Michael Fabricant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Louis David Fabricant (born June 12, 1950) is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Lichfield.

Michael Fabricant was born in Brighton, the son of a rabbi, and attended the Brighton and Hove Grammar School. He then received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1973 at Loughborough University, and went on to study at the University of Sussex, where he was awarded a master's degree in systems and econometrics in 1974, and continued his studies at the University of Oxford and the University of London before receiving a PhD in economics in 1978 at the University of Southern California

He was appointed director of the International Broadcasting Electronics and Investment Group in 1979, remaining there until 1991, by which time his work had taken him to Moscow, the Netherlands, Uganda, Italy and Iceland. He unuccessfully contested the safe Labour stronghold of South Shields at the 1987 general election, coming in 13,851 votes behind victor David Clark. Fabricant was appointed the chairman of the Brighton Pavilion Conservative Association in 1990 and remained chairman until his election to Westminster.

Michael Fabricant was first elected at the 1992 General Election for Mid Staffordshire, regaining the seat for the Conservatives following Sylvia Heal's victory at the 1990 by-election. He took the seat with a majority of 6,236 and has remained a Member of Parliament since. He made his maiden speech on July 2, 1992 [1]. The Mid Staffordshire seat was abolished at the 1997 General Election, but Fabricant contested and won the Lichfield constituency, which partially replaced it, by just 238 votes. He has remained the Lichfield MP since, increasing his majority to 4,426 in 2001 and to 7,080 in 2005.

In Parliament, Fabricant joined the European Legislation Select Committee in 1992 on which he served until the 1997 General Election. He also joined the National Heritage Select Committee in 1993 and was a member of that committee until his appointment as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury Michael Jack in 1996. Following the Conservative defeat at the 1997 General Election, Fabricant joined the (renamed) Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee until moving to the Home Affairs Select Committee in 1999. He rejoined the Culture, Media and Sport committee following the 2001 General Election, and also at this time became the chairman of the Information Committee.

He moved up to the Opposition frontbench as a trade and industry spokesman under Michael Howard in 2003. Later in the year he was moved to the post of spokesman on economic affairs. He became an Opposition Whip following the 2005 General Election and remained in the position following the appointment of new leader David Cameron.

Fabricant was the 'political adviser' to the BBC series The Final Cut, the last of the House of Cards trilogy starring Ian Richardson the infamous machiavellian Prime Minister, Francis Urquhart. In the 'crossing the floor' speech scene from disgruntled Tom Makepeace (actor Paul Freeman), Fabricant can clearly be seen sitting next to Makepeace in a cameo.

Fabricant is easily recognisable in the Commons with his bright blond hair, which sketchwriters and fellow Members of Parliament have frequently suggested is a wig[1][2]. The former Cabinet Office Minister Ian McCartney once retorted "provided he doesn't mention my Glaswegian accent, I won't mention his wig."

Fabricant is fluent in French and German, and also speaks some Dutch and Russian.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ news.bbc.co.uk : Ken's Latest Challenge to Blair. Retrieved on January 25, 2007.
  2. ^ Hansard: Commons Hansard Debates for 23 January 2007. Retrieved on January 25, 2007.

[edit] See also

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sylvia Heal		 Member of Parliament for Mid Staffordshire
1992–1997		 Succeeded by
constituency abolished
Preceded by
new constituency		 Member of Parliament for Lichfield
1997 – present		 Incumbent
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/i/c/Michael_Fabricant_2efc.html"