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

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ian Drury (12 March 2009). "Cameron: We'll quit pro-Europe alliance". Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  2. Jim Pickard (23 March 2009). "Christopher Beazley: The unhappy Tory MEP". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  3. "Going out with a bang". thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  4. "Prague Declaration: Selected signatories". Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  5. Respekt, 4 June 2008 Odsoudit komunismus jako nacismus

External links