- Mike Weatherley
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For the American actor, see Michael Weatherly.
Mike Weatherley MP 
Mike Weatherley, July 2010 Member of Parliament
for HoveIncumbent Assumed office
6 May 2010Preceded by Celia Barlow Majority 1,868 (3.7%) Personal details Born 2 July 1957 [1]
Clevedon, Somerset, EnglandNationality British Political party Conservative Alma mater London South Bank University Michael 'Mike' Richard Weatherley (born 2 July 1957[2]) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove in East Sussex, since winning the seat in the 2010 general election.[3][4][5]
Contents
Before politics
Mike attended Kent College. He then graduated in business studies from London South Bank University and is a chartered management accountant. He professes a keen interest in live music and was finance director of record producer Pete Waterman's group of businesses.[6] In 2007 he became Vice President (Europe) for the Motion Picture Licensing Company.[7]
Political career
Weatherley's first parliamentary contest was in 2001 in the safe Labour seat of Barking in east London. He also unsuccessfully contested a council seat in Brighton and Hove in 2003. In the 2005 general election, Weatherley was Conservative parliamentary candidate for Brighton, Pavilion,[8] the seat adjacent to Hove. In the event, the seat was held by the incumbent Labour MP, David Lepper with a majority of over 5,000.
Weatherley then secured a seat on his local Crawley Borough Council, [9][10][11] defeating the Labour candidate, former Big Brother contestant Eugene Sully. In 2006, he was then selected by Hove Conservatives[11] as their candidate. He was finally successful in entering parliament when he defeated sitting Labour MP Celia Barlow, overturning her narrow 2005 winning margin of just 420 votes.
Since being elected in May 2010, Mike has been actively campaigning against the repeal of the 2004 Hunting Act.[12] Mike has stated that, "hunting foxes with hounds is a cruel and inhumane practice" [13] and has pledged to vote against any measure which would lead to the ban being overturned. Mike has been actively campaigning against the implementation of the Tobacco Display Ban.[14] He has said that the ban is a badly planned piece of legislation and is concerned that it would damage trade for small businesses.[15] He has written to the Prime Minister in favour of giving same-sex couples equal marriage rights and force religious organizations to register such ceremonies, which has caused controversy.[16][17][18]
Mike is the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Business and Retail Crime, along with various other APPGs.[19]
Personal life
Weatherley has two sons and a daughter with his first wife .[2][6]
In June 2010, Weatherley's second wife, Brazilian-born Carla Weatherley, was revealed to be working as a prostitute when married (although separated at the time) to Mike Weatherley.[20][21] Weatherley has expressed his shock at the revelation, and has stated that they had separated in February 2010.[22]
Mike's main passion outside work and politics is rock music. In his spare time he watches bands perform live in local venues and in his Maiden Speech he pledged that he would wear an Iron Maiden T-shirt in the Chamber.[23]
Mike is a keen cyclist. He has participated in the London to Brighton bike ride and has successfully completed a 100 mile charity bike ride along the Nile in Egypt with 44 other cyclists, together raising £230,000 for Childline and Nordoff Robbins.[7]
He is a qualified ski instructor and football referee and former centre-forward of the Martha Gunners.[7]
References
- ^ "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251143/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ a b "The Argus candidate profile". Theargus.co.uk. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/elections/general_election_2010/constituencies/425.hove/candidates/3364._mike_weatherley/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "TheyWorkForYou.com". TheyWorkForYou.com. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/michael_weatherley/hove. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "Election results in The Argus". Theargus.co.uk. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/elections/general_election_2010/constituencies/425.hove/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "BBC Election 2010". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c28.stm. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ a b Pavilion selection press release[dead link]
- ^ a b c "Biography". Mike Weatherley MP. http://www.mikeweatherleymp.com/about/about-mike/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ Pavilion campaign Web site[dead link]
- ^ "Crawley Borough election results 2007". Crawley.gov.uk. 2011-05-05. http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=437. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ Election leaflet, Furnace Green, Crawley[dead link]
- ^ a b Hove selection press release[dead link]
- ^ Owen Bowcott. "Foxhunting ban likely to remain thanks to new generation of Tory MPs | UK news". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/28/countryside-alliance-conservatives-foxhunting. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "Mike Against Fox Hunting". Mike Weatherley MP. 2010-10-28. http://www.mikeweatherleymp.com/2010/10/28/mike-against-fox-hunting/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "ConservativeHome's Platform: Mike Weatherley MP: Listen to our nation of shopkeepers - and don't force through a tobacco display ban". Conservativehome.blogs.com. 2010-09-30. http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2010/10/listen-to-our-nation-of-shopkeepers-and-dont-force-through-a-tobacco-display-ban.html. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "Hove MP to fight tobacco display ban (From The Argus)". Theargus.co.uk. 2010-10-25. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8472676.Hove_MP_to_fight_tobacco_display_ban/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ http://www.mikeweatherleymp.com/2011/09/05/same-sex-couples-should-have-exactly-the-same-marriage-rights/
- ^ http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/09/08/tory-mp-urges-cameron-to-crack-down-on-churches-that-refuse-to-hold-same-sex-ceremonies/
- ^ Jessica Geen, 'Tory MP calls for churches to be banned from holding marriages if they refuse gay couples', in Pink News, 2 September 2011 [1]
- ^ "Parliamentary Posts". Mike Weatherley MP. http://www.mikeweatherleymp.com/activity-in-the-house/posts/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ Will Payne. "Tory MP Mike Weatherley's wife working as a prostitute". Mirror.co.uk. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/09/04/tory-mp-mike-weatherley-s-wife-working-as-a-prostitute-115875-22537899/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ Beth Hale (2010-06-09). "Tory MP weeps over discovery that his Brazilian wife is £70-a-time suburban prostitute". Dailymail.co.uk. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1309280/Tory-MP-Mike-Weatherley-discovers-wife-Carla-70-time-prostitute.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "Hove MP shock over wife "prostitute" allegations". Theargus.co.uk. 2010-09-06. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8372967.Hove_MP_shock_over_wife__prostitute__allegations/. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "European Affairs: 3 Jun 2010: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou.com. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2010-06-03d.600.0&s=section:debates+section:whall+section:lords+section:ni+speaker:24889#g657.0. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
External links
- http://www.mikeweatherleymp.com/ — Weatherley's website
- Page for Weatherley on Conservative Party site
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Celia BarlowMember of Parliament for Hove
2010–presentIncumbent Categories:- 1957 births
- Living people
- UK MPs 2010–
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Councillors in West Sussex
- Alumni of London South Bank University
- People educated at Kent College
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