Neil Parish
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Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (born 26 May 1956) is a British farmer and former politician who served 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 o ...
(MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022. 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 ...
, 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
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...
from 1999 to 2009. Parish chaired the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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, administration and policy of the Department fo ...
from 2015 until his resignation from 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. T ...
. In April 2022, Parish had the Conservative
party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...
suspended pending an investigation into allegations that he had watched pornography in the Commons chamber during a debate. After admitting to the allegations, he resigned as an MP. His departure triggered a by-election held on 23 June, which was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate,
Richard Foord Richard John Foord (; born 13 February 1978) is a British politician and former British Army officer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon since 2022. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he won the seat ...
.


Early life and career

Neil Quentin Gordon Parish was born in Bridgwater,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, on 26 May 1956. Parish attended Brymore School, a local-authority-run agricultural boarding school at Cannington near Bridgwater. He left school at 16 to manage the family farm. Parish began his career in politics in local government, serving as a parish, district and county councillor. In the 1997 general election, he contested
Torfaen Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-w ...
, a safe
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 ...
seat in South Wales. He was defeated by 24,536 votes.


European Parliament

Parish was elected to 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 ...
for the
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...
region in the 1999 election. He was re-elected in 2004 on the top of the Conservatives' party list. Parish acted as an election monitor during the
2000 Zimbabwean parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Zimbabwe on 24 and 25 June 2000 to elect members of the House of Assembly. The electoral system involved 120 constituencies returning one member each, elected by the First Past the Post system, with the Pres ...
and criticised the conduct of
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
's government. During the 2008 Presidential election, Neil Parish called on the British Government to reject the legitimacy of ZANU-PF and to recognise
Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic ...
's Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai party as the democratically elected Government of Zimbabwe. Parish was banned from re-entering Zimbabwe after voicing his criticism. For his entire career in the European Parliament, he was a member of the
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities of the Committee AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for: #The operation and development of the Common Agricul ...
. From January 2007 to July 2009 he was chairman of that committee. In December 2001, he was appointed Conservative spokesman on agriculture and he was also the delegation's deputy chief whip. He was instrumental in setting up the year-long European Parliament's public inquiry into the
2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak The 2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak occurred when the discharge of infectious effluent from a laboratory in Surrey led to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) infections at four nearby farms. The infections were detected via regular livest ...
, and he was also a member of the European Parliament's inquiry into the collapse of Equitable Life. He also served as a substitute member of the
Committee on Fisheries The Committee on Fisheries (PECH) is a committee of the European Parliament. Chris Davies was the chairman (2019 – 2020) - until the United Kingdom left the European Union. Committee mandate PECH is the European Parliament committee respon ...
. During his time as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, it was reported that David Miliband, at the time the secretary of state for environment, food, and rural affairs, had described Neil Parish as a "Rottweiler" for his dogged persistence. In early 2007, Parish was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Tiverton and Honiton. The seat was held by the Conservative
Angela Browning Angela Frances Browning, Baroness Browning (; born 4 December 1946) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 1997 to 2010, having previously been MP for Tiverton from 199 ...
who had announced in November 2006 she would not stand again. Parish did not stand for re-election in the 2009 European Parliament election.


Member of Parliament

Parish was elected 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 o ...
(MP) for Tiverton and Honiton on 6 May 2010. The Conservative vote increased by 3.6 per cent, with Parish attracting 27,614 votes – 50.3 per cent of the overall votes cast. He won with a majority of 9,320 votes. In June 2010, Parish was elected to the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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, administration and policy of the Department fo ...
. The committee is elected by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its associated public bodies including the Environment Agency and
Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
. Parish was elected by Conservative backbenchers as chairman 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 ...
environment policy committee in July 2010. The committee plays a role in policy formation and as a channel of communication between backbenchers and ministers. From 2010 to 2015, Parish was chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare. Parish was one of 79 Conservative MPs who, on 24 October 2011, rebelled against a
three-line whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...
by voting for a referendum on the UK's relationship with the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
. In July 2012, Parish relaunched and was elected the chairman of both the
All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...
on Beef and Lamb and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pig and Poultry, which ensure that parliamentarians are briefed by industry experts on the latest developments in the industry, including supply chains, exports, sustainability, health and nutrition. On 22 July 2014, Parish was appointed the parliamentary private secretary to John Hayes, Minister of State for Transport, who also acted as a senior advisor to the prime minister. Parish opposes, and voted against the implementation of
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, stating that he felt the issue was "for the Church and Christians to decide pon not for parliament to legislate." In 2014, Parish voted against enabling the courts to deal with proceedings for the divorce of a same-sex couple and against making same-sex marriage available to armed forces personnel outside the UK. After the 2015 general election, he was returned unopposed as the chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. Parish was opposed to
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
prior to the 2016 referendum. In 2016 he received the annual Dairy UK Award together with
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 ...
MP for their support of dairy farmers and the industry. While an MP, Parish continued to live on the family farm in Somerset and declared a financial interest in it.


Pornography investigation

On 25 April 2022, a group of female Conservative MPs met with the Government Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris to complain about sexism in parliament, with one female MP, ''inter alia'', alleging that a male colleague had been watching pornography next to her in the House of Commons, but without naming the MP. Initial media reporting likewise did not name the MP. Before he had been publicly identified as the accused MP, Parish was interviewed on
GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ...
and said that the MP should be "dealt with and dealt with seriously". On 29 April Parish had the Conservative whip withdrawn after being accused of watching pornography on a personal mobile phone in the
Commons chamber The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
. Parish referred himself to the
Commons Select Committee on Standards The Commons Select Committee on Standards is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. History The committee was created on 13 December 2012 as one half of the replacements for the Commi ...
following the removal of the whip. The allegation was made by a female Conservative minister, and later corroborated by another unnamed MP. Initially, Parish said that he might have viewed the pornography by mistake. He subsequently told the BBC that he had watched pornography in the Palace of Westminster on two occasions, first accidentally and then deliberately. He said that he had been initially looking at a website about tractors; allies of Parish suggested he may have been looking at
Claas } CLAAS is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Harsewinkel, Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1913 by August Claas, CLAAS is a family business and one of the market and technology leaders in harv ...
Dominator tractors, a brand of combine harvesters. According to Parish, he then reached "another website with a very similar name" and "watched for a bit". He said: "My crime – biggest crime – is that on another occasion I went in a second time ... that was
hile Hile ( ne, हिले) is a hill town located in the Eastern Part of Nepal, 13 km north of the regional center of Dhankuta Bazar. At an elevation of 1948 meters, it is the main route to other hilly districts like Bhojpur and Sankhuwasab ...
sitting waiting to vote." On 30 April 2022, Parish announced his intention to resign as an MP, which triggered the
2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Tiverton and Honiton was held on 23 June 2022. The vacancy was caused by the resignation on 4 May 2022 of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Neil Parish of the Conservat ...
.
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 ...
's
Angela Rayner Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work since 2021. She has been Sha ...
tweeted: "He was looking for tractors but ended up with porn actors? Neil Parish must think you were all born yesterday." On 4 May, he was appointed as
Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead Northstead is an area on the North Bay of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. The area near Newlands and Barrowcliff includes Peasholm Park and Scarborough Open Air Theatre. In 2011, the namesake ward had a population of 4,038, since 20 ...
, disqualifying him as an MP and vacating his seat. At the by-election, on 23 June, the Liberal Democrats won the seat for the first time in the area since 1923. In an interview with
LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...
in June 2022, Parish said that he had experienced suicidal thoughts after the incident and that the police had "very kindly and rightly" confiscated his guns to prevent him from killing himself. He also said that he had experienced
death threats A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...
over the incident. Parish additionally commented that he "was wrong to be watching ornography and that what he'd done was "very immoral" but not illegal. Asked if he had been "done in" by some of his colleagues, he replied: "I think probably I was."


Personal life

In 1981 Parish married Susan Gail, whom he employed as a junior secretary. He has a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren. His interests include music, swimming, and walking.


References


External links

*
Profile on European Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parish, Neil 1956 births Living people People educated at Brymore School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present People from Bridgwater Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1999–2004 MEPs for England 2004–2009 Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Political sex scandals in the United Kingdom Politicians affected by a party expulsion process