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David Philip Heathcoat-Amory (born 21 March 1949) is a British politician, accountant, and farmer. He was the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Member of Parliament for
Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...
from 1983 until he lost the seat in the 2010 general election. He became a member of the British Privy Council in 1996. Heathcoat-Amory was previously Chair of the European Research Group.


Education and professional life

David Heathcoat-Amory is the son of
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Roderick Heathcoat-Amory, MC (son of Sir Ian Heathcoat-Amory, 2nd Baronet) and the nephew of
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...
's Chancellor of the Exchequer
Derick Heathcoat-Amory Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory, , ( ; 26 December 1899 – 20 January 1981) was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1958 and 1960, and later as Chance ...
. He was educated at
Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
and Christ Church,
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...
, where he received an MA in PPE. He was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association. Heathcoat-Amory qualified as an accountant in 1974 and joined Price Waterhouse as a chartered accountant. In 1980, he was appointed as the assistant finance director of the
British Technology Group BTG Limited is an international specialist healthcare company that is developing and commercialising products targeting critical care, cancer and other disorders. The current name was adopted when the British Technology Group changed its name on ...
(BTG) where he remained until he was elected to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
in 1983.


Political career

Heathcoat-Amory contested the
London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the north-west, Barnet to the north-east, Camden to the east, the City of Westminster to the south-east, as well as the Royal Borough ...
seat at
Brent South Brent South was a constituency for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament; the areas of the constituency chiefly fell into the new Brent Central for the 2010 general election which was the date of its abolition. It elected one member (MP) by ...
at the 1979 general election but was defeated by the sitting Labour MP Laurence Pavitt by 11,616 votes. He 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. ...
at the
1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general e ...
for the
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
seat of
Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...
, whose sitting MP Robert Boscawen had decided to move to
Somerton and Frome Somerton and Frome is a constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by David Warburton, who was elected as a Conservative, but currently sits as an Independent after losing the Conservative whip in ...
following boundary changes. He held the seat with a majority of 6,575. In Parliament, he 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 ...
(PPS) to the
Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequ ...
John Moore in 1985, and was also the PPS to his successor from 1986
Norman Lamont Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer ...
. Following the 1987 general election he became the PPS to the
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and political secretary to ...
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 ...
as an Assistant Government Whip in 1988. He was promoted to become a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury and Government Whip in 1989. Later in the year he became the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, until moved by the new prime minister
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 ...
in the same position at the Department of Energy in 1990. He was appointed as the Treasurer of the Household (Deputy Chief Whip) following the 1992 general election and was 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 ...
at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993. He was appointed as the
Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...
in 1994 where he served until resigning from the government in 1996 over the single European currency. He became a member of the Privy Council in 1996. In 1997 Heathcoat-Amory joined the shadow cabinet of
William Hague William is a masculine given name of Norman French 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 conq ...
as the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and was the
Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, commonly known as the Official Opposition ...
from 2000. He left the frontbench on the election of
Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was ...
as the leader of the Conservative Party in 2001. He was a member of 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 ...
Select committee from 2004 until he was briefly, in 2005, a spokesman on work and pensions under the leadership of
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 ...
, but returned to the backbenches later in the year when
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
became Conservative leader. He served as the chairman of the all party group on the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
; the vice chair of the group on
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and
space environment Space environment is a branch of astronautics, aerospace engineering and space physics that seeks to understand and address conditions existing in space that affect the design and operation of spacecraft. A related subject, space weather, deals ...
; and the secretary of the group on
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
. From late 2001 until July 2003, Heathcoat-Amory was one of the two British parliamentary delegates to the
Convention on the Future of Europe The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led ...
, which drafted the European Constitution. He is well known for his strong
euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
and was, through the work of the Convention, a fierce opponent of the official drafts being prepared by the presidium of the Convention, criticising them as being too federalist. Heathcoat-Amory was selected by the Power 2010 democracy and constitutional reform campaign as one of six MPs accused of "failing our democracy" and who "stand in the way of a reforming Parliament". Heathcoat-Amory lost his seat in the 2010 general election to the Liberal Democrat's
Tessa Munt Tessa Jane Munt (born 16 October 1959) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She served as the Member of Parliament for Wells in Somerset from 2010–15 and had previously served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary ...
who achieved a 6.1% swing. At the election,
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest ...
's Jake Baynes was requested by his party to stand down owing to UKIP's policy of not standing a candidate in a constituency where there is already a committed eurosceptic, but he refused to do so. In interviews, Baynes said he was "offering the public a service no other candidate is". Heathcoat-Amory partly blamed the presence of a UKIP candidate on the ballot paper for his defeat during his speech after the result of the ballot was announced. He also admitted that his involvement in the expenses scandal played a part in his defeat. He was criticised in 2008 after remarking, regarding the presence of a black MP, Dawn Butler, "They're letting anybody in nowadays". Heathcoat-Amory denied the accusation that his remarks were racist. Having lost by a relatively narrow 800 votes in the General Election in June 2010, Heathcoat-Amory announced to the local party members and media that he would not be contesting the
next general election This is a list of the next general elections around the world in democratic polities. The general elections listed are for the government of each jurisdiction. These elections determine the Prime Minister and makeup of the legislature in a parli ...
.


Expenses claims

On 12 May 2009, it was reported in ''
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 ...
'' that Heathcoat-Amory had charged the taxpayer for manure costing £380 over 3 years on expenses, under the controversial Additional Costs Allowance. In February 2010 it was revealed that he had been asked to repay a total of £29,691.93. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
'' dubbed the scandal 'The Manure Parliament' when singling out Heathcoat-Amory's claim.


Personal life

He enjoys
angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...
, growing trees, gardening and astronomy. He married Linda Adams on 4 February 1978 in north
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. The couple lives on an estate in west London with a significant art collection. They have a son and a daughter (born September 1988). His younger son, Matthew, committed suicide at their second home in
Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...
in 2001. Heathcoat-Amory and his wife Linda said the family was "deeply shocked".


Notes and references

;Notes ;References


Publications

* ''A Single European Currency: Why the United Kingdom Must Say No'' by David Heathcoat-Amory, 1996, Nelson & Pollard Publishing * ''A Market Under Threat: How the European Union Could Destroy the British Art Market'' by David Heathcoat-Amory, 1998,
Centre for Policy Studies The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independ ...
* ''The European Constitution'' by David Heathcoat-Amory, 2003, CPS


External links

*
Official Website


* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_heathcoat-amory/wells TheyWorkForYou.com – David Heathcoat-Amory MP
The Public Whip – David Heathcoat-Amory MP
voting record , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcoat-Amory, David 1949 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Treasurers of the Household United Kingdom Paymasters General Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Politics of Somerset Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Eton College Politicians from Somerset British Eurosceptics