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Sir Christopher Robert Chope (born 19 May 1947) is a British
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who has served as the
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
since
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. A member of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, he was first elected in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
for
Southampton Itchen Southampton, Itchen is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Royston Smith, a Conservative member of parliament. Discounting the Speaker (of the House of Commons) returned in the early 1970s in two ...
, but lost this seat in
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
to
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
. He returned to Parliament in 1997 and has remained an MP ever since. A
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
advocate, Chope has been supportive of
Leave Means Leave Leave Means Leave was a pro-Brexit, Eurosceptic political pressure group organisation that campaigned and lobbied for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union following the 'Leave' result of the EU referendum on 23 June 2016. The campai ...
, a Eurosceptic pressure group.


Early life

Christopher Chope was born in
Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...
, the son of Pamela (née Durell) and Robert Charles Chope (1913–1988), a circuit judge and former judge of
county courts A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...
. He was educated at the St Andrew's Preparatory School in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
and
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
, before attending Queen's College at the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
(now the
University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...
) where he was awarded an
LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...
degree in 1970. He was a contemporary of
Michael Fallon Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks from 1997 to 2019, h ...
and Michael Forsyth, and was influenced by Madsen Pirie. He finished his education at the
Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...
. Chope was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
at the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
in 1972. Chope was elected as a councillor on the
Wandsworth London Borough Council Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, eac ...
in 1974 and became the council leader in 1979; he left the council on his first election to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 1983. Chope was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the
1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...
for services to
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
.


Parliamentary career

Chope was elected as an MP at the 1983 general election for
Southampton Itchen Southampton, Itchen is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Royston Smith, a Conservative member of parliament. Discounting the Speaker (of the House of Commons) returned in the early 1970s in two ...
where he defeated the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(and previously
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
) MP Bob Mitchell by 5,290 votes and became the first Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen since the constituency was created in 1950. Chope was appointed as the
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
to Peter Brooke, the
Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
at the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
in 1986, before being promoted by
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
to serve in her government as the
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...
at the Department for the Environment later in the same year, where he was responsible for steering through the
Council Tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge The Community C ...
legislation, the replacement for the disastrous and derided
Poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
, which was withdrawn after a massive popular revolt. He was moved under the leadership of
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
to serve in the same rank at the
Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
from 1990 until he lost his Southampton Itchen seat to
John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Denham ...
at the 1992 general election. After his defeat, Chope took up a consultancy with
Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...
in 1992, but was re-elected at the 1997 general election for the Christchurch constituency. In 1997, he became a spokesman on the Environment, Transport and the Regions as well as being the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party under
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, but left the
frontbench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then know ...
later that year when he became a member of the Trade and Industry
Select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...
. He returned to the frontbench after the 2001 election as a spokesman on the Treasury. In 2002, he moved to Transport, then left frontbench politics after the 2005 general election. He currently serves on the Panel of Chairs. Chope was chairman of the
Thatcherite Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manage ...
Conservative Way Forward Conservative Way Forward (CWF) is a British pressure and campaigning group, which is Thatcherite in its outlook and agenda. Margaret Thatcher was its founding President. Conservative Way Forward was founded in 1991 to "defend and build upon th ...
group and used to be a barrister in the Chambers of Peter Rawlinson. During the expenses scandal of 2009, it emerged that Chope claimed £136,992 in parliamentary expenses in 2007–8. This included claiming £881 to repair a sofa. On 11 October 2011, Chope questioned the time allotted to a debate on MPs' pensions. Because this debate came before a debate into the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
inquiry, it was reported that Chope had threatened to delay the inquiry, leading to widespread criticism of Chope's actions. Chope was criticised following remarks made on 17 January 2013 when he referred to House of Commons dining room staff as "servants" in a speech. Chope was appointed a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
in the
2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
for political and public service.


Political views

On 10 February 2009, Chope co-sponsored an Employment Opportunities Bill to the House of Commons, which would have enabled workers to opt out of the
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
. The bill was objected to and later dropped. Chope is sceptical of climate change and attended a meeting of
climate change sceptics Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is Denial (Freud), denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is Attribution of recent climate change, caused by hum ...
in the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
in October 2010. Chope helped to lead backbench support for the motion calling for a referendum to leave the European Union. He has also been heavily involved in the use of
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
s to achieve this aim. Chope has consistently supported Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Prior to the 2016 referendum, he announced his support for Brexit. He has supported
Leave Means Leave Leave Means Leave was a pro-Brexit, Eurosceptic political pressure group organisation that campaigned and lobbied for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union following the 'Leave' result of the EU referendum on 23 June 2016. The campai ...
, a Eurosceptic pressure group. Chope voted against the legislation for same-sex marriage in 2013. In 2014, Chope voted against requiring all companies with more than 250 employees to declare the gap in pay between the average male and average female salaries. In June 2013, Chope was one of four MPs who camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on an 'Alternative Queen's Speech' – an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver. 42 policies were listed including reintroduction of the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
and
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, the privatisation of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, banning the burka in public places, holding a referendum on same-sex marriage and preparing to leave the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. In 1990, while a Southampton MP, Chope voted for the reintroduction of the death penalty for murder under certain circumstances. In July 2017, Chope and
Peter Bone Peter William Bone (born 19 October 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons in 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wellingborough since 2005. He campaigned for Brexit ...
, the Conservative MP for
Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...
, tabled 73 bills between them, of which 47 were placed by Chope. In order to be at the front of the queue to table the bills, the pair had camped in the Palace of Westminster for three days. Chope's bills included legislation to privatise the BBC and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, limit the interest rate chargeable on
student loan debt Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, formerly withdrawn, or graduated student to a lending institution, or to a financial institution. The amount that is loaned, often referred to as a ''student loan'' or the debts may be ...
(and forgive it in certain circumstances), reduce
stamp duty Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). A physical revenu ...
, and decriminalise TV licence-dodging. Because of the number of slots for bills they took, Chope and Bone were criticised, including by Paul Flynn, for their actions. In March 2019, Chope was one of 21 MPs who voted against LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education in English schools. Chope maintained
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
would be unable to unite the Conservative Party as Prime Minister, and urged him to call a general election.


Blocking and filibustering of bills

Chope is a member of a group of
backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
Conservative MPs who regularly object to private members bills which, in their view, have not received sufficient scrutiny. These have included a number which were previously believed to have widespread public and parliamentary support. This conduct, along with his involvement in cutting the public housing budget during his time in government, has earned Chope the nickname "Chopper". The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's parliamentary correspondent, Mark D'Arcy, said the group claims to "make a practice of ensuring that what they see as well-meaning but flabby legislation is not lazily plopped on to the statute book by a few MPs on a poorly attended Friday sitting." Chope said that he objects on principle to legislation being introduced to the statute books without debate: " is is something I have fought for in most of my time as an MP and it goes to the very heart of the power balance between the government and Parliament. The government is abusing parliamentary time for its own ends and in a democracy this is not acceptable. The government cannot just bring in what it wants on the nod." It has been suggested that Chope does not object to all such bills, particularly those that align with his own political views and those of his compatriots, with Conservative MP
Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment si ...
commenting: "In case anyone is tempted to believe he has a principled objection to private members' bills, please note that once again he did not object to those put forward by his friends." On 12 March 2010, he blocked a bill to protect poor countries from
vulture fund A vulture fund is a hedge fund, private-equity fund or distressed debt fund, that invests in debt considered to be very weak or in default, known as distressed securities. Investors in the fund profit by buying debt at a discounted price on a ...
s, despite his party's support for the bill. In December 2013, Chope objected to the second reading of the
Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
(Statutory Pardon) Bill in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. Because of this, the government decided to act under the
royal prerogative of mercy In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal preroga ...
. On 24 December 2013,
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
granted Turing a free pardon. In November 2014, Chope blocked a bill that would have banned the use of wild animals in circus performances, on the basis that a bill on EU membership should have been called before the bill. In the same month, Chope, alongside
Philip Davies Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley in West Yorkshire since the 2005 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he is the most rebellious se ...
, the Conservative MP for Shipley,
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
ed a bill intended to make revenge evictions an offence. Defending his filibuster, Chope claimed that the bill would have weakened landlords' ability to recover possession, deterring them from letting properties. Chope was reported as having been a private landlord himself, but he denied these claims. In October 2015, Chope, Davies and Conservative MP
David Nuttall David Taylor Nuttall (born 25 March 1962) is a former British Conservative Party politician. He is a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury North, having won his seat in the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. He lost his seat to ...
filibustered a private member's bill that would have placed restrictions on hospital parking charges for carers. On 15 June 2018, Chope blocked the passage of a private member's bill that would have made
upskirt Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking nonconsensual photographs under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image of the crotch area, underwear, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photograph, video, or illustrati ...
ing a specific offence. Chope said that his reason for blocking the passage was in objection to parliamentary procedure rather than to the bill itself: he stated that he would "wholeheartedly" support a government bill that outlawed upskirting. Chope's actions drew immediate criticism from fellow MPs, including some in his own party. The prime minister,
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
, also expressed her disappointment at the objection. Following his objection, the government reaffirmed its commitment to introduce legislation to outlaw upskirting and the bill passed subject to
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
in January 2019. In protest at his actions, staff at the House of Commons placed a bunting of women's underwear outside Chope's office entrance. A similar bunting was also placed outside his constituency office. Protestors also confronted Chope at his constituency surgery. As a part of the public backlash to this, definitions of "Chope" and "Choping" were entered into the slang website
Urban Dictionary ''Urban Dictionary'' is a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases. The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, ''Urban Dictionary'' was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural words ...
, with the verb "to Chope" being to capture
upskirt Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking nonconsensual photographs under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image of the crotch area, underwear, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photograph, video, or illustrati ...
images, and the noun "a Chope" describing a person who enjoys such images. On the same day as the upskirting bill, Chope and Davies forced a delay to the final debate on a bill that would have improved the oversight of the use of force in mental health units. Chope also blocked a bill that would have given extra legal protection to police dogs and
horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
. On 16 July 2018, Chope blocked a motion calling for the House of Commons chamber to be used for a Women MPs of the World Conference on a day in November when MPs were not sitting. The conference was due to the mark the centenary of
women's suffrage in the United Kingdom A movement to fight for women's right to vote in the United Kingdom finally succeeded through acts of Parliament in 1918 and 1928. It became a national movement in the Victorian era. Women were not explicitly banned from voting in Great Britai ...
; the motion had been moved by Conservative MP
Mims Davies Miriam Jane Alice Davies (born 2 June 1975), known as Mims Davies, is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Sussex since 2019. She has been serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State fo ...
and was supported by
Andrea Leadsom Dame Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (; ' Salmon; born 13 May 1963) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Northamptonshire since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Secretary of State for Environme ...
, the
Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...
. Defending his actions, Chope stated that the Commons chamber should only be used by elected parliamentarians, with the exception of its annual use by the
UK Youth Parliament The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, consisting of democratically elected members aged between 11 and 18. Formed in 2000, the parliament has 369 members, who are elected to represent the views of young ...
. Alongside Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne, Chope tabled an amendment to the motion which would require the conference to invite only parliamentarians and hold a debate while using the chamber. Following Chope's actions, the government resubmitted the motion with the support of several departments. On 23 November 2018, Chope objected to a bill that would have amended the
Children Act 1989 The Children Act 1989 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which allocates duties to local authorities, courts, parents, and other agencies in the United Kingdom, to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It centres on th ...
in order to increase the protective power of courts over girls at risk of
female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
. Defending his actions, Chope said that the bill was an act of "
virtue signalling Virtue signalling is the expression of a moral viewpoint with the intent of communicating good character. Definition "Virtue signalling", according to the ''Cambridge Dictionary'', is "an attempt to show other people that you are a good person, ...
". Lord Berkeley of Knighton, who had introduced the bill to the House of Lords, called for Chope to be deselected. On 8 February 2019, Chope again blocked the bill. However on 15 March 2019, the bill received its
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
and became law. On 15 November 2021, it was reported that Chope had objected to a motion from the Select Committee on Standards that would have passed the report regarding the lobbying rules breached by
Owen Paterson Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that this was said to have caused fury within the Conservative Parliamentary Party, as it was hoping the vote would draw a line underneath the episode and allow the government to move on from accusations of sleaze, but simply allowed the criticism to continue. His actions led to newspaper comments from MPs, describing both him and his action in unflattering terms. One minister expressed anonymously that "He has been for many year a Jurassic embarrassment – tonight he crossed a line. The man should retire and the executive are livid".


Personal life

On 20 April 1987, Chope married Christine Mary, daughter of Robert Hutchinson, of Wimborne, in
Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...
. Prior to their marriage, Christine had been employed as Chope's House of Commons' secretary and researcher for three years. They have two children.Christopher Chope MP
biography at the site of the Conservative Party


References


External links


Chris Chope for Christchurch
*

* ttp://www.christchurchconservatives.com Christchurch Conservatives
Greg Palast investigates Christopher Chope for BBC's Newsnight

BBC News – Christopher Chope
profile 30 March 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chope, Christopher 1947 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politics of Dorset Councillors in the London Borough of Wandsworth Alumni of the University of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Eurosceptics People from Putney People educated at Marlborough College UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Knights Bachelor Ernst & Young people