- Philip Bradbourn
Philip Bradbourn OBE MEP (born
August 9 ,1951 ,Tipton , West Midlands) is a British politician, andMember of the European Parliament for the West Midlands region, for the Conservative Party. He has been a member of theEuropean Parliament since 1999.He was a parliamentary candidate for Wolverhampton South East in the 1992 general election and stood for the European Parliament in
County Durham in 1994.Until his election he was adviser to the Conservative Group Leader on Wolverhampton City Council. He held various local authority posts mainly based around planning. He was also the Chairman of the West Midlands Region Conservatives.
In the 1992 General Election he stood as Conservative Candidate in the Wolverhampton South-East Parliamentary Constituency and in the 1994 European Elections was European Conservative Candidate for the County Durham European Constituency.
Born in Tipton in 1951, Philip Bradbourn was educated at
Tipton Grammar School and then at Wulfrun College and Worcester College where he obtained a post-graduate Diploma in Municipal Administration in 1972. Raised in theBlack Country , he still lives in the area.He was awarded the O.B.E. for public and political service in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 1994.
Expenses claims
In May 2008 it was reported Philip Bradbourn has used tax-payers money to fund lavish trips across the world, including a visit to Table Mountain in South Africa and a wine route tour of the Neethlingshof Wine Estate in 2007. The six-day excursion is estimated to have cost £30,000. [ [http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/1805_brussels_exposed.shtml EU blows millions on fact-finding freebies for MEPs | News|Politics | News Of The World ] ]
moking incident
On 12th September 2007, an article appeared in the Times referring to an incident which occurred in the European Parliament (a non-smoking building), where he was found smoking in a corridor. When it was pointed out to him that he was not permitted to smoke inside the Parliament, he reportedly responded "I'm a member. I make the rules." Bradbourn, however, denied this, saying that his exact words were, "Elected members make the rules in Parliament, not staff.”Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2434361.ece|title=People: Hugo Rifkind|accessdate=2007-09-18|publisher=The Times|date=2007-09-12|work=Times Online]
Birmingham confusion
Philip Bradbourn also came under fire last year when it was discovered that the website of the West Midlands Conservative MEPs showed a photo of
Birmingham, Alabama instead ofBirmingham ,England . [ [http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2008/01/10/i-got-home-town-blues-97319-20336079/ I got home town Blues - Birmingham Mail ] ] [ [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/01/10/tories-mix-up-american-birmingham-with-ours-89520-20280206/ Tories mix-up American Birmingham with ours - mirror.co.uk ] ]References
Links
* [http://www.torymeps.com West Midlands Conservative MEP Team]
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