Michael St John Trend,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 19 April 1952) is a British former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician and journalist who was a member of parliament from 1992 to 2005, when he stood down after an expenses scandal.

Early life

He is the son of Lord Trend, the former Cabinet Secretary. He attended the independent

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, then went to

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

where he gained an MA in Modern History. He became a journalist for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', ''

History Today ''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...

'' and ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. He was chief leader writer for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' from 1990 to 1992.

Parliamentary career

He was elected at the 1992 General Election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a unitary authority area with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead (where the council is based) and Windsor. The borough also ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. When that constituency was abolished for the 1997 Election, he was returned for the new constituency of Windsor. Trend was a frontbench spokesman and Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of the Conservative Party until 2000. He was Chairman of the party's International Office until September 2005, and has done extensive democracy building work in much of the former Soviet Union, and also in Africa.

Fraudulent expenses claim

In December 2002, Trend agreed to repay £90,000 to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

, after accepting that he wrongly claimed the money as an allowance. In February 2003, Trend was found guilty of abusing the allowances system, and ordered to repay £90,277. He was briefly suspended from Parliament, and did not stand again at the following election. Trend claimed he "believed that I could properly continue to designate London as 'home' for the purposes of ACA, even though, in domestic terms, Windsor had become my 'main residence'." It was not accepted. There was no doubt in the Standard's Committee's minds that there was no "real scope for doubt that the words 'main residence' were intended to have other than their natural meaning." The Committee ruled that: "Mr Trend should have recognised that, by claiming Additional Costs Allowance in relation to his Windsor home, the taxpayer was meeting some of the core running costs of what was in reality his main residence. He should have realised that this was wrong". "Accordingly, we agree with the Commissioner that Mr Trend was negligent, and has breached the Code of Conduct by making improper use of the Additional Costs Allowance, and by failing strictly to observe the administrative rules relating to the Allowance."House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee, Third Report of Session 2002/3. 12 February 2003.

Personal life

He has written extensively about music. He married Jill Kershaw in February 1987, in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. They have a son and two daughters. For many years, he was the organist of his local church.

References

External links

They Work For You

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trend, Michael 1952 births Living people 20th-century British journalists 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British organists British male organists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English male journalists English organists Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Windsor People educated at Westminster School, London Sons of life peers The Daily Telegraph people The Spectator people UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005