Nick Harvey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nick Harvey

Nicholas Barton "Nick" Harvey (born August 3, 1961) is a British politician. He is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for North Devon.

Nick Harvey was born in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire and was educated at the Queen's College in Taunton and the Middlesex Poytechnic at Enfield where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in business studies in 1983, he also served as the president of the students' union in 1981. He joined Profil PR Ltd in 1984 as a communications and marketing executive, before being appointed by public relations firm Dewe Rogerson as a marketing executive in 1986. He worked as a communications consultant from 1991 until his election to Parliament.

He was elected as the vice chairman of the Union of Liberal Students for a year in 1981. He unsuccessfully contested the London Borough of Enfield seat of Enfield Southgate at the 1987 General Election. He finished in second place some 18,345 votes behind the then Government Whip Michael Portillo. He was elected to the House of Commons for Devon North at the 1992 General Election by defeating the Conservative MP Antony Speller who had ended the parliamentary career of former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe in the same seat at the 1979 General Election. Harvey won the seat with a majority of just 794, but has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on May 11, 1992.[1]

He was made a spokesman on transport in 1992 by Paddy Ashdown, before being moved to speak on trade and industry in 1994. He became the spokesman of constitutional affairs following the 1997 General Election. He became a member the shadow cabinet under Charles Kennedy in 1999 when he became the party's shadow Secretary of State for Health. After the 2001 General Election he became the Liberal Democrat shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport until he stood down in 2003 to spend more time with his young family. He has been a member of both the home affairs select committee and the standards and privileges committee since the 2005 General Election. He is the vice chairman of the all party group on beer.

He is married to Kate and they have a son and a daughter. He was the only Liberal Democat MP to vote against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and caused concern in 2005 for saying that HIV could be transmitted through combs.[2] He was a critic of Liberal Democratic leader Charles Kennedy, having called into question his "political direction" and "leadership skills". [3] He returned to the Frontbench as Liberal Democrats Shadow Defence Secretary under Kennedy's successor, Sir Menzies Campbell.