| Gordon Henderson MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Sittingbourne and Sheppey |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Derek Wyatt |
| Majority | 12,383 (25.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 January 1948 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Children | three |
| Occupation | Operations Manager, Contracts Officer, Store Manager |
| Website | www.gordonhendersonmp.org.uk |
Gordon Henderson (born 27 January 1948) is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency in Kent, having won the seat at the since 2010 general election.
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Gordon left school at 16 and started work at Woolworths as a stockroom assistant in Chatham. Gordon advanced through the ranks of the company, becoming a senior store manager. Gordon left Wooworths in 1979 after 15 years with the company.
After Leaving Woolworths Gordon went through a range of jobs and ran his own restaurant in South Africa. Gordon was also a Senior Contracts Officer for GEC Marconi, a Rochester beased Wine Company. Before entering Parliament Gordon worked as a Operations Manager for an alcohol based gifts company, the largest in the UK.[3]
Gordon has a long-standing interest in politics. Gordon is a fully qualified Conservative Party political agent and was the constituency agent for Thanet North MP, Roger Gale. Gordon has served as Deputy Leader of Swale Borough Council twice and was also a Kent County Councillor, during which time he sat both on the Education Committee and the Kent Police Authority. In 2001 Gordon contested the seat of Luton South, Gordon was unsuccessful and lost by 10,000 votes. In 2005 Gordon contested Sittingbourne & Sheppey and came second by only 79 votes. In 2010 Gordon once again stood for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, this time Gordon received a 12,383 majority (50.5% of the vote) [4]
He is a supporter of the Better Off Out Campaign which calls for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. He has stated that the non-Conservative politician he most admires is Nigel Farage MEP, of UKIP.[5]
Gordon was born in the Medway towns in Kent. Gordon is married with 3 Children, and 7 Grand-children. Gordon has lived on the Isle of Sheppey for over 30 years now. Gordon is a long time supoorter of Gillingham F.C and Partick Thistle F.C. Gordon is a keen supporter of the Swale Arts Forum, for the past two years he has contributed to the annual arts bursary awarded to local artists. Gordon has been involved also in local voluntary work, as an instructor in the Army Cadet Force, as a director of the SWIM training centre (Sittingbourne) and as a school governor at Eastchurch Primary School (Sheppey) and the Cheyne Middle School (Sheppey). He is currently director of the Swale Community Action Project, in this capacity Gordon is involved in organising the Litter Angels competition, which involves local youngster designing an anti-litter poster or writing a short story about litter.[6]