John Michael Jack, (born 17 September 1946) is a Conservative Party politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and was

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 o ...

for Fylde between 1987 and 2010, serving at various junior ministerial posts during the John Major administration.

Early life

Michael Jack was born in Folkestone,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of Ralph and Florence Jack. He attended

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...

and then Bradford Institute of Technology (now the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

). At the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

, he received a BA in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, and a MPhil in Transport Economics. He worked for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

from 1971 to 1975. From 1975 to 1980 he worked at

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, being PA to Managing Director Lord Rayner from 1975 to 1976, National Chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1976 to 1977, Sales Director at LO Jeffs Ltd (a fresh produce supply company and part of Northern Foods) from 1981 to 1987. He has also been a member of the Eastern Area Electricity Consultative Council, and of the Mersey Regional Health Authority.

Parliamentary career

He contested Newcastle Central in February 1974. He was a Minister at the DSS from 1990 to 1992, at the Home Office from 1992 to 1993, then at MAFF from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997, he was

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 Excheq ...

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 ...

appointed him a member of his Shadow Cabinet in 1997 as Shadow Agriculture Minister, but he returned to the back-benches in 1998. He was Chairman of the

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department fo ...

. He was a pro-European, and was member of the

Tory Reform Group The Tory Reform Group (TRG) is a pressure group associated with the British Conservative Party that works to promote "modern, progressive Conservatism... economic efficiency and social justice" and "a Conservatism that supports equality, divers ...

. He was appointed to the Privy Council in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 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 countri ...

. On 14 March 2008, Jack announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election. After he left Parliament he served as chairman of the Office of Tax Simplification and he was appointed 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to tax policy.2015 New Year Honours List

Personal life

He married Alison Jane Musgrave in 1976, and they have two sons. He retired as Chairman of

Topps Tiles Topps Tiles plc is a British national retailer based in Enderby, Leicestershire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market va ...

PLc in 2015. In 2018 he was appointed Chair of Governors of the

Royal Agricultural University ;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts" , established = 2013 - University status – College , type = Public , president = King Charles , vice_chancellor = Peter McCaffery , students ...

References

External links

* *
ePolitix.com – Michael Jack MP
* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/michael_jack/fylde TheyWorkForYou.com – Michael Jack MPbr>The Public Whip – Michael Jack MP
voting record
BBC News – Michael Jack MP
profile 4 March 2005

Audio clips

Discussing a £40m fridge ''mountain'' in 2002Discussing Margaret Beckett in 2007

News items

Discussing Gangmasters in 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Michael 1946 births Alumni of the University of Leicester Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Bradford Grammar School UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010