Philip Davies
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Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British politician who has 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 Shipley in
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
since the 2005 general election. 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 is the most rebellious serving Conservative MP, having voted against the Tory
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 ...
over 250 times in the course of his parliamentary career. He has been criticised for " talking out" parliamentary bills not supported by the government and by doing so "kill off legislation he doesn't like". Davies, known for campaigns against left-wing
political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
and
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, is a campaigner for the
men's rights movement The men's rights movement (MRM) is a branch of the men's movement. The MRM in particular consists of a variety of groups and individuals (men's rights activists or MRAs) who focus on general social issues and specific government services whi ...
. He played a lead role in securing the first
International Men's Day International Men's Day (IMD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on November 19 to recognize and celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. The objectives of celebrating an International Men's Day are set ou ...
debate in Parliament in 2015; the debate has since taken place annually. Davies is on the governing council of
The Freedom Association The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group, which has links to the Conservative Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in ...
pressure group. He is also an organiser for the
TaxPayers' Alliance The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom which was formed in 2004 to campaign for a low-tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008 and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010. However ...
. Davies has regularly been criticised by other politicians and prominent public figures for comments he has made on gender equality and women, homosexuality, ethnic minorities, as well as the disabled. He has stated that the disabled should have the option of working for less than the minimum wage. Davies has said that white, male ministers risk being "hoofed out" of the government to make way for women or minority ethnic MPs.


Early life

Davies was born in
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
; his father is Peter Davies, a former elected Mayor of Doncaster. He was educated at the
Old Swinford Hospital Old Swinford Hospital is a secondary boarding school in Oldswinford, Stourbridge, West Midlands, England that has been in continuous operation since the 17th century. It is one of 36 state boarding schools in England, meaning school fees are ...
school,
Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
and at Huddersfield Polytechnic (which became
Huddersfield University , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...
in his third year). He was awarded a 2:1
BA Hons 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 and political studies in 1993. Originally he wanted to be a journalist, but in a January 2017 ''
Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * ''The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...
'' interview he said, "It was my ambition in life but I just realised I was too shy. You've got to have a confidence that I think I probably never had". Following his graduation, Davies worked at supermarket business
Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
from September 1993 to May 2005, first as a customer services manager and later as a marketing manager. He has also worked at Marilyn Davies Bookmakers and Mark Jarvis Bookmakers. He joined the Conservative Party in 1988.


Parliamentary career

Davies unsuccessfully contested the
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
seat of
Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...
at the 2001 general election and was defeated by 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
Kali Mountford Carol Jean Mountford (née Newton; born 12 January 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Colne Valley from 1997 until she retired from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. Ear ...
by 4,639 votes. In the 2005 general election, he was elected as an MP for the seat of Shipley with a majority of 422 votes, defeating the Labour MP and
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...
at the
Department for Constitutional Affairs The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003; it took over the functions of the Lord Chancellor's Department. On 28 March 2007 it was announced that the Dep ...
Chris Leslie Christopher Michael Leslie (born 28 June 1972) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form ...
. He received donations toward his successful campaign from Bearwood Corporate Services, a company set up by non-domicile
Lord Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is ...
to give out donations to marginal seats such as Davies'. Davies 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 7 June 2005. He recalled
Titus Salt Sir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet (20 September 1803 in Morley – 29 December 1876 in Lightcliffe), was a manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, who is best known for having built Salt's Mill, a la ...
and then mentioned the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in Saltaire. He also announced that he wanted to remain a
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 " ...
and not to be a shadow spokesman or a minister, and that he wanted to feel able to speak for his constituents. Davies held his seat with a greatly increased majority of 9,944 votes in the 2010 general election, and held his seat for a second time with a slightly reduced majority of 9,624 in the 2015 general election. He was re-elected onto the executive committee 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 ...
of backbench Conservative MPs in 2010 and is a member of the
Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, formerly the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is one of the select committees of the British House of Commons, established in 1997. It oversees the operations of the Department for ...
. He has also become a member of the newly established backbench business committee and a member of the Speaker's Panel, chairing Westminster Hall debates. Davies is rated as one of the Conservatives' most rebellious MPs. On 2 November 2012, Davies wrote to the
Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
requesting it to open a second investigation into ex-Labour MP
Denis MacShane Denis MacShane (born Josef Denis Matyjaszek; 21 May 1948) is a British former politician, author and commentator who served as Minister of State for Europe from 2002 to 2005. He joined the Labour Party in 1970 and has held most party offices. ...
's expenses claims. Davies retained his seat at the 2017 snap election with a reduced majority of 4,681 votes, though also increasing his share of the vote by 1.45%, his highest ever share. In 2020 Davies became one of four Vice-Chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing. This group has been subject to criticism by some campaigners on whistleblowing law reform.


Filibustering

Davies has been repeatedly criticised for his use of the
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
to block legislation by talking at length, particularly when
private members' bills A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in w ...
under the
Ten Minute Rule The Ten Minute Rule, also known as Standing Order No. 23, is a procedure in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the introduction of Private Member's Bills in addition to the 20 per session normally permissible. It is one of the ways in whi ...
are debated. This happens on Fridays, when attendance is often poor because MPs have returned to their home constituencies, leaving these debates particularly susceptible to filibustering. The practice can be stopped if 100 MPs attend Parliament, and Davies has noted that if "not even 100 MPs out of 650 showed up" then it indicated a bill "did not have full support". When asked by a journalist whether his tactics were underhand, Davies said: In October 2015, Davies spoke for 93 minutes, thereby successfully blocking a proposed bill that would have given free hospital parking to carers. He had pledged his support for carers four months earlier. In November 2015, Davies gave the longest speech in a sequence by Conservative MPs that resulted in 'talking out' a bill backed by St. John Ambulance, the
British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
, and the
British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...
to provide first-aid training to children. Davies argued that "schools can already teach first aid if they want to. They should make the decision rather than have it forced on them by Whitehall."


Gambling industry

In February 2013, Davies was investigated by the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner is i ...
following a complaint claiming he received more than £10,000 in benefits from companies with links to the gambling industry which he did not fully declare in the register of members' interests during a year-long investigation into the betting industry. The commissioner required Davies to apologise for breaching the parliamentary code after not declaring an interest in a debate and at the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, namely £870 of hospitality from the bookmaker
Ladbrokes Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...
, rather than the larger amount complained about. Davies told Parliament the omission was not "due to a desire to conceal it ... but to an oversight" and he was "very grateful to he rest of the committeefor accepting that mine had been a genuine error". In December 2016, Davies was cleared of wrongdoing over claims alleging "extremely favourable" treatment he had received from Ladbrokes – the lifting of restrictions on his betting account. The investigation was dropped on the basis of "insufficient evidence" that Davies had broken the rules and the complainant had refused to drop his anonymity out of a fear of losing his job. Davies defended hospitality and his meetings with the racing industry, stating: "I am the elected chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Betting and Gaming – and a former bookmaker – so of course I meet with bookmakers. It would be rather extraordinary if I didn't". In November 2018,
Tracey Crouch Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (born 24 July 1975) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she gained the seat from Labour's Jonathan S ...
resigned as sports minister since she believed Philip Davies successfully went above her and secured a delay to curbs on
fixed odds betting terminal A fixed odds betting terminal (FOBT, sometimes pronounced "fob-tee") is a type of electronic slot machine normally found in betting shops in the United Kingdom and introduced in 1999. The terminals allow players to bet on the outcome of various ...
s. Davies received hospitality worth £3,204.44 from betting companies and bookmakers including Ladbrokes, William Hill and SkyBet in the year to 2018. In 2020, Davies received total payments of £49,800 from GVC Holdings for providing advice to the global betting company. In June 2021, Davies received hospitality worth £3,687.60, and his wife
Esther McVey Esther Louise McVey (born 24 October 1967) is a British politician and television presenter serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Housing and Pl ...
received £2,287.60, from companies linked to the betting industry. From June 2021 through to March 2022 Davies received a variety of hospitality gifts from the gambling and horse racing industry worth £11,830.60. Additionally, he received a lifetime free entry badge from Arena Racing Company allowing him free entry to any of their 16 racecourses, the estimated value of is £1000 per year.


Political views

Davies is on the governing council of
The Freedom Association The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group, which has links to the Conservative Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in ...
pressure group, and is an organiser for the
TaxPayers' Alliance The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom which was formed in 2004 to campaign for a low-tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008 and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010. However ...
. He has called for government to "scrap the Human Rights Act for foreign nationals and chuck them out of the country" and in 2016 expressed admiration for
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. Davies was criticised by a Liberal Democrat councillor as being "disgracefully reactionary" for his public comment in 2011 that he wanted to see "an increase in the prison population". Davies believes that prison works and it reduces the UK crime rate. In 2009, Davies called for the scrapping of the
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
in the UK. In 2014, he called for the abolition of Sunday trading laws.


European Union

Davies advocated British withdrawal from 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 des ...
, starting the
Better Off Out Better Off Out (BOO) is the name of a non-party campaign that called for the United Kingdom (UK)'s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). It is run by The Freedom Association, a pressure group that describes itself as non-partisan, centre-ri ...
campaign, and campaigning at the Conservative Party Conference in 2005. The
Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
UK Independence Party 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 par ...
(UKIP) did not field a candidate against Davies at the 2010 general election and campaigned for his re-election after being identified as a "committed eurosceptic". In the event, Davies held his seat with an increased majority of just under 10,000 votes.


Race and ethnic minorities

Davies was the parliamentary spokesman for the inactive
Campaign Against Political Correctness The Campaign Against Political Correctness was a lobby group in the United Kingdom created to oppose what its founders described as political correctness. Aims The campaign was founded by John and Laura Midgley in 2004. The campaign had the p ...
and was accused of wasting the
Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...
's time by sending a stream of correspondence to its chair,
Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented '' Trevor Phillips on Sunday'', a Sunday ...
, between 2008 and 2009. In this correspondence, he asked questions relating to race and sex discrimination such as: "Is it offensive to black up or not, particularly if you are impersonating a black person?" and "Why it is so offensive to black up your face, as I have never understood this?" Some commentators suggested that he was advocating ' blacking up'. Davies also asked whether it was racist for a policeman to refer to a BMW as "black man's wheels" and whether the
Metropolitan Black Police Association The Metropolitan Black Police Association is a staff association in the United Kingdom which represents officers and staff in the Metropolitan Police who are black or Asian. The Met BPA was not subsumed into the National Black Police Association ...
breaches discrimination law by restricting its membership to black people. Peter Herbert, the chair of the
Society of Black Lawyers The Society of Black Lawyers (SBL) was founded in the United Kingdom by Rudy Narayan in 1969, as the Afro-Asian and Caribbean Lawyers Association. By 1981, it was known as its current name. It was co-chaired by Narayan and Sibghat Kadri. It aims ...
, said: "This correspondence seems a complete and utter waste of time... he shouldn't be using the Human Rights Commission as basically a source of legal advice". A complaint from Davies was sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in January 2017 that the
Jhalak Prize The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner. The Jhalak Prize launched in 2016 and was created by writers Sun ...
, a
literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ...
intended to increase the diversity of published authors, was discriminatory towards white writers. After investigating the issue, the EHRC rejected Davies' complaint the following April. A spokesman for the EHRC said the body had decided the prize did not break the
Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis of anti-d ...
. "This award is the type of action which the Commission supports and recommends", he said. Davies rejected "positive discrimination" and said he believed in "true equality". In May 2018, Davies said that police stop and search numbers had reduced dramatically as a result of "politically correct chatter". He said that black people are "more likely to be murderers". Davies said the evidence showed the community much more likely to be stopped and searched and yet found to have done nothing wrong were white people. Following an interim report on the connections between
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
and properties now in the care of the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, including links with historic slavery, Davies was among the signatories of a letter to ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' in November 2020 from the "
Common Sense Group The Common Sense Group is an informal group of Conservative MPs in the United Kingdom who advocate a broad range of ideals that they think the Conservative Party and the country ought to be following. The group was inspired by the euro-sceptic ...
" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by
cultural Marxist The term "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that Western Marxism is the basis of continuing academic and intellectual efforts to subvert Western culture. The conspiracy theory misrepresents the ...
dogma, colloquially known as the '
woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social ineq ...
agenda'".


Gender and sexuality issues

In March 2007 he voted against the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 which proposed to allow the Secretary of State to make regulations defining discrimination and harassment on grounds of sexual orientation, create criminal offences, and provide for exceptions. He also complained, while calling for a Parliamentary debate on "political correctness", about a school production of ''Romeo and Julian'' during
LGBT History month LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the List of LGBT rights by region, gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high- ...
. Commons Leader
Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...
described his remarks as "cheap shots". He was called a "
troglodyte A troglodyte is a human cave dweller, from the Greek 'hole, mouse-hole' and 'go in, dive in'. Troglodyte and derived forms may also refer to: Historiography * ''Troglodytae'' or ''Troglodyti'', an ancient group of people from the African Red ...
" in 2009 by the Conservative MP
John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior to ...
for his opposition to debating the Equality Bill, the effect of the recession on women and
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
. In 2013, Davies voted against
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
because the bill did not allow for opposite-sex civil partnerships. In an interview with the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
programme ''
Daily Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas a ...
'', Davies stated his reasoning for voting against it was "You can have civil partnerships and marriage for gay people. You can only have marriage for heterosexuals. It's not equality." Speaking in Parliament in October 2014, Davies said he believes parents and not schools should take responsibility for the sex education of children. Believing his constituents associate increased sex education with an increase in teenage pregnancies, he thought they would welcome its abandonment. On 27 October 2015, he presented the case to the Backbench Business Committee for a parliamentary debate in observance of
International Men's Day International Men's Day (IMD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on November 19 to recognize and celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. The objectives of celebrating an International Men's Day are set ou ...
, raising issues such as " men's shorter life expectancy, wider men's health issues .. the high suicide rate amongst men, the propensity of violence against men .. the underachievement of boys in education compared to girls" and fathers' custodial rights. This led to a public disagreement with Labour MP
Jess Phillips Jessica Rose Phillips (; born 9 October 1981) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguard ...
who laughed at his proposal. "As the only woman on this committee, it seems like every day to me is International Men’s Day", Phillips said in response to Davies during the meeting. The committee originally rejected his case, but a debate in Westminster Hall on 19 November was eventually granted after Labour and Conservative colleagues gave their support. Davies said during the debate: "The problem is virtually everything we do in this House and debate in this House seems to start with the premise that everything is biased against women and something must be done about it – never an appreciation that men’s issues can be just as important and that men can be just as badly treated in certain areas as women".
Maria Miller Dame Maria Frances Miller'MILLER, Rt Hon. Maria (Frances Lewis)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 ...
, Conservative chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee responded to Davies: "Women face discrimination on a daily basis, that’s not a myth. My honourable friend does not do his case much good at all when he tries to belittle that". "One of the most depressing things to happen recently was the introduction of the Select Committee on Women and Equalities", he said during the debate; the select committee had been created earlier in the year. In July 2016, Davies gave a speech on the justice gender gap at the International Conference of Men's Issues organised by Justice for Men and Boys. He said: "I don’t believe there’s an issue between men and women. The problem is being stirred up by those who can be described as militant feminists and the politically correct males who pander to this nonsense". Objecting to the lower number of men who win in custody cases with their former partners, he said: "Many women use their children as a stick to beat the father with". He rejected a suggestion that his appearance at a J4MB event meant that he subscribed to the party's viewpoint. He did not receive a fee for his participation in the event. In response to Davies' comments at the July 2016 event,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
, the leader of the opposition, said that Davies' "deeply sexist" opinions showed that he had an "utter contempt for women". He called on
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 ...
, the Conservative leader, to withdraw the party whip from Davies. The Labour peer Baroness Corston, a barrister who reviewed the issue of women in the justice system for the Home Office, told ''
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 ...
'' that "There is indisputable evidence that women are treated by the courts more harshly" than men. Davies responded by providing figures from the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
collected by men's-rights lobby group '' Parity,'' which he argued suggest that the courts favour women when sentencing. He said that Corston is thus "ill-informed or deliberately lying when she accuses me of lying". An International Men's Day debate, instigated by Davies, took place for the first time in the House of Commons on 17 November 2016. Davies rejected claims that it is a stunt and hoped it would become an annual event. In an article for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' published on the same day, Davies wrote: "The aims of International Men’s Day are laudable. They include promoting male role models, celebrating the contribution men make, focusing on men’s health and wellbeing as well as highlighting discrimination against men". Davies was elected, unopposed, to the women and equalities select committee in December 2016. "Philip Davies doesn’t even think that the Women’s and Equalities Committee should exist, yet he’s about to join it", commented the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
MP
Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elected ...
, "perhaps giving him a chance to rethink his views". A few days later in December 2016, Davies talked for 78 minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to derail a Bill designed to bring Britain in line with the
Istanbul Convention The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic v ...
whose purported aim is to protect women against violence. He argued that the Bill was "sexist against men" because of its focus and ignored other victims which if recognised equally would have been "true equality".
Thangam Debbonaire Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (' Singh; born 3 August 1966) is a British Labour Party politician, serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since May 2021. She was previously the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from 2020 t ...
, speaking after him, had to cut her own speech short in order to make sure his filibustering did not succeed. The bill was, however, passed by 135 to 2. At the bill's third reading on 24 February 2017, Davies spoke for 91 minutes and proposed amendments (which were defeated), but was unsuccessful in blocking the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Bill, which was passed by 138 votes to 1, with Davies being the only MP to vote against. The government supported the bill.
Sophie Walker Sophie Walker (born 27 May 1971) is a British political activist who was the founding leader of the Women's Equality Party (WE) in the United Kingdom. She led the party from 2015 until 2019, first appointed unanimously by the steering committe ...
, the leader of the
Women's Equality Party The Women's Equality Party (WEP) is a feminist political party set up in the United Kingdom in 2015. The idea was conceived by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig at the Women of the World Festival, when they concluded that there was a need for ...
, stood against Davies in his Shipley constituency at the 2017 general election, but was defeated, with Davies noting that she lost her deposit. According to Walker, Davies "is a sexist misogynist who puts his own ego ahead of his constituents" and Walker wished to represent the people of Shipley "rather than using parliament as a stage to play out attention-seeking performances" which she believed was Davies's practice. In response, Davies said he had "consistently asked" his opponent "to quote just one thing I have ever said which has asked for a woman to be treated less favourably than a man". In June 2018, Davies spoke for 148 minutes on the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Bill, which had over 100 amendments tabled to it. It has been argued that Davies' lengthy speech had caused the blocking of passage of the
upskirting Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking nonconsensual photographs under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image of the crotch area, underwear, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photograph, video, or illustrat ...
bill, however due to it being listed as the eighth bill of the day to be debated, it was not likely to have been called for debate that day. Following a point of order on the matter the
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
stated that: "It is important, however, in public debate to distinguish between fact and opinion, and simply as a matter of fact – incontrovertible fact – the Hon Gentlemen is in no way whatsoever responsible for the failure of the eighth bill to be debated." In March 2019, Davies was one of 21 MPs who voted against LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education in English schools. In May 2021 it was announced that Davies had been re-elected to the
Women and Equalities Committee The Women and Equalities Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was established following the 2015 general election to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Governm ...
. He stated: "I want to use my time back on the committee to promote true equality – that people’s sex, race, religion and sexuality are irrelevant – and that we should ensure the law applies equally to all, and that jobs should be given to people based on merit and merit alone, and I want to challenge the division of identity politics."


Disability

Davies has said in Parliament that some disabled workers are, by definition, not as productive in their work as others and that the minimum wage may be a "hindrance" to some disabled jobseekers. Davies said: "If they feel that for a short period of time, taking a lower rate of pay to help them get on their first rung of the jobs ladder is a good thing, I don't see why we should be standing in their way." Among others, Davies was criticised by Labour's
Anne Begg Dame Margaret Anne Begg DBE (born 6 December 1955) is a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee ...
and a member of his own parliamentary party, and the Conservative Party quickly distanced itself from his comments. Representatives from the mental illness charities
Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
and
Rethink Mental Illness Rethink Mental Illness is a mental health charity in England. The organisation was founded in 1972 by John Pringle whose son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The operating name of 'Rethink' was adopted in 2002, and expanded to 'Rethink' Mental Il ...
called his suggestion "preposterous" and "seriously misguided". Davies' response was that the furore over his comments was "left-wing hysteria". As part of his use of the filibuster technique, in October 2015, Davies led a sequence of speeches that resulted in a private members' bill exempting parking charges for hospital carers being 'talked out'. Davies spoke for 90 minutes to "talk out" the bill proposed by Labour MP Julie Cooper. He said he objected to the bill because he was concerned it would cause higher parking charges for disabled people and a reduction in revenue for hospitals. The comedian
Russell Howard Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He was known for his television show ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and is currently doing ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and his ...
in his programme '' Good News'', called him an "arsehole", "windbag", "wanker" and a "toad-faced hypocrite" and accused the MP of
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
ing. Davies complained on the grounds of "inaccuracy" and "misrepresentation" and the BBC was forced to publish in the Clarifications and Corrections section of the BBC website stating "Davies did not personally use up all the time available for the debate and that almost three hours remained after he sat down". Howard also misrepresented Davies' views on the disabled and the BBC stated "that the programme did not fully represent his comments, which were, that it would be in the best interests of disabled people, and others, to be allowed to offer to work for less than the minimum wage, if the alternative were no employment at all". The broadcaster also agreed not to air the episode again due to their misrepresentation of Davies' position. The
BBC Trust The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
later rejected an escalation of the complaint by Davies. In 2017, further complaints were upheld on the issue of the BBC again misrepresenting Davies' position on employment of the disabled, with an article in March that year falsely claiming Davies "had told Parliament that disabled people should work for less than minimum wage". The piece was corrected to state: "Mr Davies had said that people with disabilities should have the option of working for less than the minimum wage".


Global poverty

In March 2010, Davies was criticised by the press, and religious organisations, for using Parliamentary rules to "wreck" the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill, an anti-poverty measure designed to stop "
vulture fund A vulture fund is a hedge fund, private-equity fund or distressed debt fund, that invests in debt considered to be very weak or in default, known as distressed securities. Investors in the fund profit by buying debt at a discounted price on a ...
s" from buying up the debt of third-world countries in order to aggressively pursue repayments through the international courts. The bill was temporarily stopped because an anonymous Tory MP shouted "object", but was passed into law after intervention by Conservative whips.


Reform of parliament

Davies is against introducing proportional representation and having an elected House of Lords. The
Power 2010 Power 2010 was a campaign to reform the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The campaign first aimed to identify five key reforms to the parliamentary system that the public most wanted to see enacted. The aim was then to ensure that every candidat ...
campaign ran a full-page advertisement in ''
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 ...
'' stating Phillips was one of six MPs accused of "failing our democracy" by opposing parliamentary reform. Davies responded in the local press saying that it was "misleading not to put on the poster which issues I am for or against", but had "no complaints about them including things that are correct, but they must be clear on my views on ID cards and English voting". He said he was against
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, in common with "many Tory and Labour MPs", and any change to the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
.


Smoking

In March 2011, Davies said that there was "no basis in evidence" that restricting branding on cigarette packets would reduce smoking levels, stating: "I believe that the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes is gesture politics of the worst kind. It would not have any basis in evidence and it would simply be a triumph for the nanny state and an absurd one at that". The physician
Ben Goldacre Ben Michael Goldacre (born 20 May 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. He is the first Bennett Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford ...
outlined in his ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'' column the evidence base that Davies claimed did not exist, concluding that: "If you don't care about this evidence, or you think jobs are more important than people killed by cigarettes, or you think libertarian principles are more important than both, then that’s a different matter. But if you say the evidence doesn't show evidence of harm from branded packaging, you are simply wrong". Davies objected to banning smoking in cars with children in a 2011 debate on a private members' bill proposed by the Labour MP
Alex Cunningham Alexander Cunningham (born 1 May 1955) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton North since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Minister for Courts and Sentencing since 2020. Born i ...
who said the "science was clear" about the risks from passive smoking. According to Davies, it should be a parental decision and there was a "complete lack of evidence" on the benefits. It eventually became an amendment to the Children and Families Bill.


COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown

Davies was critical of restrictions put in place following the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, such as a 10 pm pub curfew, calling Health Secretary
Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 201 ...
a "
nanny state Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term likens such a government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing. An early ...
socialist" for supporting them. In 2020 he rebelled against his party by voting against further restrictions, and asked the 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 ...
, how many lost jobs and failed businesses were "a price worth paying to continue pursuing this failed strategy of lockdowns and arbitrary restrictions". In November 2020 he called for the government to give
Vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
to citizens to help boost their immune systems against COVID-19. (see
Vitamin D deficiency Vitamin D deficiency or hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin D level that is below normal. It most commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate exposure to sunlight, particularly sunlight with adequate ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Vitamin D defic ...
).


Personal life

Davies married Deborah Gail Hemsley, whom he met whilst studying at
Huddersfield Polytechnic , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...
, in July 1994 in Doncaster. The couple have two sons. They separated in 2011, blaming the pressures of his role as an MP, and divorced in November 2012. She was continuing to work for Davies as his part-time secretary in late 2016. He lives in Shipley and also has shared a flat in London with fellow MP
Esther McVey Esther Louise McVey (born 24 October 1967) is a British politician and television presenter serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Housing and Pl ...
, with whom he reportedly had a "long time on-and-off romantic interest". In May 2019 the BBC's ''
Politics Live ''Politics Live'' is a BBC News political programme which launched on 3 September 2018. It is presented by Jo Coburn and features at least four guests debating the political stories of the day, as well as reports and other content. It is broadca ...
'' programme reported that McVey and Davies were engaged. On 19 September 2020, Davies married McVey in a private ceremony.


References


External links


Philip Davies MP
Official constituency website
Shipley Conservatives

Profile
at the Conservative Party *
Campaign Against Political Correctness
For which Davies is 'Parliamentary Spokesman' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Philip 1972 births Living people Politicians from Bradford Male critics of feminism Members of the Freedom Association Men's rights activists Alumni of the University of Huddersfield Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Old Swinford Hospital People from Doncaster UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present British Eurosceptics