David Maurice Curry (born 13 June 1944) is a British
Conservative Party politician. He was 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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
(MP) for
Skipton and Ripon from
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...
to
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
Early life
Curry, the son of teachers, was educated at the
Ripon Grammar School where he was
head boy
Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...
in 1962, and then at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 1 ...
where he received a bachelor's degree in modern history in 1966. He also attended the
Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public a ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
as a
Kennedy Scholar. He began his career as a
reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
on the
Newcastle Journal in 1966. In 1970, he became the world trade editor at the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...
'' where he remained until he was elected to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...
. In 1977, he founded the Paris Conservative Association.
Political career
Curry contested the safe
Labour seat of
Morpeth at the
February 1974 general election, but was beaten by the sitting Labour MP
George Grant by 13,034 votes. The two met again at the
October 1974 general election, when Grant won by 14,687 votes.
Curry was elected a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...
in 1979 for
Essex North East. He served until 1989.
Curry was elected to 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. ...
for the safe Conservative seat of Skipton and Ripon at the
1987 general election on the retirement of the sitting Conservative MP
John Watson. Curry won the seat with a majority of 17,174 and held the seat safely until he retired from Parliament in 2010.
Following his election Curry became a member of the
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
Select committee until he was promoted to the government of
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 from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
in 1989 as
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. He was promoted within the same department to
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 ...
after the
1992 general election by
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 from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...
. A year later he moved sideways to the
Department for the Environment where he remained until the Major government fell at the
1997 general election. He became a
Member of the Privy Council in 1996.
In opposition Curry became the
Shadow
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette ...
Agriculture Secretary, but resigned from the
Shadow Cabinet in December 1997 in protest at the policy of ruling out Britain joining the
single European currency for the next ten years. In 1998, he became the chairman of the Agriculture Select Committee and, after the
2001 general election, its successor the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee until 2003 when he promoted again to the Shadow Cabinet by
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posit ...
as Shadow
Local and Devolved Government Secretary. He resigned again in 2004, this time citing 'family reasons' and was replaced by
Caroline Spelman
Dame Caroline Alice Spelman (' Cormack; born 4 May 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands from 1997 to 2019. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the S ...
. He was a member of the Public Accounts Select Committee from 2004.
On 5 February 2009, Curry announced that he would not stand at the
2010 election.
On 19 November 2009, Curry stood down from his position as chairman of the
Parliamentary Committee on Standards and Privileges after claims by ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' regarding his
expenses
An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition ...
and reportedly referred himself to the
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority for investigation.
In January 2013, Curry was appointed editor-in-chief of ''
The Parliamentary Review
''The Parliamentary Review'' is a British pay-to-publish journal, with organisations having to write their own copy and pay £3,500 for it to be published.
The journal is owned by Westminster Publications Ltd, a for-profit venture that is not a ...
''.
Publications
*''The Food War: US-EU Food Politics'' by David Curry, 1982, EDG
*''The Conservative Tradition in Europe'' Edited by David Curry, 1998, Mainstream
*''Lobbying Government: A practical Guide for the Housing Industry and Lobby'' by David Curry, 1999, Chartered Institute of Housing,
*''The Sorcerers Apprentice: Government and Globalisation'' by David Curry, 2000, Local Government Association,
References
External links
ePolitix.com - David Curry MPTheyWorkForYou.com - David Curry MPThe Public Whip - David Curry MPvoting record
BBC News - David Curry MP profile 30 March 2006
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, David
1944 births
Living people
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Conservative Party (UK) MEPs
English male journalists
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
MEPs for England 1979–1984
MEPs for England 1984–1989
People educated at Ripon Grammar School
People from Burton upon Trent
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Kennedy Scholarships