Craig Whittaker

Craig Whittaker
Member of Parliament
for Calder Valley
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Christine McCafferty
Majority 6,431 (12.4%)
Personal details
Born Craig Whittaker
30 August 1962
Radcliffe, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Elaine Wilkinson
Children 3
Religion Mormon

Craig Whittaker (born 30 August 1962)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Calder Valley since the 2010 general election.[2]

Early life

Born in Radcliffe, Lancashire and educated at Belmont High School in New South Wales, Australia. He began his career in Australia with Pizza Hut as a restaurant manager from 1980-4, before transferring to the UK for a year with the same company. In 1985 he became a licencee with Liberty Taverns and with JW Lees in 1986. In 1988 he became Food Retail Director of Kezdem Ltd. In 1992 he joined Wilkinson Home and Garden Stores as a branch manager. In 1998 he became a retail general manager with PC World, remaining with the company until 2009.

Political Career

Whittaker was elected in 2003 to serve on Calderdale Borough Council for the Rastrick ward. He served as the cabinet member for children and young people during the period from 2007 to 2010. He stood down from the council in 2011. He was formerly (1998–2003) a member of Heptonstall Parish Council.[3] He served as the chairman of the Calder Valley Conservative Association, from 2005 to 2006.

Craig Whittaker served on the Education Select Committee in the 2010-2015 Parliament [4] He criticised the government's policy over transferring responsibility for careers advice to schools, describing it as a "bit of a pigs ear"[5]

Whittaker was one of 79 Conservative MPs who supported a 2011 rebel motion calling for a referendum on the EU[6] He also joined a 2013 rebel amendment expressing regret at not including the referendum in the government's plans[7]He subsequently backed the government's plans to hold a referendum in 2017 and opposed a proposal to hold in in 2014[8]

In May 2012, he argued against legalising same sex-marriage on the basis it could lead to successive governments supporting polygamy or "three way marriages".[9]


Personal Life

He has three children, Lee Whittaker, Sophie Whittaker and Bethannie Whittaker and lives in Rastrick with his wife businesswoman Elaine Wilkinson,[10] whom he married in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at the House of Commons in August 2011.[11]

The Crown Prosecution Service decided in March 2012 that there was "no case for further action" after Whittaker was arrester for reportedly assaulting his son at a petrol station.[12][13]

He is a Mormon. [14]

Funding and Expenses

Whittaker's registered members' interests are listed on the linked pages of Theyworkforyou.com, and constituency donations on Searchthemoney.com. Lord Ashcroft of Belize'[15] company, Bearwood Corporate Services Ltd (now Impellam Ventures),[16] contributed in £2,320.71 to the association several years ago.[17][18]

Controversies

The Spectator blog reported that House of Commons IP addresses had made multiple edits to Wikipedia to remove references to allegations against Craig Whittaker. Whittaker said that he had asked a staff member to remove a particular comment he considered to be "misleading and not correct".[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Craig Whittaker MP". BBC Democracy Live (BBC). Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Calder Valley". Election 2010 (BBC). 7 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Parliamentary biography". Parliament.uk. 2010-12-28. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
  4. ↑ "Craig Whittaker". Parliament UK. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Garner, Richard (7 January 2015). "MPs attack rise of ‘ill-equipped’ careers advisers in schools". Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rebel MPs: the full list". New Statesman. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "The 114 Tory rebels in EU protest vote". Daily Telegraph. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Craig Whittaker: Referendum on the UK's membership of the EU". Public Whip. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/calderdale/mp-craig-whittaker-says-i-don-t-to-gay-marriage-1-4542283
  10. ↑ Sam Casey Re-tyre-ment, The Hudderfield Daily, 2 April 2008
  11. ↑ MP’s marriage at Westminster, Halifax Courier, 5 August 2011
  12. ↑ Dina Rickman "Craig Whittaker, Tory MP, Arrested After Alleged Assault At Petrol Station", The Huffington Post, 21 March 2012
  13. ↑ Robert Sutcliffe "Yorkshire MP arrested over attack on son outside petrol station", Yorkshire Post, 1 February 2012
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-peer-who-bankrolls-tories-341762
  16. ↑ https://www.duedil.com/company/00709846/impellam-ventures-limited
  17. ↑ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-peer-who-bankrolls-tories-341762
  18. ↑ "The blue Baron: how the Tories rely on Ashcroft". The Independent (London). 31 October 2009.
  19. ↑ https://twitter.com/parliamentedits/status/552550041421115392
  20. ↑ http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/steerpike/2015/03/mystery-surrounds-tory-mps-wikipedia-page/

External links