- David Morris (Conservative politician)
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David Morris MP 
Member of Parliament
for Morecambe and LunesdaleIncumbent Assumed office
6 May 2010Preceded by Geraldine Smith Majority 866 (2.0%) Personal details Born 3 January 1966
Leigh, Lancashire[1]Nationality British Political party Conservative Website www.morecambelunesdale.com David Morris is an English Conservative Party politician. He is Member of Parliament (MP) for Morecambe and Lunesdale in Lancashire, England.[2]
Contents
Early life
The son of an ex-Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander turned civilian harbour master, Morris spent his youth in places as far afield as Hong Kong and the Bahamas, where the family's neighbours included actors Sean Connery and Elizabeth Taylor.[3]
Career
After applying and failing to get into the Royal Navy because of his short sightedness, Morris apprenticed as a hairdresser, eventually working as a stylist for Pierre Alexandre.[3]
His hobby was playing the electric guitar, and he joined a teenage band in which Richard "Rick" Astley was the drummer.[3][4] After leaving school at 16 and whilst training as a hairdresser, Morris and Astley played the Northern club circuit at night in bands including Give Way - specialising in covering Beatles and Shadows songs - and FBI, a soul music band which won several local talent competitions.[4] After the lead singer left FBI, Morris also left the band to concentrate on hairdressing. Astley had stepped up to take over vocals, and after being spotted by Pete Waterman was signed by Stock, Aitken and Waterman.[4] Signed under a separate SAW contract, Morris rejoined Astley's backing band, and although the guitar player, appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops faking playing a keyboard for the song She Wants to Dance with Me. Morris also wrote songs, both for Astley and other SAW performers including Sonia, Brother Beyond and Jason Donovan.[3]
After leaving the pop industry, Morris returned to hairdressing, where he built up a chain of five salons.[5]
Politics
Selected as the Conservative candidate for Blackpool South in 2001 and Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire in 2005, he failed to win either seat.[6]
Morris won Morecambe and Lunesdale at the 2010 general election, defeating Labour's Geraldine Smith by 866 votes.[3] Morris is a member of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, for which he has the honorary title Lieutenant Commander.
Morris is a friend of the actor and musician David Hasselhoff, whom he welcomed to the House of Commons in February 2011 as part of the campaign to reopen the Morecambe Winter Gardens.[7]
Personal life
Divorced, he has two teenage sons.[3] One of whom, Thomas, recently wrote about his experience working for his father in Epolitix.com.[8]
References
- ^ http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251640/
- ^ "Morecambe and Lunesdale". BBC Election 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c98.stm. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "MP David Morris on his journey from pop to politics". BBC. 2 March 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12523570. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "Rick Astley - About". lookstudio.com. http://lookstudio.com/rickastley/about.html. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
- ^ "The Hit Fac-Tory". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 November 2010. http://www.lep.co.uk/news/the_hit_fac_tory_1_2769728. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
- ^ "David Morris - Your Parliamentary Candidate". Morecambe and Lunesdale Conservatives. 2010. http://www.morecambelunesdale.com/people/david-morris/. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ "David Hasselhoff in surprise meeting with David Cameron". BBC News. 8 February 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12398932. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ http://www.epolitix.com/policy/culture/culture-article/newsarticle/the-week-in-parliament-a-teenagers-view/
External links
- Official website
- David Morris on Conservative party website
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Geraldine SmithMember of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale
2010–presentIncumbent Categories:- 1966 births
- Living people
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- UK MPs 2010–
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- British hairdressers
- British guitarists
- British songwriters
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
