Dominic Grieve
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Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and
Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...
from 2010 to 2014. He 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 o ...
(MP) for
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
from 1997 to 2019 and was the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2015 to 2019. Grieve attended the
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
as
Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...
and
Advocate General for Northern Ireland The advocate general for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Government of the United Kingdom on Northern Ireland law and the post is held by the attorney general for England and Wales by virtue of that office. The advocate general ...
from May 2010 to July 2014. He was dismissed as Attorney General by Prime Minister
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 ...
as part of the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, and was replaced by
Jeremy Wright Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A ...
. Elected as a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, Grieve had the Conservative whip removed in the
September 2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs On 3 September 2019, the British Conservative Party withdrew the whip from 21 of its MPs who had supported an emergency motion to allow the House of Commons to undertake proceedings on the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill on 4 Septemb ...
. He unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate in Beaconsfield at the 2019 general election. A liberal conservative, Grieve was a central figure on
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
and frequently used his experience as a lawyer to propose amendments on the issue, with his interventions often being at odds with government policy. A prominent Remain supporter on Brexit, Grieve called for a second referendum on EU membership, and before being expelled had said that he and other Conservative rebels would support a
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
to bring down a Conservative government, if that were the only way to block the “catastrophic” damage from a bad Brexit. In spring 2019, Grieve was threatened with deselection by his local party after losing a confidence vote by members. In October 2019, following removal of the whip, Grieve announced that he would stand as an independent candidate in his constituency's seat at the next general election. It was announced that the Liberal Democrats would stand aside to help him,Tim Shipman, Caroline Wheeler, “Lib Dems to save Dominic Grieve in ‘remain alliance’ pact: Rival candidate will stand aside to allow former Tory rebel a free run at polls” in ''The Sunday Times'' dated 5 October 2019 but to no avail, as he lost his seat. Grieve is the president of the Franco-British Society. He was awarded the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...
in 2016, and broadcasts in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
on French radio and television. He is a practising
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
and was a member of the
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
diocesan synod of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
.


Early life

Grieve was born in
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...
, London, the son of Percy Grieve, QC (the MP for
Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...
1964–83), and of an Anglo-French mother, Evelyn Raymonde Louise Mijouain (d. 1991), maternal granddaughter of Sir George Roberts, 1st and last baronet. He was educated at the
Lycée français Charles de Gaulle The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, usually referred to as the Lycée or the French Lycée, is a French co-educational primary and secondary independent day school, situated in South Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and ...
on
Cromwell Road Cromwell Road is a major London road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, designated as part of the A4. It was created in the 19th century and is said to be named after Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, who once owned a hous ...
in
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
, Colet Court (an all-boys' preparatory school in Barnes) and
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
. He went to
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...
, where he received a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in
Modern History The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...
in 1978. He was the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1977. Grieve continued his studies at the
Polytechnic of Central London , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...
(now the
University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...
), where he received a Diploma in Law in 1979.


Legal career

He was
called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
at the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...
in 1980 and is a specialist in
occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...
law. He was made a
Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...
of the Middle Temple in 2005 and appointed a
Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...
in 2008.


Political career


Local council

He was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for the Avonmore ward in 1982, but did not stand for re-election in 1986. He contested the Norwood constituency in the
London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier S ...
at the 1987 general election but finished in second place behind the veteran Labour MP John Fraser.


Member of Parliament

He was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
for the
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
seat of
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
at the 1997 general election following the resignation of
Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians *T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs * Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...
in the cash-for-questions affair. Grieve was elected with a majority of 13,987 votes and remained the MP there until his defeat in the 2019 general election. 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 21 May 1997. He was a member of both the Environmental Audit and the Statutory Instruments
select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system) A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system o ...
s from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, he was promoted to the frontbench by
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
as a spokesman on
Scottish affairs ''Scottish Affairs'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as perman ...
, moving to speak on
home affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
as the spokesman on criminal justice following the election of
Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was S ...
as the new leader of the Conservative Party in 2001, and was then promoted to be shadow Attorney General by
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posit ...
in 2003. Grieve also had responsibility for community cohesion on behalf of the Conservative Party. He voted for 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 ...
in 2003. He was retained as
Shadow Attorney General The Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales is an office within British politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional mona ...
by the new Conservative Leader
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, and was appointed Shadow Home Secretary on 12 June 2008, following the resignation of David Davis. In early 2006, Grieve was instrumental in the defeat of the Labour government on its proposal that the Home Secretary should have power to detain suspected terrorists for periods up to 90 days without charge. In the last Conservative Shadow Cabinet reshuffle before the general election of 2010, carried out on 19 January 2009, Grieve was moved to become
Shadow Justice Secretary In British politics the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who shadows the Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice, also referred to as the justice secretary, is a secretary ...
, opposite Jack Straw. According to the BBC, Grieve was said to be "very happy with the move" which would suit his talents better. On 28 May 2010, he was appointed to the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
as part of the 2010 Dissolution of Parliament Honours List. After the 2010 general election, Grieve was appointed as
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
. He was one of four members of the cabinet who abstained in the May 2013 same-sex marriage vote. He said that he believed that the Bill had been "badly conceived". On 22 November 2013, Grieve was reported as stating politicians need to "wake up" to the issue of corruption in some minority communities and that "corruption in parts of the Pakistani community is 'endemic. Two days later he apologised and said he had not meant to suggest there was a "particular problem in the Pakistani community". Grieve was sacked from the cabinet by David Cameron in July 2014 and replaced by
Jeremy Wright Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A ...
. Grieve believed this was because of his support for the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
, although no reason was given; the sacking also occurred a few weeks after Grieve gave Cameron incorrect legal advice on whether he could make a public comment on the
Andy Coulson Andrew Edward Coulson (born 21 January 1968) is an English journalist and political strategist. Coulson was the editor of the ''News of the World'' from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's repo ...
trial. Grieve volunteered at the
Sufra A ''sufra'', ''sofra'', or ''sofreh'' ( ar, سُفْرَة; fa, سفره; tr, sofra; ka, სუფრა) is a cloth or table for the serving of food, or, in an extended sense, a kind of meal, associated with Islamicate culture. Forms of th ...
food bank in January 2015 to highlight issues relating to the increased use of food banks. In October 2016, speaking at a fringe meeting of the Conservative party's annual conference, Grieve warned that electoral fraud is found "where there are high levels of inhabitants from a community in which there is a tradition of electoral corruption in their home countries." Although in the past he apologised for singling out the British Pakistani community, Grieve said it was not about any one group. In July 2019, following the appointment of
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 ...
as
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, Grieve described Johnson as a "
charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through false pretenses, pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan ...
".


Removal of Conservative whip

On 3 September 2019, Grieve joined 20 other rebel Conservative MPs to vote against the Conservative government of Boris Johnson. The rebel MPs voted with the Opposition against a Conservative motion which subsequently failed; the successful vote allowed a debate on a Bill which would block a no-deal Brexit. Subsequently, all 21 were advised that they had lost the Conservative "whip", expelling them as Conservative MPs, requiring them to sit as independents. If they decided to run for re-election in a future election, the Party would block their selection as Conservative candidates. In October 2019, Grieve announced that he was planning to stand again in his seat as an independent. The Liberal Democrats decided not to contest the Beaconsfield constituency (giving Grieve an increased chance at defeating the Conservative candidate
Joy Morrissey Joyce Rebekah "Joy" Morrissey (''née'' Inboden, 30 January 1981) is an American-born British politician who has served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire since 2019. Morrissey achieved ministerial ...
). The deal was described at the time as "the first significant move towards the formation of a 'remain alliance' at the general election". He polled 16,765 votes (29%) losing the seat to Morrisey who polled 32,477 votes (56%), a majority of 15,712 on a 75% electoral turnout.


Brexit

Grieve was opposed to
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
before the 2016 referendum. In May 2017, prior to the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
and in support of the Conservative manifesto, Grieve stated on his website that "the decision of the electorate in the Referendum must be respected and that I should support a reasoned process to give effect to it". During the Brexit negotiation process, Grieve made a number of amendments against the Government's plans to leave the EU. The first was to give Parliament a "meaningful vote" over the Brexit agreement – i.e. to force a motion by Parliament to approve the Brexit agreement which would have a binding effect on the government. In December 2017, he tabled an amendment (Amendment 7) to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill requiring any Brexit deal to be enacted by statute, rather than implemented by government order. The amendment was opposed by the government, but was passed in Parliament. Another proposed amendment tabled on 12 June 2018 (Amendment 19), and again on 20 June, was designed to strengthen the binding effect of the meaningful vote, by requiring that the government follow the directions of a Parliamentary motion in the event that Parliament does not approve the withdrawal agreement put by the government. Grieve threatened to rebel but ultimately voted with the government against the amendment after verbal assurances from Prime Minister
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 ...
, presented as a compromise; the outcome was summarised by ''The Guardian'' as "Technically, MPs can still have a vote on the final deal – or no deal – but unless it is a vote of confidence, the government can ignore it." Grieve's 3rd amendment in December 2018 would mean Parliament would replace the Government in deciding the outcome of Brexit following a vote against the Government's proposed deal with the EU. On 24 July 2018, Grieve wrote a column for ''The Independent'' backing the online paper's final say petition, which calls for the British electorate to have a "final say on the Brexit deal". The petition was also backed by the leader of the
People's Vote People's Vote was a United Kingdom campaign group that unsuccessfully campaigned for a second referendum following the UK's Brexit vote to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016. The group was launched in April 2018 at which four Members of Pa ...
campaign, MP
Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British retired politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabinet from 2011 to ...
. Grieve stated that Brexit puts the Conservative Party's reputation for "economic competence" at risk. Grieve wrote that Theresa May risked a "polite rebellion" from pro-EU MPs and a "significant" number would support another referendum if there was no deal. This followed a claim that
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
rebels are prepared to "collapse the government" to block a "catastrophic" Brexit deal. Grieve was one of the signatories of a December 2018 statement by a group of senior Conservatives calling for a second referendum over Brexit. On 11 January 2019, during his speech to the convention for a second referendum, Grieve described Brexit as "national suicide". Shortly afterwards, he co-founded the group
Right to Vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
. He also declared that he would resign the whip if the Conservative Party elected
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 ...
as a successor to Theresa May or if the government took Britain out of the EU without a deal. On 9 January 2019, Grieve made a successful amendment to a government business motion; The amendment was controversial due to unusual means it was permitted by
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
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 ...
. "Conservatives are furious that Mr Bercow accepted the Grieve amendment, as parliamentary rules usually only allow a government minister to amend motions of this kind." "The new Grieve amendment, now passed by MPs, means that in the event the PM loses next week, the Commons will then have a chance to vote on alternative policies - everything from a "managed no-deal" to a further referendum, via a "Norway option" or a reheated version of the current deal, could be on the table... MPs claim Mr Bercow broke Commons rules and ignored the advice of his own clerks." Ultimately May's withdrawal deal was rejected and on 29 January 2019, Grieve's resulting amendment was defeated by the Government, supported by Labour rebels. The amendment would have "Forced the government to make time for MPs to discuss a range of alternatives to the prime minister's Brexit plan on six full days in the Commons before 26 March.... which could have included alternative Brexit options such as Labour's plan, a second referendum, no deal and the Norway-style relationship". On 29 March 2019 (the original planned date of Brexit), a
motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against Grieve was carried by his local party 182 votes to 131. At this, Grieve said he'll carry on 'exactly as before'. The motion triggers the first stage in the process of deselection. Grieve accused ex-UKIP opponent, Jon Conway, of 'insurgency', claiming Conway was behind the motion; a claim that Conway denied. Grieve has since been asked to apply for readoption by his local party. Grieve's proposal to block Government funding in order to enable MPs to have a vote on a No Deal Brexit was condemned by the Prime Minister Theresa May. Referencing Grieve's attempt to halt Government spending on pensions and schools, May stated "Any attempt to deny vital funding to Whitehall departments would be grossly irresponsible"; the pro-Brexit ''Telegraph'' newspaper condemned the actions as it "risks taking our politics to new extreme". The attempt was, in any case, blocked by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, and did not proceed to a vote. Grieve has been credited as a contributor to a Labour Party motion designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit, the plans were kept secret until their unveiling on 11 June 2019, when Conservative leadership candidates began their campaigns. If successful, it would have seen MPs taking over the Westminster timetable on 25 June 2019 with a view to enshrining legislation which would prevent the UK from leaving the EU without a deal. The motion was defeated by 309 votes to 298 the following day. Grieve said the motion was the "last sensible opportunity" to stop a no-deal Brexit. He added that in the future, if necessary, he would support efforts to bring down a Conservative government in a vote of no confidence if it was the only way to block such an outcome. Later in June 2019, Grieve successfully proposed amendments which sought to thwart no-deal Brexit
prorogation Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the peri ...
. Grieve's first amendment to the 2019 Northern Ireland bill, which was initially a simple one intended to delay elections and budgets for the long-suspended
Northern Ireland assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...
and executive, required a minister to report to the Commons every two weeks until December on the progress of talks on restoring the Northern Ireland assembly – though it remained unclear whether this could be done as a written report, meaning the chamber would not necessarily have to sit. This was later changed via another amendment in the Lords, tabled by David Anderson, with support from Labour and the Liberal Democrats. This said the fortnightly reports demanded by Grieve's amendments would have to be debated within five calendar days of being produced, thus necessitating that the Commons sits. When the bill returned to the Commons Grieve then added another tweak via a last-minute amendment, intending to increase the power to block prorogation even more. It specified that if ministers could not meet the obligation to update the Commons because it was prorogued or adjourned, parliament would have to meet on the day necessary to comply with the obligation and for the following five weekdays.


Personal life

He is a practising
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
and was a member of the
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
diocesan synod of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
for six years from 1994. He married barrister Caroline Hutton in October 1990 in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
. They have two sons. He lists his hobbies as "canoeing, boating on the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
at weekends, mountain climbing,
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
and fell walking,
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
, art and travel". He was a police station lay visitor for six years from 1990, and worked in
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
on various bodies set up to reconcile the different communities after the Brixton#Brixton riots, riots. Grieve is a Patron of Prisoners Abroad, a charity that supports the welfare of Britons imprisoned overseas and their families. In 2009, Grieve's wealth was estimated at £3.1 million. Grieve was criticised in 2008 for investments in multinational companies with significant projects in Zimbabwe.


Honours and Awards

* 9 June 2010: appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, giving him the honorific "The Right Honourable" for life. * 2016: Chevalier of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...
of the France, French Republic


References


External links

*
Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP
''official parliamentary profile''
Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP
''They Work For You profile'' * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grieve, Dominic 1956 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Westminster English King's Counsel Privy Council of England Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Councillors in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham English Anglicans English barristers Recipients of the Legion of Honour Living people Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle People educated at Colet Court People educated at Westminster School, London People from Lambeth Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association 21st-century King's Counsel UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 Advocates General for Northern Ireland