Brian Arthur Roland Binley (1 April 1942 – 25 December 2020) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton South from 2005 to 2015.

Early life

Educated at Finedon Mulso Secondary Modern School on Wellingborough Road, (now a

Junior School A Junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at Infant school which covers the age range 5–7. (As both Infant and Junior schools are giving Primary ...

), in the town of

Finedon Finedon is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 4,309. In 1086 when the Domesday Book was completed, Finedon (then known as Tingdene) was a large royal manor, previously held by Queen Edith, wif ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, Brian Binley joined the Conservative Party in 1958. He was an organiser with the National Young Conservatives from 1965 to 1968. He was chairman of the

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

-based BCC Marketing Services Ltd, the company he founded from 1988 to 2001, when it was liquidated by the company that had bought it in late 2001.

Parliamentary career

Binley was the

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

Agent for the

Wyre Forest __NOTOC__ Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. Knowles Mill, a former corn mill owned by the National Trust, lies wi ...

Conservative Association during the 1997 general election campaign. He was elected to

Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...

in 1997, where he was a Cabinet Member. He was selected to contest the

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 ...

-held Parliamentary marginal seat of Northampton South, and defeated the sitting Labour MP

Tony Clarke Anthony or Tony Clarke may refer to: * Tony Clarke (British politician) (born 1963), English Labour Party politician, MP for Northampton South from 1997 to 2005 * Anthony Clarke (judoka) (born 1961), Australian athlete *Tony Clarke (activist) (born ...

at the 2005 general election by over 4,000 votes. Binley 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 25 May 2005. He was also a Northamptonshire County Councillor for

Hackleton Hackleton is a village located in West Northamptonshire, just north of Buckinghamshire. It is south of Northampton town centre, and by road to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 15 and north of junction 14. London is south via jun ...

division but did not restand for the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

at elections held in 2009. Binley was re-elected in the 2010 general election, with an increased majority of 6,004. In March 2012, Binley was reported as being one of the Conservative MPs to have spoken critically of Party Co-Chairman

Sayeeda Warsi Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi, (; born 28 March 1971) is a British lawyer, politician, and member of the House of Lords who served as co-Chairwoman of the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2012. She served in the Cameron–Clegg coalit ...

at a meeting 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 ...

, following Lady Warsi's handling of

Roger Helmer Roger Helmer (born 25 January 1944) is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region from 1999 to 2017. Before becoming an MEP, he was a business executive. Helmer was electe ...

MEP's defection to

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

and later called on her to resign saying she was guilty of "self-destructive lunacy". He was also a critic of David Cameron calling on him to "smell the coffee" after the Conservatives faced a terrible defeat in the 2012 local elections and even criticised Number 10 more widely and their attitude towards Conservative backbenchers. He also criticised David Cameron's decision to hire Andy Coulson.

Expenses

On 17 June 2009 it was revealed that Binley had claimed over £50,000 in expenses, renting a flat from his own company, BCC Marketing. Two months after beginning to rent the flat, expenses rules were changed to clarify that MPs could no longer rent properties from businesses in which they had an interest. Binley appealed to the Speaker of the House Michael Martin, whilst still claiming for the flat. Binley lost his appeal after two and a half years, during which time he still claimed for the flat in question. Binley was not required to repay the £57,000 he received while the Speaker deliberated.

Personal life

Binley lived in the constituency for over 20 years, and had two grown sons. In 2006, he became the victim of

identity theft Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was c ...

, when someone tried to divert his bank statements and unsuccessfully attempted to steal £9,000 from him whilst he was in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The perpetrator wrote to Binley boasting of his exploits. He received a six-month driving ban in May 2007 having totted up 12 points on his licence when caught doing 37 mph in a 30 mph zone in

, Northamptonshire. With nine points already, he was given three more and a ban by

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the olde ...

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. In January 2013, Binley revealed he was suffering from "low-grade lymphoma affecting white blood cells" and would undergo chemotherapy. In July 2013 Binley stated he would not stand again at the next general election in 2015. Binley died at

Northampton General Hospital Northampton General Hospital is a district general hospital in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. It is managed by the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. History The hospital was established in a townhouse on George Row in 1744. After ...

on 25 December 2020, aged 78.

References

External links

Brian Binley MP Blog
official site
Jacquie Binley & Friends Charity Sky Dive
official site
Brian Binley MP
biography at the site of the Conservative Party
BBC Politics profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Binley, Brian 1942 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople 21st-century English businesspeople Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) councillors English marketing people Members of Northamptonshire County Council People from West Northamptonshire District People from Wellingborough UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015