| David Evennett MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Nigel Beard |
| Majority | 10,344 (24%) |
| Member of Parliament for Erith and Crayford |
|
| In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | James Wellbeloved |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 June 1949 Romford, Essex, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Marilyn Smith |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Religion | Anglican |
David Anthony Evennett (born 3 June 1949, Romford) is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford.
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He was educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School and the London School of Economics where he was awarded an MSc in Economics. He began his career as a teacher at Ilford County High School, 1972-4 and resigned when he became a councillor for the London Borough of Redbridge (1974-8). From 1974 until 1981 he was also a marine insurance broker at Lloyd's.
He contested the safe Labour seat of Hackney South and Shoreditch but lost by 6,704 close votes to Ronald Brown.
He was elected as the Conservative MP for Erith and Crayford at the 1983 general election when he defeated James Wellbeloved who had defected from the Labour Party to the new Social Democratic Party in 1981. Evennett won the seat with a majority of 920 votes over Wellbeloved. He remained the MP until the seat was redrawn at the 1997 general election.
In parliament he joined the education and science select committee in 1986, and following the 1992 general election he was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Department for Education Emily Blatch. In 1993 be became the PPS to the Secretary of State for Wales John Redwood until 1995 when he was the PPS to the Home Office minister David Maclean, and then to Gillian Shephard to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in 1996, where he remained until he was defeated at the 1997 general election.
He contested the newly drawn Bexleyheath and Crayford seat but lost to Labour's Nigel Beard by 3,415 votes. He narrowly lost to Beard again at the 2001 general election but reduced his majority to 1,475. However he was re-elected to Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford at the 2005 general election, ousting Beard by 4,551 votes.
By winning back a seat which, albeit after boundary changes, he had lost in 1997, he became the only MP to have lost his seat in the Labour landslide of 1997, fought the same seat unsuccessfully in 2001 and then to have fought and won it back on the second attempt.
Following his re-election in 2005 he was a member of the Education and Skills Select Committee, and was appointed as an Opposition Whip by Michael Howard and remained a whip under the new leadership of David Cameron. In January 2009 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Skills in the Conservative Innovation, Universities and Skills team.
At the 2010 general election, he was returned with a majority of 10,344, and has been appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education.
He married Marilyn Smith in 1975 in Redbridge and they have two sons.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Wellbeloved |
Member of Parliament for Erith and Crayford 1983 – 1997 |
Succeeded by (constituency abolished) |
| Preceded by Nigel Beard |
Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford 2005–present |
Incumbent |