Peter Alan Fox OBE (born 24 December 1961) is a British

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 i ...

politician who is the Shadow Minister for Finance in the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

. "Gwent MSs named in Welsh Conservatives' shadow cabinet", ''South Wales Argus'', 27 May 2021
Retrieved 18 August 2021 Fox was Leader of

Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) ( cy, Cyngor Sir Fynwy) is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 an ...

from 2008 until May 2021, when he was elected as a

Member of the Senedd A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

(MS) for the

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

constituency.

Background

Fox runs a farm in

Portskewett Portskewett ( cy, Porthsgiwed or ''Porthysgewin'') is a village and community (parish) in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located four miles south west of Chepstow and one mile east of Caldicot, in an archaeologically sensitive part of the ...

in the south of Monmouthshire. He is the

county councillor for the Portskewett

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

, having been first elected in November 1997 and re-elected at the subsequent 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2017 elections. Fox became Leader of

in May 2008 when the Conservative group replaced the previous leader, Cllr Andrew Crump. Prior to this he was Deputy Leader, with responsibility for education. His family were dairy farmers, who farmed in

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-Avon an ...

, England. The family moved to farm in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

in the 1970s and then to

Penallt Penallt (also spelt Penalt) is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales, set high on a hill south of Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, is the 17th-century village pub, the Bush Inn. Description Nearby, the ''Penallt Old Ch ...

, Monmouthshire in 1981. He was educated at Ystrad Tywi Secondary School in Carmarthen and then went on to Carmarthen Agricultural & Technical College. He was a founder member of the Gwent Buyers Group, which served the purchasing needs of approximately twenty farmers. He initiated a scheme to bring rural life into the classroom at Sudbrook School, integrating it into the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

. He has been a regular host to local schools – creating living classrooms at the farm. He has also hosted International farm visits from Romania and from China.

Cardiff Capital Region

In 2013 Fox was a ministerial appointment to the

Cardiff Capital Region The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR; cy, Prifddinas Ranbarth Caerdydd) is a City region (Wales), city region in Wales, centred on the capital city of Wales, Cardiff, in the southeast of the country. It is a partnership between the ten Local authori ...

Board and the subsequent Cardiff Capital Region Transitional Panel. In 2016 he was instrumental in negotiating and securing a

City Deal City Deals are an initiative enacted by the UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , ...

worth £1.3 billion for the Cardiff Capital Region – the biggest City Deal in the UK. He was made Vice Chairman of the Cardiff Capital Region Joint Cabinet, holding the Portfolio for Business and Innovation. Fox was awarded an OBE in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, for services to the Cardiff Capital Region.

Election to the Senedd

Fox stood as Conservative candidate in the 2007 Assembly elections for the Newport East constituency, though failed to win. In March 2021 Fox was selected as the Conservative candidate in the

constituency, for the

2021 Senedd election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

s. The sitting Conservative MS,

Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay (born 10 June 1975) is a British politician who served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Monmouth from 2007 to 2021. Originally a member of the Welsh Conservatives, he served as Shadow Minister of Finance under Conservative Leader ...

, had been deselected by the local party. Fox won the election, on 6 May 2021, with a reduced majority of 3,485. He was appointed shadow minister for finance in late May 2021. Soon into his term, he called for Welsh Government-funded free parking and voucher schemes for town centres in Monmouth to provide a much needed boost to footfall, as well as leading the voices of concern regarding the relegation of the Abergavenny Women's Football Club. Fox criticised

universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...

(UBI), which pays everyone a fixed sum, regardless of their circumstance, saying: "Means-testing and fairness is of fundamental importance to the integrity of our welfare state, unlike UBI, which would reward the wealthiest in society instead of targeting those who need it most." In an article for ''

Mail+ The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

'', he warned that introducing UBI would mean giving financial contributions to "Premier League footballers, millionaires rapists and murderers", rather than financially "targeting those who need it most". In August, Fox became a Champion for the

Motor Neurone Disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

charity and called on the Welsh Government to introduce a fast-track adaptations scheme to homes owned by people suffering with the disease. Fox then held a debate, calling on the Welsh Government to support the introduction of a fast-track and non-means tested process for home adaptations for those living with the disease in Wales. The debate passed, with substantial support from all politicians. Being a farmer, Fox has consistently spoken of the importance of local produce; he then introduced a proposed Bill in October 2021 – which gathered support from across Wales, including professors - calling for the prioritisation of local produce, as well as statutory requirements for origin labelling for food consumed in a hospitality setting, which passed the first round in the

. The next stage to the Bill will commence in the coming months.

Personal life

In 1990 Fox and his wife Joanne moved to

, Monmouthshire, to be dairy farmers. In recent years the enterprise has turned to beef livestock production. Fox had previously set up a small business selling plastic agricultural products.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Peter 1961 births Living people People from Brackley Welsh Conservative councillors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Leaders of local authorities of Wales Conservative Party members of the Senedd Wales MSs 2021–2026