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 MP

TheyWorkForYou.com - Nigel Waterson MP

BBC Politics

BBC 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