Philip Davies

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Philip Davies bigraphy, stories - British politician

Philip Davies : biography

5 January 1972 –

Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley in West Yorkshire.

Personal life

When not working Philip enjoys horse-racing, cricket, football and rugby league.

His father is Peter Davies who in 2009 was elected Mayor of Doncaster for the English Democrats.http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/election/Shock-message-for-Government-as.5341413.jp

Parliamentary career

He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of Colne Valley at the 2001 general election and was defeated by the sitting Labour MP Kali Mountford by 4,639 votes.

In May 2005, he was elected as an MP at the 2005 general election for the seat of Shipley with a majority of 422 votes, removing the sitting Labour MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Constitutional Affairs Chris Leslie. He received donations toward his successful campaign from Bearwood Corporate Services, a front company set up by non-domicile Lord Ashcroft to give out donations to marginal seats such as Davies’. Bearwood has given a total of £5.1 million to the Conservative Party since 2003.

He made his maiden speech on 7 June 2005, where he remembered Titus Salt and the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saltaire. He also announced that he wanted to remain a backbencher and not to be a shadow spokesman or a minister, and that he wanted to feel able to speak for his constituents.

Davies held his seat with an increased majority of just under 10,000 votes in the 2010 general election.

He was re-elected onto the Executive Committee of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs in 2010 and is a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. He has also become a member of the newly established backbench business committee and a member of the Speaker’s Panel, chairing Westminster Hall debates.http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/Davies_Philip.aspx

Davies is rated as one of the Conservatives’ most rebellious MPs.http://conservativehome.blogs.com/parliament/2010/12/the-latest-league-table-of-tory-backbench-rebellion.html

On 2 November 2012, Davies wrote to the Metropolitan Police Service requesting it to re-open a second investigation into ex-Labour MP Denis MacShane’s expenses claims.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20178332

On 1 February 2013, it was reported that Davies is to be investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner after a complaint claiming he received more than £10,000 in benefits from companies with links to the gambling industry which he did not fully declare during a year-long investigation into the betting trade. The Guardian, 1 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013

Stance

Political commentator Peter Hitchens has described Davies as being a "genuinely conservative" MP. He is a member of the Freedom Association and often claims to be libertarian (see "Political correctness" section below), for example voting against the smoking ban in 2006.http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpid=40531&dmp=811 However, his stance on DNA databases, CCTV and law and order is decidedly more authoritarian. He has called for government to "scrap the Human Rights Act for foreign nationals and chuck them out of the country" and he has been criticised as "disgracefully reactionary" for saying publicly that he wanted to see "an increase in the prison population."

Economic views

He is an organiser for the economically right-wing Taxpayers’ Alliance. He is among a minority of Conservative MPs who has called for the scrapping of the minimum wage in the UK and in 2011 he suggested that disabled people should be allowed to work for below minimum wage, giving employers the incentive to employ them. He was criticised by disabled charities for his comments and the Conservative Party quickly distanced themselves from the suggestion. Davies’ initial response was that the furore over his comments was "Left-wing hysteria".