David Amess
Encyclopedia
David Anthony Andrew Amess (born 26 March 1952) is a British
Conservative Party
politician. He has been a Member of Parliament
(MP) since 1983, first for Basildon
, and since 1997 for Southend West
.
, London to James and Maud Ethel Amess, and raised Roman Catholic. He attended St Anthony's Junior and Infant School, then St. Bonaventure Grammar School (now St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School
) on Boleyn Road in Forest Gate
and then Bournemouth College of Technology
, where he earned a BSc
degree with honours in Economics and Government.
Amess taught at the St John the Baptist Primary School in Bethnal Green
for a year from 1970, and then spent a short time as an underwriter before becoming a recruitment consultant. He became chairman of Accountancy Solutions from 1987–90, then Accountancy Group from 1990-6.
In 1983, he married Julia Monica Margaret Arnold in Westminster. They have five children: one son (who served 4 years in prison for attacking someone in a night club fight) and four daughters.
seat of Newham North West
at the 1979 General Election
, and the seat was retained by Labour's MP Arthur Lewis
. In 1982, Amess was elected as a councillor to the London Borough of Redbridge
.
The sitting Conservative MP for Basildon
, Harvey Proctor
, moved to Billericay
in the 1983 General Election
, and Amess won the nomination to fight the Basildon seat. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Basildon on 9 June 1983.
Amess continued to serve both as an MP and a local councillor until 1986, when he stood down from Redbridge Borough Council to concentrate on his Westminster seat
. He held his Basildon seat narrowly at the 1987 General Election
, in part by developing a significant personal following. During the 1987 campaign, the constituency was visited by future Prime Minister John Major
.
Following the election Amess was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Michael Portillo
, a position he held for ten years throughout Portillo's ministerial career. Amess held his seat again at the 1992 General Election
, which was the first but vital sign that the Conservatives would unexpectedly win the 1992 election; the Basildon constituency was viewed as the make-or-break milestone.
In 1997, Amess moved to represent Southend West
in Essex after the retirement of former Cabinet
minister Paul Channon
. Amess received the nomination and was returned to Westminster again, in the wake of the landslide Labour victory. The newly-redrawn constituency of Basildon was won by Labour candidate, Angela Smith
.
Amess was also fooled into filming an elaborate video warning against the dangers of a fictional Eastern European drug called Cake and asked a question about it in Parliament.[1] The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called Shatner's Bassoon (altering your perception of time), can give you a bloated neck due to massive water retention (allegedly known in the then non-existent Czechoslovakia as "Czech Neck") and was frequently referred to as "a made-up drug" (a drug, they were told, not made from plants but made up from chemicals).
He voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
but has since been critical of the Labour government's failure to find the weapons of mass destruction
with which they justified the action at the time. On foreign policy he is also a leading member of Conservative Friends of Israel
. He is one of the few Conservative MPs to support the impeach Blair campaign
and is strongly against Labour's proposed anti-terror laws and the erosion of civil liberties
.
Amess is strongly pro-life
. In June 2005 Amess supported the Prohibition of Abortion (England and Wales) Bill introduced by Laurence Robertson
that sought to almost entirely ban abortion. However he is also in favour of a return to capital punishment
.
, and was fooled into filming an elaborate warning against the dangers of a fictional Eastern European drug called "cake". He went as far as to ask a question about "cake" in Parliament, alongside real substances Khat
and GHB
.
In response the Home Office
minister replied that "cake" was a name "we understand refers to 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-benzylamphetamine", a real drug that is not covered by legislation or most anti-drug campaigns, either at the time of the question or since.
When Brass Eye was released on DVD in 2001, the "Drugs" episode ended with a brief disclaimer at Amess' request, acknowledging his complaint to the ITC and reiterating his disapproval of recreational drug use.
Mr Amess visited the Maldives again between August and September 2008, paid for by the Maldives government. The visit was registered in September 2009, a year late."
Amess asked 15 questions in parliament relating to the Maldives before his interest in had been registered. The parliamentary question numbers were published by the BBC website.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Conservative Party
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 been a 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) since 1983, first for Basildon
Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)
Basildon was a parliamentary 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....
, and since 1997 for Southend West
Southend West (UK Parliament constituency)
Southend West is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
.
Early life
He was born in PlaistowPlaistow, Newham
Plaistow is a place in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It formed part of the County Borough of West Ham in Essex until 1965.Plaistow is a mainly residential area, including several council estates; the main road is the A112 - Plaistow Road, High Street, Broadway, Greengate Street and...
, London to James and Maud Ethel Amess, and raised Roman Catholic. He attended St Anthony's Junior and Infant School, then St. Bonaventure Grammar School (now St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School
St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School
St. Bonaventure's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, also known informally as St. Bon's, is located in Forest Gate, London Borough of Newham, United Kingdom. It is a voluntary-aided Catholic comprehensive secondary school for boys aged 11–18. The school has had Technology College status since...
) on Boleyn Road in Forest Gate
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...
and then Bournemouth College of Technology
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
, where he earned a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree with honours in Economics and Government.
Amess taught at the St John the Baptist Primary School in Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
for a year from 1970, and then spent a short time as an underwriter before becoming a recruitment consultant. He became chairman of Accountancy Solutions from 1987–90, then Accountancy Group from 1990-6.
In 1983, he married Julia Monica Margaret Arnold in Westminster. They have five children: one son (who served 4 years in prison for attacking someone in a night club fight) and four daughters.
Political career
He contested the safe Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
seat of Newham North West
Newham North West (UK Parliament constituency)
Newham North West was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in the London Borough of Newham. It returned one Member of Parliament, elected by the first past the post system.-History:...
at the 1979 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, and the seat was retained by Labour's MP Arthur Lewis
Arthur Lewis (politician)
Arthur William John Lewis was a British Labour politician.-Biography:Lewis was educated at Borough Polytechnic and began work as a fitter with the City of London Corporation. He was an official of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers 1938-48...
. In 1982, Amess was elected as a councillor to the London Borough of Redbridge
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...
.
The sitting Conservative MP for Basildon
Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)
Basildon was a parliamentary 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....
, Harvey Proctor
Harvey Proctor
Harvey Proctor was a British Conservative Member of Parliament. He represented Basildon from 1979 to 1983 and Billericay from 1983 to 1987. Proctor became known for his right-wing views and for the manner in which scandal forced the end of his Parliamentary career.- Background :Proctor's father...
, moved to Billericay
Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)
Billericay 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.It returned Conservative MPs at every election except 1966....
in the 1983 General 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...
, and Amess won the nomination to fight the Basildon seat. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Basildon on 9 June 1983.
Amess continued to serve both as an MP and a local councillor until 1986, when he stood down from Redbridge Borough Council to concentrate on his Westminster seat
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
. He held his Basildon seat narrowly at the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, in part by developing a significant personal following. During the 1987 campaign, the constituency was visited by future Prime Minister John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
.
Following the election Amess was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Michael Portillo
Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...
, a position he held for ten years throughout Portillo's ministerial career. Amess held his seat again at the 1992 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, which was the first but vital sign that the Conservatives would unexpectedly win the 1992 election; the Basildon constituency was viewed as the make-or-break milestone.
In 1997, Amess moved to represent Southend West
Southend West (UK Parliament constituency)
Southend West is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
in Essex after the retirement of former Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
minister Paul Channon
Paul Channon
Henry Paul Guinness Channon, Baron Kelvedon, PC , was Conservative MP for Southend West for 38 years, from 1959 until 1997...
. Amess received the nomination and was returned to Westminster again, in the wake of the landslide Labour victory. The newly-redrawn constituency of Basildon was won by Labour candidate, Angela Smith
Angela Evans Smith
Angela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon is a British Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Basildon from 1997 till she was defeated in 2010...
.
Policy positions
Amess normally adheres to Conservative party policy when voting in the Commons, however he is very strongly in favour of the ban on fox-hunting.Amess was also fooled into filming an elaborate video warning against the dangers of a fictional Eastern European drug called Cake and asked a question about it in Parliament.[1] The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called Shatner's Bassoon (altering your perception of time), can give you a bloated neck due to massive water retention (allegedly known in the then non-existent Czechoslovakia as "Czech Neck") and was frequently referred to as "a made-up drug" (a drug, they were told, not made from plants but made up from chemicals).
He voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
but has since been critical of the Labour government's failure to find the weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
with which they justified the action at the time. On foreign policy he is also a leading member of Conservative Friends of Israel
Conservative Friends of Israel
Conservative Friends of Israel, abbreviated to CFI, is a British parliamentary group affiliated to the Conservative Party and dedicated to strengthening business, cultural and political ties between the United Kingdom and Israel. CFI is an unincorporated associationIt was founded by the late...
. He is one of the few Conservative MPs to support the impeach Blair campaign
Impeach Blair campaign
On 26 August 2004, a cross-party group of British MPs announced their campaign to impeach the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, Tony Blair for high crimes and misdemeanours.A campaign to impeach the US President, George W...
and is strongly against Labour's proposed anti-terror laws and the erosion of civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
.
Amess is strongly pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
. In June 2005 Amess supported the Prohibition of Abortion (England and Wales) Bill introduced by Laurence Robertson
Laurence Robertson
Laurence Anthony Robertson is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire since 1997...
that sought to almost entirely ban abortion. However he is also in favour of a return to capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
.
Brass Eye
Amess infamously appeared in the "Drugs" episode of the spoof current affairs television programme Brass EyeBrass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
, and was fooled into filming an elaborate warning against the dangers of a fictional Eastern European drug called "cake". He went as far as to ask a question about "cake" in Parliament, alongside real substances Khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
and GHB
Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid
γ-Hydroxybutyric acid , also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid and sodium oxybate when used for medicinal purposes, is a naturally occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all animals in small amounts. It is also categorized as an illegal...
.
In response the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
minister replied that "cake" was a name "we understand refers to 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-benzylamphetamine", a real drug that is not covered by legislation or most anti-drug campaigns, either at the time of the question or since.
When Brass Eye was released on DVD in 2001, the "Drugs" episode ended with a brief disclaimer at Amess' request, acknowledging his complaint to the ITC and reiterating his disapproval of recreational drug use.
Expenses
Amess faced criticism from voters in his Southend West constituency after his expense claims were revealed. Amess claimed £400 a week for food, and money for a second home in London despite his constituency being in commutable distance. He has since failed to answer calls from his local newspaper the Evening Echo, after he was confronted on his expenses whilst out canvassing, seeking refuge in a local hairdressers while avoiding the press.Failure to declare interests
Amess visited the Maldives on several occasions - "In September 2007 David Amess visited the Maldives, on a trip paid for in part by the government of the Maldives, yet no registration of the trip appears in the Register of Members' Interests.Mr Amess visited the Maldives again between August and September 2008, paid for by the Maldives government. The visit was registered in September 2009, a year late."
Amess asked 15 questions in parliament relating to the Maldives before his interest in had been registered. The parliamentary question numbers were published by the BBC website.
External links
- David Amess MP official constituency website
- David Amess MP Conservative Party profile
- David Amess Profile at New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....