John Mark Taylor (19 August 1941 – 28 May 2017) was a British solicitor and

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 i ...

politician who served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(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 Blythe i ...

from 1983 to 2005, when he lost his seat to

Lorely Burt Lorely Jane Burt, Baroness Burt of Solihull (born 10 September 1954) is a British politician, who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Solihull from 2005 to 2015. She was nominated for a life peerage in the 2015 Dissolution Honou ...

of the Liberal Democrats by a margin of 279 votes in the 2005 general election. He had previously been a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) and leader of

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1 ...

. He was first elected to the

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in 1983, and served as a junior minister under

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

Early life

He went to the independent

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmaste ...

and the

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

. He was a senior partner in John Taylor & Co. solicitors. He began his career in the Solihull County Borough Council in 1971, then went on to the West Midlands Metropolitan County Council in 1973. He became Leader of the Opposition in 1975, Leader of the Council in 1977 and deputy chairman of the

Association of Metropolitan Authorities The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

in 1978.

Parliamentary career

He contested Dudley East in February and October 1974. Taylor was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

for Midlands East in 1979, and served as the Conservatives' European Spokesman on the Community Budget from 1979 to 1981. He was deputy chairman of the Conservative Group in the European Parliament from 1981 to 1982. Elected as MP for Solihull in 1983, he held the seat for the subsequent four general elections. He became secretary of the Conservative Back Bench Committee on European Affairs in 1983, member of the Select Committee on the Environment from 1983 to 1987, as well as vice chairman of the Conservative Back Bench Committee on Sport. He served as an assistant government whip from 1988 to 1989, a Lord Commissioner of

Her Majesty's Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

from 1989 to 1990 and Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1995, Taylor was Parliamentary Secretary at the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

's Department, a

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...

at the Department of Trade and Industry from 1995 to 1997, and then a delegate Member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

and vice-chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Committees on Trade and Industry and Legal Affairs. He served in the Conservative Whips Office from 1997 to 1999, and became a Shadow Minister for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1999. He narrowly lost his Solihull seat to the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

in a surprise result in the May 2005 general election.

Death

Taylor died in

on 28 May 2017 at the age of 75.

References

External links

*
They Work For You

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John 1941 births 2017 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the West Midlands (county) UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 People educated at Bromsgrove School People from Solihull Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984