Christopher Beazley
| Christopher Beazley | |
|---|---|
| Member of the European Parliament for East of England | |
| In office 10 June 1999 – 4 June 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Vicky Ford |
| Member of the European Parliament for Cornwall and Plymouth | |
| In office 14 June 1984 – 4 June 1994 | |
| Preceded by | David Harris |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 September 1952 Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex |
| Political party | Conservative Party, European People's Party |
| Relations | Son of Peter Beazley |
Christopher Beazley (born 5 September 1952 in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex) is a British politician for the Conservative Party, who served as a Member of the European Parliament 1984–1994 and 1999–2009.
Background
He is the son of Peter Beazley, and earned a BA in History at the University of Bristol in 1974. From 1974 to 1976, he worked at the Bank of England, then as a teacher 1976–1983 and as a research officer at the University of Sussex 1983–1984. He has since been a consultant and writer on European affairs.
Political career
From 1984 to 1994 he was the MEP for Cornwall and Plymouth, serving alongside his father Peter Beazley, who was the MEP for Bedfordshire South. From 1999 to 2009, he was the MEP for the East of England. He was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
He has been the Conservative spokesman on Culture and Education, Regional Development, Home Affairs and Justice, and Constitutional Affairs.
A centrist conservative, he has been vice-chairman of the Conservative Group for Europe, and has criticised the UK Conservative Party of leaving the European People's Party group.[1][2]
A few months before he left the European Parliament in 2009, he became a full member of the European People's Party, despite the UK Conservative Party's plans to withdraw from their parliament group, saying, "I cannot watch and say nothing while the Tories walk away from their allies, friends and colleagues in Europe."[3]
Positions
He is a signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.[4]
Quote
- Who would we join with? Some sort of mish-mash of mavericks who have no power at home domestically?, on the Conservative Party leaving the European People's Party.[1]
- "Europe is no more divided, but we are still divided by our experience."
–Christopher Beazley, Prague, June 2008, in his speech at the conference "Conscience of Europe and Communism" (Svědomí Evropy a komunismus) closing with the Prague Declaration (Pražská deklarace)[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ian Drury (12 March 2009). "Cameron: We'll quit pro-Europe alliance". Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
- ↑ Jim Pickard (23 March 2009). "Christopher Beazley: The unhappy Tory MEP". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
- ↑ "Going out with a bang". thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
- ↑ "Prague Declaration: Selected signatories". Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ↑ Respekt, 4 June 2008 Odsoudit komunismus jako nacismus