4 August 1952 Deal Kent |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Emma Broadbent |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
James Norwich Arbuthnot (born 4 August 1952) is a British politician. He is the British Member of Parliament for Hampshire North-East and is a member of the Conservative Party.
Since the 2005 election he has served as the chairman of the Defence Committee and he is the current Parliamentary Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel.
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[edit] Early life
Arbuthnot was born in Deal, Kent, the son of Sir John Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet and Margaret Jean Duff. He was educated at Wellesley House School in Broadstairs, Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained a law degree in 1974.[1]
Arbuthnot was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1975 and became a practising barrister. An active member of the Chelsea Conservative Association, he was elected as a councillor to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in 1978 and remained a councillor until his election as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1987.[2]
In 1980 he became the vice-chairman of the Chelsea Conservative Association. Arbuthnot contested the Cynon Valley seat, in the Labour heartland of industrial South Wales, at the 1983 General Election when he was beaten by Ioan Evans. A year later in 1984, Evans died and Arbuthnot fought the by-election; he was again defeated by the Labour candidate Ann Clwyd.
At the 1987 General Election, Arbuthnot was chosen to contest the safe Conservative seat of Wanstead and Woodford as the sitting MP, Patrick Jenkin, was standing down. Arbuthnot held the seat.
[edit] Member of Parliament
In 1988 he became the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Archie Hamilton at the Ministry of Defence, and in 1990 became the PPS to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Peter Lilley. He entered the John Major government after the 1992 General Election when he was made an Assistant Government Whip. He was promoted in 1994 as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security. The following year he was promoted to Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence. He remained in office until the collapse of the Major government.
Arbuthnot's seat of Wanstead and Woodford was abolished at the 1997 general election, and he found a new seat in the form of Hampshire North East. He was a member of William Hague's Shadow Cabinet as the Party's Chief Whip until the 2001 general election when he returned to the fold as a backbencher. He was made a Member of the Privy Council in 1998. Arbuthnot returned to the Shadow Cabinet under Michael Howard Shadow as Trade Secretary in 2003 and stood down after the 2005 General Election. Since the election he has served as the chairman of the influential Defence Committee.
Arbuthnot stated that one of his proudest parliamentary achievements was "organising an all-party meeting with the prime minister for the exoneration of the pilots of the Chinook that crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994."[3]
[edit] Personal life
He is a direct descendant from James V of Scotland and is heir presumptive to the baronetcy currently held by his older brother, Sir William Arbuthnot. On 6 September 1984, he married Emma Broadbent, daughter of Michael Broadbent, Wine Director of Christie's, and has one son and three daughters.
Arbuthnot is described in the Almanac of British Politics as "an austere, desiccated man with a voiced likened to that of a speaking clock, but with a patrician accent redolent of his party some decades ago" [4] whilst Simon Hoggart described his smile as being "like winter sunshine upon a coffin lid".[5][6][7]
[edit] References
- ^ BBC.
- ^ conservatives.com.
- ^ The Guardian.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "James Arbuthnot - Profile". The Guardian. Retrieved on 30 November 2007.
- ^ Rod Liddle. "The most interesting thing about James Arbuthnot, MP". The Guardian. Retrieved on 30 November 2007.
- ^ Comic duo way off target on question of devolution | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs.
- Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1991, 172nd edition, Hurst Green, East Sussex, p.396. ISBN 0-905702-17-4
- thePeerage. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
- DodOnline. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official MP Website
- North East Hampshire Conservative Association
- Guardian Unlimited Politics Ask Aristotle - James Arbuthnot MP
- Voting record
- They Work For You - James Arbuthnot MP
- Arbuthnot family tree
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Patrick Jenkin |
Member of Parliament for Wanstead and Woodford 1987 – 1997 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Hampshire North East 1997 – present |
Incumbent |
