Quentin Davies, Baron Davies Of Stamford
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John Quentin Davies, Baron Davies of Stamford (born 29 May 1944) is a British
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politician and
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
who served as the
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 of ...
(MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 1987 to 2010. He served as a junior defence minister in the
Brown ministry Gordon Brown formed the Brown ministry after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration following the resignation of the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, on 27 June 2007. Brown formed his governm ...
from 2008 to 2010. A
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until his high-profile defection in 2007, Davies was a member of
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 S ...
's Shadow Cabinet from 2001 to 2003 as the
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is a member of the British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and their department, the Northern Ireland Office. The post is currently hel ...
.


Early life and education

Quentin Davies was born in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, the son of a
doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...
who had served in the
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in the Second World War. He went to a preparatory school in Oxford, the
Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...
, before attending the
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...
, at
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, then
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
, where he was awarded a first class
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
in 1966. After graduating he became a Frank Knox Fellow at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.


Career


Diplomat

After his education, he joined the
diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...
and was appointed
Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...
at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
in 1967, and became a Second Secretary at HM Embassy
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in 1969, before returning to London as one of several First Secretaries at the Foreign Office in 1972.


Merchant banker

Davies left the diplomatic service in 1974 when he joined
Morgan Grenfell Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks. It had its origins in a merchant banking business commenced by George Peabody. Junius Spencer Morgan ...
. In turn he was an assistant director, the president of the firm in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1978, and a director of the international company in 1981, in which capacity he remained until his election to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 1987. He continued as a consultant to Morgan Grenfell until 1993.


Politician

He contested the 1977 Birmingham Ladywood by-election for the Conservatives. The by-election, caused by the resignation of
Brian Walden Alastair Brian Walden (8 July 1932 – 9 May 2019) was a British journalist and broadcaster who spent over a decade as a Labour politician and Member of Parliament (MP). He was considered one of the finest political interviewers in the history ...
, was won by Labour's
John Sever Eric John Sever (born 1 April 1943) is a former Labour Party politician in England. Sever was elected Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood at a by-election in 1977. He served until 1983, when he was deselected as Labour candidate in f ...
with a majority of 3,825. He was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
ten years later at the 1987 General Election for the safe Conservative seat of Stamford and Spalding on the retirement of the sitting MP,
Kenneth Lewis Sir Kenneth Lewis (1 July 1916 – 2 July 1997) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom for Rutland and Stamford from 1959 to 1983, and following boundary changes for Stamfo ...
. Davies held the seat with a majority of 13,991 votes. The constituency was abolished in 1997, and he represented the redrawn seat of Grantham and Stamford until his retirement from the House of Commons at the 2010 General Election. In Parliament, he was appointed as the
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to the
Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
at the
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Angela Rumbold Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold (née Jones; 11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament from a 1982 by-election until the 1997 general election. Education She was educ ...
in 1988, and remained her PPS in her incarnation as the Minister at the Home Office. After the 1992 General Election he was a member of the
Treasury Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury 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, administr ...
until he was promoted to the Opposition
frontbench 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 know ...
by
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 ...
in 1998 as a spokesman on
social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
, moving in 1999 to speak on Treasury matters, moving again in 2000 as a spokesman on
defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
. After the 2001 General Election he joined the Shadow Cabinet of
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 S ...
, even though he had backed
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 leadership bid. Under
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 S ...
, he became the
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and their department, th ...
, continuing until the election of
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
in 2003, when he became a member of the
International Development Committee The International Development 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 international aid functions o ...
, a role that he continued in until he joined the Labour Party in 2007. Prior to becoming a Minister, Davies held many directorships and consultancies with several companies. He was awarded the 'Parliamentarian of the Year Award' by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 1996, the same year he was named '
Backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
of the Year' by
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
. He was the Chairman of the Conservative Group for Europe from March 2006 until his defection to Labour in June 2007. In 1991, he was fined on two charges of animal cruelty, having been legally responsible for his farm employees’ failure to feed the sheep on his estate. Following his conviction and the immediate dismissal of the shepherd who had been left in charge, he was greeted by Labour MPs with calls of 'Baaa!' Davies announced in 2010 that he would not stand for re-election in the coming general election. At the general election of 6 May 2010,
Nick Boles Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles (born 2 November 1965) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 2010 to 2019. He was a member of the Conservative Party until 2019. Before entering Parliament ...
, a Conservative (later an independent Conservative), was elected in his place. On 28 May 2010 it was announced Davies would be made a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
in the
Dissolution Honours List Crown Honours Lists are lists of honours conferred upon citizens of the Commonwealth realms. The awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, currently King Charles III, or his vice-regal representative. New Year Honours Hon ...
and he was created Baron Davies of Stamford, ''of Stamford in the
County of Lincoln Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
'' on 7 July.


Move from Conservative Party to Labour Party

Davies left the Conservative Party to join the Labour Party benches on 26 June 2007, the night before
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
became
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
. Davies made his decision public in a letter to the Conservative leader
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
in which he wrote: "Under your leadership the Conservative Party appears to me to have ceased collectively to believe in anything, or to stand for anything. It has no bedrock. It exists on shifting sands. A sense of mission has been replaced by a PR agenda." He went on, "I am looking forward to joining another party...which has just acquired a leader I have always greatly admired, who I believe is entirely straightforward, and who has a towering record, and a clear vision for the future of our country which I fully share." He accused Cameron of "superficiality, unreliability and an apparent lack of any clear convictions." He said that these qualities ought to "exclude you from the position of national leadership to which you aspire and which it is the presumed purpose of the Conservative Party to achieve." Two years prior to his defection, in a speech in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
Davies described
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
as "extraordinarily incompetent", "imprudent", "extraordinarily naïve" and said in conclusion "I trust and believe that something nasty will happen to the Chancellor in electoral terms before too long. He will have no one but himself to blame."


Criticism of Ministry of Defence's attitude to war equipment

On 5 October 2008, Davies was promoted to the government, becoming a
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
for
Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is a trading entity and joint-defence organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. It began operating on 2 April 2007, following the merger of the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics ...
at the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. Davies replaced Lady Taylor as both Parliamentary Under-Secretary and Defence Procurement Minister. Davies came under fire less than a month after taking over the Defence Equipment brief when an SAS reservist commander in Afghanistan resigned because of what he described as a 'chronic underinvestment' in troops' equipment and called the government's attitude to the consideration of the lack of military equipment 'cavalier at best, criminal at worst'.
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Sebastien Morley resigned after four soldiers under his command were killed whilst serving in the Army's
Snatch Land Rover The Snatch Land Rover is a protected patrol vehicle based on the Land Rover Defender 110 chassis. Intended for general patrolling in low-threat areas, the vehicle was developed in 1992 for use in Northern Ireland. It provides a limited degree of ...
s which are lightly armoured and cannot withstand roadside bombs; the Snatches have been described as 'mobile coffins' by the soldiers. The government subsequently ordered new armoured vehicles to the areas in an effort to increase the security of those serving in the warzone and indeed to prevent more troop fatalities. Davies added it was not the attitude of the government to be dismissive of the lives' of British soldiers and he said it was 'very surprising and sad' to hear the claims of the former SAS commander and when on visiting troops in Afghanistan recently all those he spoke to were pleased with the equipment supplied. He said: "Obviously, there may be occasions when, in retrospect, a commander chose the wrong piece of equipment, the wrong vehicle, for the particular threat that the patrol or whatever it was encountered and we had some casualties as a result." The comment drew much criticism from fellow MPs and family members of military personnel for the lack of sensitivity.


Expenses

In 2009, during the row over parliamentary expenses, the ''
Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
'' stated that Davies claimed £10,000 for repairs to window frames at his "second home", an 18th-century mansion, while staying at his "main home", a flat in Westminster. In 2008, his Member's Claim Form for Additional Costs Allowance was filled out with a figure of £20,700 relating to maintenance to a Bell Tower. The form was later amended to read £5,376. Davies' total expense claims were often higher than the average. of all MPs.


Personal life

He married Chantal Tamplin (daughter of Lt.Col Richard Tamplin) in 1983 at St Andrew's church in
Irnham __NOTOC__ Irnham is a village and civil parish in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately south-east from Grantham. To the north is Ingoldsby and to the south-west, Corby Glen. The village is on a high limes ...
,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
; she was his Parliamentary Assistant and they have two sons (Alexander born May 1987 and Nicholas in August 1988). They live at Frampton Hall (built in 1725 by Coney Tunnard) in Frampton, in the borough of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In January 2010, Quentin Davies's niece, former model Jessica Davies, was found guilty of murder in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and sentenced to 15 years in jail after admitting to stabbing to death a man in her apartment. She was reportedly high on drink and drugs at the time of the murder.


See also

*
List of British Members of Parliament who crossed the floor A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


Publications

* ''Britain and Europe: A Conservative View'' by Quentin Davies, 1996, London Conservative Group for Europe.


References


External links

*
Guardian Unlimited Politics — Ask Aristotle: Quentin Davies MP

TheyWorkForYou.com — Quentin Davies MP


* * (video) , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Quentin 1944 births Living people Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Members of HM Diplomatic Service Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at Leighton Park School People educated at The Dragon School Politics of Grantham UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from the Borough of Boston People from Oxford 20th-century British diplomats