Andrew Hunter (British politician)
Encyclopedia
Andrew Robert Frederick Ebenezer Hunter (born 8 January 1943, St Albans
) is a United Kingdom
politician and a member of the Orange Order
. He was Member of Parliament
(MP) for Basingstoke from 1983 until 2005. From 1990 - 2001 he was Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Monday Club
and is currently (2008) Chairman, succeeding Lord Sudeley.
Squadron Leader
. He went to St George's School, Harpenden and studied at the University of Durham gaining a BA
in Theology in 1966 and an MA
in History in 1968. He gained a Diploma in Education from Jesus College, Cambridge
in 1967 then studied at Westcott House, Cambridge
. From 1968-71, he worked in manufacturing industry. He was a Classics teacher at Harrow School
for 12 years from 1971-83.
Hunter was first elected to Basingstoke as a Conservative
in the 1983 election
. He is a member of the Conservative Monday Club
and its Vice-Chairman from 1991 to 2001, when he was ordered by the Conservative Party to quit the Club. Since retiring as an MP he is once again Deputy-Chairman of the Club. Until 2002, he was a patron of the magazine Right Now!.
Andrew Hunter was active in thoroughly researching and exposing the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) links with other groups, including the South African African National Congress
(ANC), and in July 1988 called for Margaret Thatcher
to deport all ANC members then in Britain.
On 3 February 1997, he had a letter published in The Times
, which he signed as Chairman of the Parliamentary Conservative Northern Ireland Committee, attacking the 'Bloody Sunday' Inquiry
, calling it "a mistake" and saying that it "dishonours the memory of all who have died in The Troubles
".
In 2002, he withdrew from the Conservative Party, in order to fight elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly
as a candidate of the Democratic Unionist Party
. He had family and Orange Order connections with Northern Ireland and opposed the Good Friday Agreement
. The elections
were held in November 2003, when he stood in Lagan Valley
, and he failed to gain a seat, coming seventh in a six-seat constituency. On 10 December 2004, he announced that he had joined the DUP Parliamentary Group in the House of Commons, the first Member of Parliament for a seat in Great Britain
to represent a party based in Ireland
since T.P. O'Connor represented Liverpool Scotland
from 1885 to 1929.
In February 2005, Hunter raised the case of Jeremy Bamber
in Parliament, questioning his conviction for murdering his adoptive family.
Hunter stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election
and suggested he would move to Northern Ireland to become more involved with DUP politics. However, the subsequent death of his wife Jan, led to a hold on these plans.
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
) is a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician and a member of the Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
. He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Basingstoke from 1983 until 2005. From 1990 - 2001 he was Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
and is currently (2008) Chairman, succeeding Lord Sudeley.
Early life
Hunter is the son of an RAFRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. He went to St George's School, Harpenden and studied at the University of Durham gaining a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Theology in 1966 and an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in History in 1968. He gained a Diploma in Education from Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
in 1967 then studied at Westcott House, Cambridge
Westcott House, Cambridge
Westcott House is a Church of England theological college based in Jesus Lane located in the centre of the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Its main activity is training people for ordained ministry in Anglican churches...
. From 1968-71, he worked in manufacturing industry. He was a Classics teacher at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
for 12 years from 1971-83.
Parliamentary career
Hunter contested Southampton Itchen in 1979.Hunter was first elected to Basingstoke as a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the 1983 election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. He is a member of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
and its Vice-Chairman from 1991 to 2001, when he was ordered by the Conservative Party to quit the Club. Since retiring as an MP he is once again Deputy-Chairman of the Club. Until 2002, he was a patron of the magazine Right Now!.
Andrew Hunter was active in thoroughly researching and exposing the Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) links with other groups, including the South African African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC), and in July 1988 called for Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
to deport all ANC members then in Britain.
On 3 February 1997, he had a letter published in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, which he signed as Chairman of the Parliamentary Conservative Northern Ireland Committee, attacking the 'Bloody Sunday' Inquiry
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry or the Saville Report after its chairman, Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after campaigns for a second inquiry by families of those killed and injured in Derry on Bloody Sunday...
, calling it "a mistake" and saying that it "dishonours the memory of all who have died in The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
".
In 2002, he withdrew from the Conservative Party, in order to fight elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
as a candidate of the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
. He had family and Orange Order connections with Northern Ireland and opposed the Good Friday Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
. The elections
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003
The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
were held in November 2003, when he stood in Lagan Valley
Lagan Valley (Assembly constituency)
Lagan Valley is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....
, and he failed to gain a seat, coming seventh in a six-seat constituency. On 10 December 2004, he announced that he had joined the DUP Parliamentary Group in the House of Commons, the first Member of Parliament for a seat in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to represent a party based in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
since T.P. O'Connor represented Liverpool Scotland
Liverpool Scotland (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Scotland was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1885 to 1929.
In February 2005, Hunter raised the case of Jeremy Bamber
Jeremy Bamber
Jeremy Nevill Bamber was convicted in England in 1986 of murdering five members of his adoptive family—his father, mother, sister, and her six-year-old twin sons—at his parents' home at White House Farm, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, in the early hours of 7 August 1985...
in Parliament, questioning his conviction for murdering his adoptive family.
Hunter stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
and suggested he would move to Northern Ireland to become more involved with DUP politics. However, the subsequent death of his wife Jan, led to a hold on these plans.