Sir Robert Goodwill (born 31 December 1956) is a British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
serving as
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
Scarborough and Whitby since 2005. He was previously a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber. Goodwill served in
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
’s government as
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
Home Office, the
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
A Department ...
and the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...
.
Goodwill is a member of the
Cornerstone Group
The Cornerstone Group is a High Tory or traditional conservative political organisation within the British Conservative Party. The Group espouses traditional values as exemplified by its motto: Faith, Flag, and Family. It comprises Members of P ...
of Conservative MPs. He describes himself as a "staunch Eurosceptic"
but supported Remain in the
EU referendum
This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate st ...
.
Early life
Goodwill was born in
Terrington
Terrington is a large village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Howardian Hills, west of Malton.
History
The village is mentioned four times in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Teurintone'' ...
,
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres).
From the Restoration it was used as ...
, and was privately educated at 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 ...
Bootham School
Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England.
The school ...
in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, and the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick univer ...
where he received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
in 1979. He has been the managing director o
Mowthorpe (UK) Ltdsince 1995 which offers
environmentally friendly
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...
burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
s in the North Yorkshire countryside.
Political career
Goodwill is a member of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, and contested his first constituency -
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
- at the
1992 general election, where he finished second, 11,577 votes behind the sitting
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
MP
Mo Mowlam
Dr Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minis ...
. He unsuccessfully contested
Cleveland and Richmond at the
1994 European election. He again attempted to enter 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. ...
at the
1997 general election when he was selected for the marginally held Conservative seat of
North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 census was 93,348. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville and Ibstock.
The dist ...
following the deselection of the sitting MP
David Ashby
David Glynn Ashby (born 14 May 1940) was the Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The population of the L ...
. Goodwill was defeated by Labour's
David Taylor by 13,219 votes. In 1998, he contested the
Yorkshire South European Parliament
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, but was again defeated.
He was elected as a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
at the
1999 European Parliament election
The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...
for the
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
region, serving in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
until the
2004 European Parliament election
The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
. He was deputy leader of the Conservative MEPs during his term, and also opposed the Conservative Party's membership of the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
From 1999 to 2004, he was a member of the
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, and from 2001 to 2004 was a member of the
Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities.
In September 2001, he participated in the European Parliament Observer Mission on the Presidential Election in Belarus.
In 2003, Goodwill criticised the
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
's proposal to ban smoky bacon flavoured crisps, calling it "over the top" and "disproportionate to the possible risks."
During the 2004 European Parliament election campaign, ''The Guardian'' classed Goodwill as "pro-war" as a result of his supporting a motion in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
that said the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
was inevitable and the result of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
's actions.
In the
2005 general election, Goodwill stood in the constituency of
Scarborough and Whitby, winning the seat from the Labour incumbent
Lawrie Quinn
Lawrence William Quinn (born 25 December 1956) is a British Labour Party politician, railway engineer and from 1997 to 2005 he was the Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby.
Early life and education
Quinn was born in Harraby, a subu ...
by 1,245 votes. He made his
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
on 6 June 2005.
In August 2005, Goodwill co-authored a letter to ''The Spectator'' with five other newly elected Conservative MPs, criticising the "decadent" nature of British society.
In the
2005 Conservative Party leadership election, Goodwill supported
Liam Fox
Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party, Fox has served as th ...
's candidacy, declaring his support on 14 October 2005.
After spending 18 months as a member of the
Transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
Select committee Select committee may refer to:
*Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues
*Select or special committee (United States Congress)
*Select ...
, he was appointed an Opposition
Whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
by
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 2006 and promoted to the post of Shadow Roads Minister in the Transport team in 2007. He was re-elected with an increased majority of 8,130 at the
2010 general election and appointed to the Government as a Whip with responsibility for Treasury and
DEFRA DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
business. Goodwill is secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group.
In the October 2013 ministerial reshuffle he became
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 Transport, replacing
Norman Baker
Norman John Baker (born 26 July 1957) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes in East Sussex from the 1997 general election until his defeat in 2015.
In May 2010 he was appointed ...
. Goodwill was given responsibility for aviation policy
Goodwill had previously established himself as a strong opponent of a third runway at Heathrow, inviting Greenpeace members to plant a tree in his constituency as a gesture of "solidarity" with opponents of Heathrow expansion.
Goodwill was re-appointed to his position as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport following the
2015 general election and the election of a
Conservative majority government. He was the minister responsible for cycling, aviation, road safety, walking and
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
.
He was promoted to Minister of State at the Department of Transport in December 2015.
In January 2016, the Labour Party unsuccessfully proposed an amendment in Parliament that would have required private landlords to make their homes "fit for human habitation". According to Parliament's register of interests, Goodwill was one of 72 Conservative MPs who voted against the amendment who personally derived an income from renting out property. The Conservative Government had responded to the amendment that they believed homes should be fit for human habitation but did not want to pass the new law that would explicitly require it.
In the
2016 European Union membership referendum, in which the UK voted to 'Leave' the EU by 52% to 48%, Goodwill supported a 'Remain' vote
despite stating on his own website he was a "staunch Eurosceptic".
In the
Conservative Party leadership election following David Cameron's resignation as Prime Minister, Goodwill supported
Liam Fox
Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party, Fox has served as th ...
's candidacy, acting as his proposer (Fox was eliminated in the first round of voting). The eventual winner,
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
, moved Goodwill to the
Home Office, where he assumed the role of
Minister of State for Immigration
The minister of state for immigration is a minister of state in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom.
From June 2017 to July 2019 and since October 2022, the minister has attended Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet meetings. ...
.
In the cabinet reshuffle following the 2017 general election, Goodwill was appointed as education minister (Goodwill was succeeded by Policing Minister
Brandon Lewis
Brandon Kenneth Lewis (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and ...
).
Goodwill was dismissed from the post of Children's minister on 9 January 2018.
Goodwill joined the Environmental Audit Select Committee on 22 January 2018, and the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee on 5 March 2018. He remained on these two committees until he rejoined the government in March 2019 when he became Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, replacing
George Eustice
Charles George Eustice (born 28 September 1971) is a British politician and former public relations executive who held office as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between 2020 and 2022. A member of the Conservative Par ...
who had resigned over Brexit.
In the
2019 Conservative Party leadership election
The 2019 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered when Theresa May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June and as prime minister of the United Kingdom once a successor had been el ...
, Goodwill supported
Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...
's candidacy. On 25 July 2019, he was dismissed from his role as Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food by newly elected Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
and replaced by George Eustice.
In the
2019 general election, Goodwill was reelected with a majority of 10,270.
In 2021 he considered challenging
Graham Brady
Sir Graham Stuart Brady (born 20 May 1967) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since ...
for the chairmanship of the
1922 Committee
The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...
, but eventually withdrew from the race backing the only opposing candidate
Heather Wheeler
Heather Kay Wheeler (née Wilkinson; born 14 May 1959) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was first elected at the 2010 general election as the member of Parliament (MP) for South Derbyshire, taking the seat from the Labour Party ...
.
In May 2022 Goodwill was elected as chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.
Expenses
In 2000 whilst working as a Conservative MEP, Goodwill highlighted the generous allowances given to MEPs when he stated that he bought return air tickets from Bradford to Brussels for £160 and claimed, legally, £500. The Conservative Party criticised his actions. Goodwill later donated £2,000 to local charities following feedback from constituents.
In 2013, following on from a review of capital gains made by MPs from their tax-payer funded second homes, the
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is a public body in the United Kingdom created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, largely as a response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009. It establishes and monitors the ...
ordered Goodwill to repay £4,963.39.
Personal life
He married Maureen Short in November 1987 in North Yorkshire and they have two sons (born May 1989 and June 1991) and a daughter (born May 1994). He employs his wife as a part-time caseworker on a salary just under £30,000.
He was once the chairman of the
cereal
A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
s and
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
committee of the North Yorkshire
National Farmers Union 1986–8. He takes a keen interest in
steam engines
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
and owns several; he once brought an engine back from the former
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
to restore it. He stepped in to save the Scarborough Pleasure Ship, ''Coronia'', in January 2011 so that the historic, Dunkirk-veteran vessel can continue to be based in the harbour there.
He speaks French, German and some
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
.
Honours
Commonwealth honours
; Commonwealth honours
References
External links
Robert Goodwill MPofficial site
*
Robert Goodwill MPbiography at the site of the Conservative Party
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwill, Robert
1956 births
Alumni of Newcastle University
Conservative Party (UK) MEPs
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
English farmers
Living people
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
MEPs for England 1999–2004
People educated at Bootham School
People from Ryedale (district)
Politics of the Borough of Scarborough
UK MPs 2005–2010
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
Knights Bachelor