Philip Davies

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Philip Davies
honorific-suffix = MP
small

office =
term_start =
term_end =
predecessor =
successor =
constituency_MP2 = Shipley
term_start2 = 5 May 2005
term_end2 =
parliament2 =
majority2 = 422 (0.9%)
predecessor2 = Christopher Leslie
successor2 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1972|1|5|df=yes
birth_place = Doncaster
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse = Gail Helmsley
party = Conservative
relations =
children = Two sons
residence =
alma_mater = University of Huddersfield
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website = [http://www.philipdavies.me.uk/index.jsp www.philipdavies.me.uk]
footnotes =

Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Shipley in West Yorkshire.

Early life

Born in Doncaster, he was educated at the (boys boarding school) Old Swinford Hospital School, Stourbridge, and the University of Huddersfield (Huddersfield Polytechnic until September 1992) where he was awarded a 2.1BA Hons degree in [http://www2.hud.ac.uk/courses/undergrad/00000435.php History and Political Studies] in 1993. He joined the Conservative Party in 1988. He became the manager of Marilyn Davies Bookmakers in 1990, and a cashier with Mark Jarvis Bookmakers in 1992 for a year until he became a manager at the Jack Pearson Bookmakers. In 1993 he was employed by ASDA initially as a cashier, before commencing training as a customer services manager in 1995, becoming a deputy customer service manager in 1997, later in the same year he was appointed as a Customer Relations Project Manager. Finally, in 1999 he became the customer services project manager in Leeds, he left ASDA on his election to Westminster.

Parliamentary career

He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of Colne Valley at the 2001 General Election and was defeated by the sitting Labour MP Kali Mountford by 4,639 votes. He was elected as an MP at the 2005 General Election for the seat of Shipley, removing the sitting Labour MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Constitutional Affairs Christopher Leslie. Philip Davies was elected with a majority of just 422 votes and remains the MP there. He made his maiden speech on June 7, 2005, where he remembered Titus Salt and the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saltaire. He also announced that he wanted to remain a backbencher and not to be a shadow spokesman or a minister, and that he wanted to feel able to speak for his constituents. [cite web|url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm050607/debtext/50607-19.htm#50607-19_spnew2|date=2005-06-07|title=Philip Davies maiden speech]

Davies called for complete withdrawal from the European Union at the Conservative Party Conference in 2005. According to the Yorkshire Post he was the first Conservative Party MP in the House of Commons to make such a call and is a supporter of the Better Off Out campaign. He also supports the Campaign Against Political Correctness in Parliament.

On March 28 2007 the Bradford Telegraph and Argus reported that Davies urged Muslims in the whole country to fly the Union flag on mosques to show their unity and commitment to Britain. [cite web|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/bradford/bradfordnews/display.var.1290126.0.mp_tells_mosques_to_fly_the_flag.php|date=2007-03-28
title=MP tells mosques to fly the flag]

Personal life

He married Deborah Gail Helmsley in July 1994 in Doncaster, whom he met at university. They have two sons (born April 2003, and May 2005), and live in Baildon.

References

External links

* [http://www.philipdavies.me.uk Philip Davies MP] Official Web site of Philip Davies MP
* [http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.person.page&personID=41835 Philip Davies MP] biography at the site of the Conservative Party
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-5844,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Philip Davies MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/philip_davies/shipley TheyWorkForYou.com - Philip Davies MP]
* [http://publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Philip_Davies&mpc=Shipley The Public Whip - Philip Davies MP] voting record
* [http://www.shipley-conservatives.com Shipley Conservatives]
* [http://www.capc.co.uk Campaign Against Political Correctness] For which Philip is 'Parliamentary Spokesman'

News items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/6918912.stm Metric martyr pardon in July 2007]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/6046668.stm Conservative values in October 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5403298.stm The EU in October 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4927304.stm Political correctness in April 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4644630.stm Radio 4 Theme in January 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4649751.stm BBC Meet the MP December 2005]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4558668.stm PC silliness in December 2005]
* [http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1212335 Yorkshire MP calls for full EU withdrawal] (6 October, 2005, Yorkshire Post)