Nigel Evans
Encyclopedia
Nigel Martin Evans is a British
politician
. Since 1992 he has been Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
for the Ribble Valley constituency
. Since 2010 he has been First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means
, a deputy speaker.
. He was educated locally at the Dynevor School
, and at Swansea University
, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
degree in politics in 1979.
He was involved in the management of his family's newsagents and convenience store in Swansea. In 1985 he was elected as a councillor to the West Glamorgan
County Council. In 1990 he became the deputy Conservative group leader, before standing down as a councillor in 1991.
He contested Swansea West
at the 1987 general election
but was defeated by former minister
Alan Williams
by 7,062 votes. He was selected to contest the Pontypridd by-election, 1989
following the death of Brynmor John. He was defeated by Kim Howells
in Pontypridd
by 10,794 votes. He fought his third election in one parliament when he was selected to contest the very safe Conservative seat of Ribble Valley
in the by-election caused by the resignation of David Waddington
to become the Leader of the House of Lords
in 1990, but was again defeated at the Ribble Valley by-election
on 7 March 1991 when Mike Carr
gained the seat for the Liberal Democrats by 4,601 votes.
Nigel Evans regained Ribble Valley from the Liberal Democrats at the 1992 general election
defeating Carr by 6,542 votes and has been the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on 20 May 1992. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
PPS
to the Secretary of State for Employment
David Hunt in 1993 and remained Hunt's PPS when he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
in 1994. In 1995, Evans became the PPS to Tony Baldry
the Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
in 1995, and in 1996 became the PPS to the new Secretary of State for Wales
William Hague
.
With the Conservative Party not winning a single seat in Wales at the 1997 general election
, Evans was drafted onto the frontbench
by John Major
as a spokesman on Welsh Affairs
. He became a member of the Shadow Cabinet
under Iain Duncan Smith
as the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
from 2001 to 2003. He had publicly criticised the government for not having a dedicated Secretary of State for Wales in a cabinet post, so when the new Conservative leader Michael Howard
decided to take the role outside of the Shadow Cabinet, Evans chose to return to the backbenches
.
He became a member of both the Trade and Industry the Welsh Affairs Select Committees in 2003; and in November 2004, he was appointed a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, with specific responsibility for overseeing Conservatives Abroad and mobilising the Conservative vote overseas. He returned to the back-benches on the election of David Cameron
in 2005 deciding to dedicate more time to his work on the Council of Europe and Western European Union. He has been a member of the Culture Media and Sport
Select Committee since the 2005 general election
.
On the issue of Climate Change
, Evans has expressed his belief in the solar variation theory and the causes of warming on the earth and on other planets being sunspots, and praised the TV documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle
as "one of the best and most controversial programmes I've ever seen on television, particularly for those who don't like being spoonfed by Al Gore". He was described by Labour MP Paul Flynn
on his controversial blog as "a tabloid newspaper made flesh"
Nigel Evans voted against the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in 1999 by opposing the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998. He voted against every increase in the minimum wage thereafter and in 2009 became one of 11 MPs to back the Employment Opportunities Bill, which aimed to make the minimum wage optional, but was defeated in Parliament.
Evans came off relatively lightly in the expenses scandal, who was ranked as the 570th most expensive MP out of the 646 MPs in the UK Parliament. However, criticism was drawn when it emerged that he was claiming £375 a month on phone bills and had bought four digital cameras in 18 months. Evans later drew criticism by being recorded saying that he struggled to live on his salary of over £64,000 per year, though it can be heard on the recording that he made the comment in jest.
On 8 June 2010 Nigel Evans was elected First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. This was the first time the three Deputy Speakers had been elected by secret ballot of all MPs.
On 18 December 2010, Nigel Evans revealed to the Daily Mail
that he is gay, saying that he is fed up of living his life as a lie.
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. Since 1992 he has been 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...
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,...
for the Ribble Valley constituency
Ribble Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Ribble Valley is a county 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....
. Since 2010 he has been First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
, a deputy speaker.
Career
Nigel Evans was born on 10 November 1957 in SwanseaSwansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. He was educated locally at the Dynevor School
Dynevor School, Swansea
Dynevor School was a secondary school in Swansea, Wales. It was closed in 2002. The school's premises have been re-developed and are now used by the Swansea Metropolitan University .-Notable alumni:*Rowan Williams - Archbishop of Canterbury...
, and at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
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...
degree in politics in 1979.
He was involved in the management of his family's newsagents and convenience store in Swansea. In 1985 he was elected as a councillor to the West Glamorgan
West Glamorgan
West Glamorgan is a preserved county and former administrative county of Wales, one of the divisions of the ancient county of Glamorgan.West Glamorgan was created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 from the county borough of Swansea, the municipal boroughs of Neath and Port Talbot,...
County Council. In 1990 he became the deputy Conservative group leader, before standing down as a councillor in 1991.
He contested Swansea West
Swansea West (UK Parliament constituency)
Swansea West is a constituency of 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....
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...
but was defeated by former minister
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
Alan Williams
Alan Williams
Alan John Williams is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Swansea West from 1964 to 2010.-Early life:...
by 7,062 votes. He was selected to contest the Pontypridd by-election, 1989
Pontypridd by-election, 1989
The Pontypridd by-election, 1989 was a by-election held in Wales on 23 February 1989 for the House of Commons constituency of Pontypridd in Mid Glamorgan....
following the death of Brynmor John. He was defeated by Kim Howells
Kim Howells
Kim Scott Howells is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Pontypridd from 1989 to 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions within the Government.-Biography:...
in Pontypridd
Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:...
by 10,794 votes. He fought his third election in one parliament when he was selected to contest the very safe Conservative seat of Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...
in the by-election caused by the resignation of David Waddington
David Waddington, Baron Waddington
David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, GCVO, DL, QC, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1990, and was then made a life peer...
to become the Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the House of Lords
The Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council,...
in 1990, but was again defeated at the Ribble Valley by-election
Ribble Valley by-election, 1991
The Ribble Valley by-election, in Lancashire, England, was called in 1991 following the elevation of United Kingdom MP David Waddington to the House of Lords....
on 7 March 1991 when Mike Carr
Michael Carr (Lib Dem politician)
Michael Carr is a British teacher, lecturer and politician for the Liberal Democrats. Originally a teacher, Carr became active in politics as a Conservative councillor before joining the Social Democratic Party...
gained the seat for the Liberal Democrats by 4,601 votes.
Nigel Evans regained Ribble Valley from the Liberal Democrats 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...
defeating Carr by 6,542 votes and has been the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on 20 May 1992. He was appointed as the 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...
PPS
Principal Private Secretary
In the British Civil Service and Australian Public Service the Principal Private Secretary is the civil servant who runs a cabinet minister's private office...
to the Secretary of State for Employment
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
David Hunt in 1993 and remained Hunt's PPS when he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
in 1994. In 1995, Evans became the PPS to Tony Baldry
Tony Baldry
Anthony Brian 'Tony' Baldry is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Banbury.-Early life:...
the Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...
in 1995, and in 1996 became the PPS to the new Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
.
With the Conservative Party not winning a single seat in Wales at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, Evans was drafted onto the frontbench
Frontbencher
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then known as being on the frontbench and are described as...
by 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...
as a spokesman on Welsh Affairs
Wales Office
The Wales Office / Swyddfa Cymru is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999....
. He became a member of the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
under Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
as the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
from 2001 to 2003. He had publicly criticised the government for not having a dedicated Secretary of State for Wales in a cabinet post, so when the new Conservative leader Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
decided to take the role outside of the Shadow Cabinet, Evans chose to return to the backbenches
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
.
He became a member of both the Trade and Industry the Welsh Affairs Select Committees in 2003; and in November 2004, he was appointed a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, with specific responsibility for overseeing Conservatives Abroad and mobilising the Conservative vote overseas. He returned to the back-benches on the election of 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 ....
in 2005 deciding to dedicate more time to his work on the Council of Europe and Western European Union. He has been a member of the Culture Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
Select Committee since 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....
.
On the issue of Climate Change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, Evans has expressed his belief in the solar variation theory and the causes of warming on the earth and on other planets being sunspots, and praised the TV documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle
The Great Global Warming Swindle
The Great Global Warming Swindle is a polemical documentary film that suggests that the scientific opinion on climate change is influenced by funding and political factors, and questions whether scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming exists....
as "one of the best and most controversial programmes I've ever seen on television, particularly for those who don't like being spoonfed by Al Gore". He was described by Labour MP Paul Flynn
Paul Flynn (politician)
Paul Philip Flynn is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Newport West since the 1987 general election. He was born in Cardiff of Welsh/Irish parentage....
on his controversial blog as "a tabloid newspaper made flesh"
Nigel Evans voted against the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in 1999 by opposing the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998. He voted against every increase in the minimum wage thereafter and in 2009 became one of 11 MPs to back the Employment Opportunities Bill, which aimed to make the minimum wage optional, but was defeated in Parliament.
Evans came off relatively lightly in the expenses scandal, who was ranked as the 570th most expensive MP out of the 646 MPs in the UK Parliament. However, criticism was drawn when it emerged that he was claiming £375 a month on phone bills and had bought four digital cameras in 18 months. Evans later drew criticism by being recorded saying that he struggled to live on his salary of over £64,000 per year, though it can be heard on the recording that he made the comment in jest.
On 8 June 2010 Nigel Evans was elected First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. This was the first time the three Deputy Speakers had been elected by secret ballot of all MPs.
On 18 December 2010, Nigel Evans revealed to the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
that he is gay, saying that he is fed up of living his life as a lie.
External links
- Nigel Evans MP official site
- ePolitix.com – Nigel Evans MP
- Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Nigel Evans MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com – Nigel Evans MP
- The Public Whip – Nigel Evans MP voting record
- BBC News – Nigel Evans MP profile 24 March, 2005