Bob Neill
Encyclopedia
Robert James MacGillivray "Bob" Neill (born 24 June 1952) is a British barrister and Conservative Party
politician. He has served as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bromley and Chislehurst since a by-election on 29 June 2006. He has served as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government since 14 May 2010
, and took a degree at the London School of Economics
. He was later a councillor
in the London Borough of Havering
, served as Greater London Council
member for Romford
1985-86. He previously stood for the Dagenham parliamentary constituency
in 1983, at the age of 30, coming within 2,997 votes of winning the historically Labour seat from Bryan Gould
MP. He also stood for election in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
in 1994 and 1998.
Neill was first elected to the London Assembly
in the 2000 assembly election, and served as the Conservative
member for Bexley and Bromley
from 2000 until 2008. He served as Leader of the Conservative Group on the Assembly from 2000 to 2002 and again from 2004.
He is also a member of the EU's Committee of the Regions, and a member of the European People's Party - European Democrats. A pro-European, he supported former Conservative Chancellor Kenneth Clarke
in both of his bids for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
A Freemason, he is a member of the Greater London Lodge. His wife was a Southend Conservative Councillor and former Mayor, Daphne White. Neill said in a parliamentary debate that his election to Parliament allowed his wife to live "every Essex girl's dream: wake up in Kent
".
in May 2006, on 3 June 2006 he was adopted as the Conservative candidate for the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election
which took place on 29 June 2006. His selection by the local Conservative Association raised eyebrows, as new leader David Cameron
had pressed for an "A-List" candidate, to help present Cameron's vision of the new Conservative Party. The Parliamentary constituency forms a part of Neill's London Assembly constituency. He stated at his selection that he would not resign his London Assembly
seat as the resultant by-election, which would see around 400,000 voters go to the polls, would be unduly expensive.
A few questions were raised about Neill's position as a non-executive director
of the North East London Strategic Health Authority, which fell foul of the House of Commons Disqualification Act of 1975. His response was that, because the body was due to be abolished before he would have had the chance to take his seat in Westminster, any such arguments were immaterial.
Neill won the by-election by just 633 votes, compared to the 13,342 majority achieved by his predecessor at the 2005 general election
. Factors contributing to this were assumed by commentators to include a substantial drop in the turnout (down from 64.8 to 40.18%), with the drop disproportionally hitting the Conservative vote; the presence of a high-profile UKIP
candidate, Nigel Farage
- Labour ended up coming fourth, after UKIP; and a campaign by the Liberal Democrats that heavily focused on Neill personally. In his acceptance speech Neill criticised "a minority of candidates" (which was assumed to be specifically criticising the Liberal Democrat candidate) for their ad hominem
attacks on him. These included statements regarding Neill's occupations outside his future parliamentary role (including the nickname "Three Jobs Bob") and the fact that, at that time, he did not live in the constituency, although he has now purchased a house there.
recorded that Neill was claiming an allowance for a second home despite living outside London. A spokesman said that his claims were "in accordance with the rules". He was returned to parliament in the United Kingdom general election, 2010. On June 10, 2010 Robert Neill answering questions in parliament as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party for Local Government said "Those in greatest need ultimately bear the burden of paying off the debt which this country has been left" Opposition stated that North is taking far bigger cuts than south and this was not challenged by Robert Neill.
Neill's approach to statistics and parliamentary privilege has been questioned by Dr Ben Goldacre
.
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...
politician. He has served as the 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 Bromley and Chislehurst since a by-election on 29 June 2006. He has served as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government since 14 May 2010
History
Neill attended Abbs Cross Technical High School, Abbs Cross Lane, HornchurchHornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
, and took a degree at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He was later a councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in the London Borough of Havering
London Borough of Havering
The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in North East London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in Havering is Romford and the other main communities are Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. The borough is mainly characterised by suburban development with large...
, served as Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
member for Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
1985-86. He previously stood for the Dagenham parliamentary constituency
Dagenham (UK Parliament constituency)
Dagenham was a borough 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...
in 1983, at the age of 30, coming within 2,997 votes of winning the historically Labour seat from Bryan Gould
Bryan Gould
Bryan Charles Gould, CNZM is a former United Kingdom politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1974–79, and again from 1983–94...
MP. He also stood for election in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
in 1994 and 1998.
Neill was first elected to the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
in the 2000 assembly election, and served as the 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...
member for Bexley and Bromley
Bexley and Bromley (London Assembly constituency)
Bexley and Bromley is a constituency represented in the London Assembly.It consists of the combined area of the London Borough of Bexley and the London Borough of Bromley...
from 2000 until 2008. He served as Leader of the Conservative Group on the Assembly from 2000 to 2002 and again from 2004.
He is also a member of the EU's Committee of the Regions, and a member of the European People's Party - European Democrats. A pro-European, he supported former Conservative Chancellor Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
in both of his bids for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
A Freemason, he is a member of the Greater London Lodge. His wife was a Southend Conservative Councillor and former Mayor, Daphne White. Neill said in a parliamentary debate that his election to Parliament allowed his wife to live "every Essex girl's dream: wake up in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
".
Bromley and Chislehurst by-election
Following the death of Eric ForthEric Forth
Eric Forth was a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Birmingham North, then Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire and finally Bromley and Chislehurst at his death. He served as a junior minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John...
in May 2006, on 3 June 2006 he was adopted as the Conservative candidate for the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election
Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006
A by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst in London, following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. The writ for the electing of a new member was issued on 6 June for a polling day of 29 June 2006, the same day as the...
which took place on 29 June 2006. His selection by the local Conservative Association raised eyebrows, as new leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
had pressed for an "A-List" candidate, to help present Cameron's vision of the new Conservative Party. The Parliamentary constituency forms a part of Neill's London Assembly constituency. He stated at his selection that he would not resign his London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
seat as the resultant by-election, which would see around 400,000 voters go to the polls, would be unduly expensive.
A few questions were raised about Neill's position as a non-executive director
Non-executive director
A non-executive director or outside director is a member of the board of directors of a company who does not form part of the executive management team. He or she is not an employee of the company or affiliated with it in any other way...
of the North East London Strategic Health Authority, which fell foul of the House of Commons Disqualification Act of 1975. His response was that, because the body was due to be abolished before he would have had the chance to take his seat in Westminster, any such arguments were immaterial.
Neill won the by-election by just 633 votes, compared to the 13,342 majority achieved by his predecessor 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....
. Factors contributing to this were assumed by commentators to include a substantial drop in the turnout (down from 64.8 to 40.18%), with the drop disproportionally hitting the Conservative vote; the presence of a high-profile UKIP
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
candidate, Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage MEP , a position he previously held from September 2006 to November 2009. He is a current Member of the European Parliament for South East England and co-chairs the Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Democracy group....
- Labour ended up coming fourth, after UKIP; and a campaign by the Liberal Democrats that heavily focused on Neill personally. In his acceptance speech Neill criticised "a minority of candidates" (which was assumed to be specifically criticising the Liberal Democrat candidate) for their ad hominem
Ad hominem
An ad hominem , short for argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or belief of the person supporting it...
attacks on him. These included statements regarding Neill's occupations outside his future parliamentary role (including the nickname "Three Jobs Bob") and the fact that, at that time, he did not live in the constituency, although he has now purchased a house there.
Parliamentary career
In 2008 Neill was made Shadow Local Government Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. In January 2009, he also took over the shadow planning brief.Recent news
In 2009 The TimesThe 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...
recorded that Neill was claiming an allowance for a second home despite living outside London. A spokesman said that his claims were "in accordance with the rules". He was returned to parliament in the United Kingdom general election, 2010. On June 10, 2010 Robert Neill answering questions in parliament as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party for Local Government said "Those in greatest need ultimately bear the burden of paying off the debt which this country has been left" Opposition stated that North is taking far bigger cuts than south and this was not challenged by Robert Neill.
Neill's approach to statistics and parliamentary privilege has been questioned by Dr Ben Goldacre
Ben Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
.
External links
- Official site
- Bob Neill at TheyWorkForYouTheyWorkForYouTheyWorkForYou is a website run by mySociety, a project of registered charity UK Citizens Online Democracy, and is a tool for political campaigners and those interested in the Parliamentary activities of UK MPs, Lords, and Northern Ireland MLAs....
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
Democracy Live - Electoral history and profile at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Biography from the London Assembly
- Biography from Department of Communities and Local Government