Humfrey Jonathon Malins

CBE 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 ...

(born 31 July 1945) is a British

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politician, who was

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(MP) for Croydon North West and later Woking.

Early life and career

Malins was born in Nuneaton,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

and educated at St John's School, Leatherhead and Brasenose College, Oxford; he gained an MA in Jurisprudence in 1967. He qualified as a solicitor in 1971 and worked in a major Surrey law firm from 1975 to 1988. From 1973 to 1983, Malins was a member of

Mole Valley District Council Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking. The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district ...

. He contested Liverpool Toxteth in both 1974 general elections and

Lewisham East Lewisham East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the by-election on 14 June 2018 by Janet Daby of the Labour Party. History Lewisham East was created for the 1918 general election. ...

in the 1979 general election.

Parliamentary career

In the 1983 general election, Malins was elected MP for Croydon North West, defeating Bill Pitt who had been the constituency's MP since the

1981 by-election Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Malins spent most of his first period as an MP on the backbenches, but was Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Tim Renton Ronald Timothy Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, (28 May 1932 – 25 August 2020) was a British Conservative politician. Early life Tim Renton, who rarely used his first name of Ronald, was born in London. He won scholarships to Eton C ...

from 1987 to 1989 and then

Virginia Bottomley Virginia Hilda Brunette Maxwell Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, (née Garnett, born 12 March 1948) is a British Conservative Party politician, and headhunter. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1984 ...

from 1989 to 1992. In the 1992 general election, he was defeated for re-election by the

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candidate

Malcolm Wicks Malcolm Hunt Wicks (1 July 1947 – 29 September 2012) was a British Labour Party politician and academic specialising in social policy. He was a member of parliament (MP) from 1992, first for Croydon North West and then for Croydon North, unt ...

. In 1993, he founded the Immigration Advisory Service, a charitable organisation providing free legal advice on immigration and asylum issues. He became a District Judge in 1991 and in 1996 became a Recorder at the Crown Court. In 1997 he was made a commander 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 ...

for services to immigration policy. At the 1997 general election, he was selected for the safe Conservative seat of Woking. On his return to Parliament, he became a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. Malins supported

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

's failed bid in the 2001 leadership contest, but nonetheless was appointed to

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 ...

front bench 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 kn ...

team as a junior home affairs spokesman. In March 2003, he resigned from the opposition front bench in protest at their support of the

Invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. He was later re-appointed to the front bench as a shadow home affairs minister when Michael Howard became leader in November 2003, but returned to the backbenches under David Cameron. He announced in March 2009 his intention to stand down, and left parliament at the 2010 general election.

Personal life

He married Lynda on 21 July 1979 in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. They have a son Harry and daughter, Katherine.

References

External links

*
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Humfrey Malins MP

TheyWorkForYou.com – Humfrey Malins MP

Conservative Party profile

BBC Politics page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malins, Humfrey 1945 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Councillors in Surrey Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Politics of the London Borough of Croydon People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from Nuneaton