Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (born "c." 1957) is a British businessman, farmer, founder of The Black Farmer range of food products, and prospective Conservative Party candidate for the Chippenham constituency for the next general election, due no later than 2010.

Career

Emmanuel-Jones was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, but in 1961 he moved with his parents to the United Kingdom. They settled in Small Heath in Birmingham, where he was one of nine children living in a small terrace house.

After leaving school without qualifications, he joined the British Army but was dismissed from the service after a year due to a lack of discipline. After working in the catering industry he enrolled on a training scheme which led to a job working for Peter Bazalgette on the BBC television series "Food and Drink".

He worked in television working as a producer/director for 15 years before setting up a marketing agency in London, specialising in food brands, including Lloyd Grossman, Kettle Chips and Plymouth Gin. This gave him the capital to buy West Kitchen Farm, in Devon which he continues to farm. He became known to the locals who helped him initially with farming as "The Black Farmer", which inspired him to set up the brand of the same name, whose products include awarding-winning sausages, chicken, ham and sauces.

He has since become involved in setting up the black farmer scholarship, which aims to help and encourage ethnic minorities to work in the rural community, an area where traditionally they have been under represented. This has been made into a Channel 4 TV series, Young Black Farmers, a series of three, which sees him take a group of nine inner-city school leavers from ethnic minorities on a scholarship on his Devon farm.

Politics

Emmanuel-Jones has campaigned to save Melksham's train service and was selected in 2006 by the Conservative Party as the prospective candidate for a new seat, Chippenham in Wiltshire, for the next UK general election. [North Wiltshire Conservatives [http://www.northwiltsconservatives.com/index.php?sectionid=3&pagenumber=86 Wilfred Emmanuel Jones selected to fight new Chippenham seat] , 15 June 2006. Retrieved on September 6, 2007.]

Chippenham is a notionally held seat for the Liberal Democrats and he will be battling it out with Duncan Hames who will be contesting the seat for the party.

References

* [http://education.independent.co.uk/careers_advice/article1985568.ece Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, farmer and Conservative candidate] (The Independent)
* [http://www.sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk/images/Jones.doc Sustainbility Southwest]
* [http://www.theblackfarmer.com/history.htm The Black Farmer]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/5385004.stm BBC News]
* [http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/B/blackfarmer/index.html Channel 4 - Young Black Farmers]
* [http://wellho.co.uk/net/mouth.html?headline=875_Wilfred-Emmanuel-Jones Well House Consultants]
* [http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/ Save the Train]
* [http://www.wilfredej.com/ Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones] official website

External links

* [http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.person.page&PersonID=130378 Profile of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (Conservative Party)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65W3S41SgNM&mode=related&search= Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones talks aboot his entrepreneurial journey]