Nigel Christopher Waterson (born 12 October 1950)
is a British former politician. 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
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
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 ...
from 1992 until 2010. Waterson was a junior minister in the government of
John Major. He has been the chairman of the
Equity Release
Equity release is a means of retaining use of a house or other asset which has capital value, while also obtaining a lump sum or a steady stream of income, using the value of the asset.
Pricing of no negative equity guarantee
The UK Prudenti ...
Council since 2012.
Early life
He attended
Leeds Grammar School
Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physicall ...
(then a
direct grant grammar school) and at
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
he read law, graduating with a
BA in 1971. He became a barrister and founded the firm Waterson Hicks. From 1974 to 1978 he was a councillor on
Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The bor ...
borough council.
Parliamentary career
He contested
Islington South and Finsbury in 1979.
Waterson was the Shadow
Minister for Pensions and Conservative Spokesman for Older People. He is a patron of many local charities, including President of the Eastbourne
Constitutional Club and Vice President for
Age Concern
Age Concern is the banner title used by a number of charitable organizations ( NGOs) specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kin ...
- Eastbourne. In the Conservative leadership contest in 2005 he backed
Ken 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 d ...
to be the next leader before Clarke lost in a preliminary round.
Waterson lost his seat to the Liberal Democrat
Stephen Lloyd in the
2010 general election. This was just following the
parliamentary expenses scandal, and Lloyd used his campaign literature to make claims about Waterson's expenses. Following the election, Waterson sued Lloyd for libel over these statements. Waterson lost this case on appeal in 2013, after winning the initial
High Court case in 2011.
Personal life
Waterson married Barbara Judge in 1999. He had two previous marriages, both ending in divorce, and has a son and a daughter.
On 29 January 2008, Waterson was arrested for allegedly assaulting his two teenage children. In 2010 the
Metropolitan Police Service apologised for any distress caused by the arrest, accepting the allegations were wholly unfounded, and paid damages and costs to Waterson in settlement of a civil claim for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
References
External links
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Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Nigel Waterson MPTheyWorkForYou.com - Nigel Waterson MPBBC PoliticsBBC Sussex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterson, Nigel
1950 births
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Living people
Councillors in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Members of the Bow Group
People educated at Leeds Grammar School
Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford
Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association
Politicians from Leeds
English barristers
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010