Edward Davey

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Edward Jonathan "Ed" Davey (born 25 December 1965) a British Member of Parliament. He is the Liberal Democrat representative for Kingston and Surbiton and Chief of Staff to party leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

[edit] Early life

The son of a solicitor father and teacher mother,[1] Edward Davey was born in Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire.[2] His father died when Davey was just four years old, and his mother eleven years later, following which he was brought up by his mother's parents.[1] After attending senior school at Nottingham High School (as have other MPs - Kenneth Clarke, Geoff Hoon and Ed Balls to name but three), where he was head boy in 1984, he furthered his education at Jesus College, Oxford[2] where he was awarded a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1988.[1] Whilst at Oxford, he was also elected to the JCR presidency of Jesus College.[1]

As a teenager he worked in a pork pie factory and at Boots. In 1989, he became an economics researcher for the Liberal Democrats[2] (principally to Alan Beith,[1] the party's Treasury spokesman), whilst studying at Birkbeck College, London[2] for a master's degree (MSc) in Economics.[1] During that time he proposed making the Bank of England independent, a policy enacted by the Labour Party following their election in May 1997. In 1993, he took up the position of management consultant with Omega Partners until his election to Westminster.[2]

[edit] Parliamentary career

Edward Davey was elected to the House of Commons at his first attempt at the 1997 General Election where he defeated the sitting Conservative MP for the former constituency of Surbiton Richard Tracey with a majority of just 56 votes and has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on June 6, 1997, in which he gave his support for the setting up of the London Assembly, but against the idea of a directly elected Mayor of London, he also talked about the effects governmental cuts was having on the education delivery in the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames.[3] In parliament he was given a job immediately by Paddy Ashdown and became the party's spokesman on Treasury Affairs, adding the post of Whip in 1998, and a third job to hold as the spokesman on London from 2000. He entered the Charles Kennedy Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet following the 2001 General Election (at which he increased his majority to 15,676 over a former Conservative MP David Shaw), and became the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury until 2002 when he became the Liberal Democrat Shadow at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He was appointed Liberal Democrat Shadow Education and Skills Secretary in 2005 before becoming Liberal Democrats Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary in March 2006. In December 2006, he succeeded Norman Lamb as Chief of Staff to Sir Menzies Campbell, the party leader. Davey is Chair of the party's Campaigns and Communications Committee.[1]

Edward Davey was responsible for introducing the Liberal Democrat policy of penny on income tax to pay for education in 1997. He was one of the contributors to the Orange Book (2004).

In 1995, before his election as an MP, he won a Royal Humane Society bravery award and commendation from the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police for rescuing a woman who had fallen onto the train line in the face of on oncoming train at Clapham Junction station.[1] He speaks French, Spanish and German.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Liberal Democrats: Edward Davey MP, Kingston & Surbiton. Liberal Democrats. Retrieved on 2006-09-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e Guardian Unlimited Politics. Guardian Newspapers. Retrieved on 2006-09-04.
  3. ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (1997). House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 June 1997 (pt 14) (en). The Stationery Office Ltd. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] Publications

  • "Making MPs Work For Our Money: Reforming Parliament's Role In Budget Scrutiny" by Edward Davey, 2000, Centre for Reform, ISBN 1-902622-21-9
  • "The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism" by David Laws and Paul Marshall (contributions et al), 2004, Profile Books, ISBN 1-86197-797-2

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Richard Tracey		 Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton
1997 – present		 Incumbent
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