- Nick de Bois
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Nick de Bois MP 
Member of Parliament
for Enfield NorthIncumbent Assumed office
6 May 2010Preceded by Joan Ryan Majority 1,692 (3.8%) Personal details Born 23 February 1959 [1]
Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, UK[2]Nationality English Political party Conservatives Spouse(s) Helen de Bois Website Official Website Geoffrey Nicholas "Nick" de Bois[3] (born 23 February 1959) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Enfield North, defeating the Labour incumbent MP Joan Ryan.[4]
De Bois had previously contested the Enfield constituency in both the 2001 and the 2005 general elections, taking second place to Joan Ryan on both occasions. Prior to this he also stood unsuccessfully for Stalybridge and Hyde in 1997.
He was also Managing Director of Rapiergroup, a marketing communications company, where he first began working in the mid 1980s, following a brief spell in PR with the Advertising Standards Authority.[5]
De Bois has four grown up children. Educated at Culford School, He has an HND in business studies from Cambridge College of Arts and Technology.[6]
Contents
Hands Off Our Hospital campaign
He led the Hands Off Our Hospital campaign against changes to services at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, since 2004. Under the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey (BEH) Clinical Strategy, Chase Farm was set to have its services "reconfigured", with its 24-hour A&E department replaced with a 12-hour Urgent Care Centre and its consultant-led maternity unit replaced with a midwife-led unit. The issue of cuts to Chase Farm was a key local issue in Enfield North constituency at the 2010 general election. Following the election in May, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley visited Chase Farm to call a halt to all hospital reconfiguration plans, stating they could only proceed if the plans passed the four tests he had set down.[7] Since this announcement, NHS London and NHS Enfield have stated, following a review, that they believe the four tests have been met. De Bois said this was an attempt to "bully residents into accepting the changes".[8] De Bois stated in the House of Commons that he believes the cuts to Chase Farm "will cost lives",[9] which drew criticism from a Haringey GP who supports the changes.[10] The final decision rests with the Health Secretary himself, which at present he has not taken.
Nick de Bois is set to lead a deputation to the Health Secretary on 7 March[11], along with Enfield's two other MPs David Burrowes and Andy Love, plus the leader of Enfield council and other councillors. He raised the issue of Chase Farm directly with David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions.[12]
Enfield Jobs Fair - January 2011
De Bois organised a Jobs Fair for Enfield in order to help combat unemployment within his constituency that stood at an above average 6.6%.[13] The event was held at Southbury Leisure centre and hosted over 40 local and international companies (such as Asda, Tesco and Barclays) training providers (such as Southgate College and Capel Manor College) and voluntary organisations (such as the British Red Cross), the event aimed to give people a chance to find a job or training placement.[14]
While originally only expecting attendance of between 150 and 300 people, more than 1,200 attended.[15] Nick promised the jobs fair would not just be a one-off, with regular work clubs being set up as a consequence and another mass event being planned within a year.[15]
"Don't Carry, Don't Kill" Knife Crime Campaign
Following a significant increase of knife crime in his constituency[16], de Bois teamed up with a local Newspaper, the Enfield Independent[17], to seek an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill currently going through Parliament. This amendment would see an extension of the proposed mandatory prison sentences for those who use a knife to threaten or endanger life, to include individuals aged under eighteen[18].
As part of his campaign, de Bois has written to both the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Attorney General Dominic Grieve, seeking their support[19][20]. He has also collected signatures for a petition supporting the amendment, to be presented to Parliament[21].
2011 Riots in Enfield
Main article: 2011 England RiotsOn Sunday 7th August, a significant number of violent disturbances erupted in the centre of de Bois’ constituency[22], which culminated in the looting and arson at the large Sony Distribution Centre in Solar Way, Enfield.
Upon hearing about the potential for disorder in the centre of his constituency via the social networking website Twitter, de Bois arrived in the centre of Enfield Town at around 18:00 to find a significant number of youths gathering in the town centre. Up until 19:00 de Bois only witnessed one example of disorder involving approximately 150[23], youths which was quickly dealt with by the police. During the containment of these youths, further disorder occurred further into the town which resulted in a number of locally owned shops being looted. As the disorder continued, de Bois remained in Enfield Town in order to inform his constituents of the on-going situation via his account on Twitter[24], as many news organisations had been unable to report all of the on-going disorder.
During the disorder, and following it’s culmination, de Bois called for a re-think in the tactics used by the police which would have allowed for the use of water cannons. He publically supported Prime Minister David Cameron’s statement that if the police required them, they could have water cannons at twenty-four hours’ notice[25].
As part of the Prime Minister’s statement, he re-called Parliament in order for MPs to discuss the disorder that had been experienced throughout England. In his involvement in the debate, de Bois not only paid tribute to the actions of the local police force in Enfield, but also suggested that schools should play a role in identifying those who were involved in the rioting[23].
References
- ^ "Nick de Bois MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/35347.stm. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ Nick de Bois biodata
- ^ Nick de Bois profile
- ^ "Election 2010: Enfield North Results". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/constituency/925/enfield-north. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Nick de Bois Interview". Event Magazine. http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/news/search/153712/PROFILE-Nick-de-Bois. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Conservative Website - Biography". Conservative Website. http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/de_Bois_Nick.aspx. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Health Secretary halts cuts – for now Enfield Independent". http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/8179244.Health_secretary_scraps_Chase_Farm_cuts___for_now.
- ^ "Chase Farm must be safeguarded says MP Enfield Advertiser". http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=3867&headline=MP%20warns%20that%20Chase%20Farm%20must%20be%20safeguarded.
- ^ "Chase Farm cuts will cost lives says Nick". from www.nickdebois.com. http://www.nickdebois.com/nick's-work/nick's-work/nick-chase-farm-cuts-will-cost-lives/193. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "GP hits back at MP's claims". from Enfield Independent. http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/8825494.Hospital_changes__save_lives__not_cost_them__says_GP. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- ^ "Nick to lead Chase Farm deputation". from www.nickdebois.com. http://www.nickdebois.com/local-campaigns/chase-farm. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "Chase Farm raised at PMQs". from www.nickdebois.com. http://www.nickdebois.com/nick's-work/nick's-work/chase-farm-hospital-raised-at-prime-ministers/183. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "Enfield Unemployment Levels". Enfield Observatory. http://www.enfield-observatory.org.uk/enfieldobservatory/docs/The_Enfield_Update_June_2010.pdf. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ "Enfield Jobs Fair". Office of Nick de Bois MP. http://www.nickdebois.com/nick's-work/press-releases/enfield-jobs-fair/189. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ a b "More Than 1,000 Flock to Enfield Jobs Fair". Enfield Independent. http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/8810480.More_than_1_000_flock_to_Enfield_jobs_fair. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ "Huge Rise In Knife Crime As Victims Keep Quiet". Enfield Advertiser. http://www.enfield-today.co.uk/news.cfm?id=38434. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Don't Carry, Don't Kill Campaign Launches Petition with Nick de Bois". Enfield Independent. http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/9160042.Don_t_Carry__Don_t_Kill_campaign_launches_petition. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "It's Not Only Adults Who Can Threaten With Knives writes Nick de Bois". Enfield Advertiser. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=18&refresh=5Yt1Dw0412zL&EID=b0f0113a-ad0a-440e-8484-bdca4c1da6d4&skip=&p=18. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Nick Writes to PM on Knife Crime". Office of Nick de Bois MP. http://nickdebois.com/nick's-work/nick's-work/nick-writes-to-pm-on-knife-crime/258. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "MPs Nick de Bois and David Burrowes write to Attorney General over Don't Carry Don't Kill campaign". Enfield Independent. http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/9190663.MPs_write_to_Attorney_General_over_knife_crime_campaign. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Knife Crime Petition". Office of Nick de Bois MP. http://www.nickdebois.com/downloads/petition-to-house-of-commons--youth-knife-crime.pdf. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Violence in Enfield Town". Office of Nick de Bois MP. http://nickdebois.com/nick's-work/nick's-work/violence-in-enfield-town/261. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Public Disorder – Business without Debate". TheyWorkForYou.com. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2011-08-11a.1165.0. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Nick de Bois MP’s Twitter". Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/nickdebois. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "PM: Police will get what they need". PoliticsHome. http://www.politicshome.com/uk/story/19356/. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
External links
- Profile at The Telegraph online
- TheyWorkForYou Parliamentary History
- Interview after winning his seat in 2010 at Catch21
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Joan RyanMember of Parliament for Enfield North
2010–presentIncumbent Categories:- 1959 births
- Living people
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- UK MPs 2010–
- Old Culfordians
- People from Ely, Cambridgeshire
- People from Enfield
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