Alan Duncan
Encyclopedia
Alan James Carter Duncan (born 31 March 1957) is a British Conservative Party
politician. He is the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Rutland and Melton, and a Minister of State
in the Department for International Development
.
Duncan began his career in the oil industry with Royal Dutch Shell
, and was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1992 general election
. After several minor positions in the government of John Major
, he played a key role in William Hague
's successful bid for the Conservative leadership in 1997
. He received several promotions to the Conservative front bench until he eventually joined the Shadow Cabinet
after the 2005 general election
and stood for the Conservative leadership in 2005 but withdrew early on because of a lack of support. Eventual winner David Cameron
appointed him Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
in December 2005, the title of which was changed to Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in July 2007, now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
He is known as one of the most liberal and progressive MPs within the Conservative Party, and is a leading member of the Thatcherite
Conservative Way Forward
grouping. He is also well known as the first openly gay
Conservative Member of Parliament, having publicly come out
in 2002.
, Hertfordshire, the son of J.G. Duncan OBE
, an RAF wing commander
, and his wife Anne Duncan (née Carter), a teacher. The family travelled much, following Alan's father on NATO postings, including in Gibraltar
, Italy, and Norway.
s: Beechwood Park School
in Markyate
, and Merchant Taylors' School
in Northwood
, at both of which he was 'Head Monitor' (head boy). Whilst coming from a Liberal
family, and running (and losing) as a Liberal at a school mock election
in 1970, Duncan joined the Young Conservatives in 1972. Alan Duncan had two brothers, who also attended Beechwood Park School, Robin and Kevin. Robin was also Head Boy.
Duncan then attended St John's College
at the University of Oxford
, where he coxed
the college first eight
, and was elected President of the Oxford Union
in 1979. Whilst there, he formed a friendship with Benazir Bhutto
, and ran her successful campaign to become the President of the Oxford Union. He then went on to win a Kennedy Scholarship
to study at Harvard University
between 1981 and 1982.
(1979–1981) and from 1982 to 1988 for Marc Rich
, working in London and Singapore. From 1988 to 1992, Duncan was self-employed, acting as a consultant and adviser to foreign governments on oil supplies, shipping and refining. In 1989, Duncan set up the independent Harcourt Consultants, which advises on oil and gas matters. He made over a million pounds after profiting from the need to supply oil to Pakistan after Kuwait's supplies had been disrupted in the Gulf War
.
He has maintained his connections with the energy industry as an MP. In 2008 it emerged that Mr Duncan’s private office was being funded by donations from the chairman of Vitol
while Duncan was shadow business secretary with responsibility for Conservative energy policy. He later declared the funding in the register of MPs’ interests.
Conservative Association from 1979 until 1984, when he moved to live in Singapore
, from which he returned in 1986. After Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
resigned in November 1990, he offered his home in Westminster
as the headquarters of John Major
's leadership campaign.
candidate in the 1987 general election
, unsuccessfully contesting the safe
Labour
seat of Barnsley West and Penistone. For the 1992 general election
he was selected as the Conservative candidate for Rutland and Melton, a safe Conservative seat, which he won with 59% of the vote. In the Labour landslide of 1997
his share of the vote was cut back to 45.8% but has since increased to 48.1% in 2001
and 51.2% in 2005
.
From 1993 to 1995, Duncan sat on the Social Security Select Committee. His first governmental position was as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Minister of Health, a position he obtained in December 1993. He resigned from the position within a month after it emerged that he had used the right-to-buy programme to make profits on property deals. It emerged that he had lent his elderly next door neighbour money to buy his home under the right-to-buy legislation. The neighbour bought the 18th century council house
at a significant discount and sold it to Duncan just over three years later. Gyles Brandreth
describes this event in his diary as '...little Alan Duncan has fallen on his sword. He did it swiftly and with good grace.'
After returning to the backbenches, he became Chairman of the Conservative Backbench Constitutional Affairs Committee. He returned to government in July 1995, when he was again appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the Conservative Party
, Brian Mawhinney
. In November 1995, Duncan performed a citizen's arrest
on an Asylum Bill protester who threw paint and flour at Mawhinney on College Green
.
Duncan was a key player in the 1997 leadership contest
, being the right-hand man of William Hague
, the eventual winner. In this capacity, he was called 'the closest thing [the Conservatives] have to Peter Mandelson
'. Duncan and Hague had been at Oxford at the same time, both been Presidents of the Oxford Union, and had been close, both politically and personally, since at least the early 1980s.
When Michael Howard
became Conservative party leader in November 2003, Duncan became Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
, but as Howard had significantly reduced the size of the Shadow Cabinet
, Duncan was not promoted to the top table. This continued to be the case when he was moved to become Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
in September 2004. However, following the 2005 general election, the Shadow Cabinet was expanded to its original size once more, and Duncan joined it as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
.
He held this position for just seven months, becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 7 December 2005, after David Cameron's election to the party leadership the previous day. On 2 July 2007, he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, as new prime minister Gordon Brown
had abolished the Department of Trade and Industry the previous week, replacing it with the aforementioned new department. In January 2009 he became Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
.
, Duncan was rumoured to be planning a leadership campaign in the event that then-leader Michael Howard stepped down after a (then-likely and later actual) election defeat. On 10 June 2005, Duncan publicly declared his intention of standing in the 2005 leadership election
. However, on 18 July 2005, he withdrew from the race, admitting in The Guardian
that his withdrawal was due to a lack of 'active lieutenants', and urged the party to abandon those that he dubbed the 'Tory Taliban':
, Duncan was asked his opinion of Miss California USA 2009 Carrie Prejean
publicly opposing same-sex marriage
during the 2009 Miss USA pageant. Duncan replied, "If you read that Miss California has been murdered, you will know it was me, won't you?"
According to the Daily Mail
, The Metropolitan Police received a complaint regarding the comment. The BBC also reported receiving an unspecified number of complaints. In a statement published on 1 May 2009, the BBC stated:
Duncan later remarked: "I'm sure [Prejean is] very beautiful and that if we were to meet we would love each other. I have no plans to kill her. I'll send her a box of chocolates – unpoisoned."
, the Daily Telegraph reported that Duncan allegedly claimed more than £4,000 over a three year period in expenses for gardening costs until he agreed with the Commons Fees Office that such claims "could be considered excessive" and stopped. Duncan quickly responded by suggesting that the reports in the Telegraph were "misleading", and that all his claims were "legitimate and approved by the fees office".
On 15 May 2009, the satirical BBC programme Have I Got News For You
showed footage of Duncan's previous appearance on the show in which he boasted about his second home allowance, denied that he should pay any of the money back and stated it was "a great system". The show then cut to footage of David Cameron announcing that Duncan would return money to the fees office, followed by Duncan's personal apology, in which he called for the system to be changed.
Pranksters from online magazine and marketing company Don't Panic paid a visit to his constituency home where they planted flowers in the shape of a pound sign on his lawn and left a money tree. On 14 August, Duncan said (whilst being filmed without his knowledge by Don't Panic), that MPs, who are paid around £64,000 a year – within the top four percent of the population – were having, "to live on rations and are treated like shit. I spend my money on my garden and claim a tiny fraction on what is proper. And I could claim the whole lot, but I don't." These remarks attracted the attention of the press, and were criticised by commentators from all sides. Duncan apologised once more, and Cameron, though critical of Duncan's comments, denied that he would sack him from the Shadow Cabinet. Despite these assurances, on 7 September 2009, Duncan was "demoted" from the Shadow Cabinet, to become Shadow Minister for Prisons
, after he and Cameron came to an agreement that his position was untenable.
. The cable called for further intelligence on "Duncan's relationship with Conservative party leader David Cameron and William Hague
", and asked: "What role would Duncan play if the Conservatives form a government? What are Duncan's political ambitions?"
. Oil prices of $200 a barrel are “on the cards” if anyone is “reckless and foments unrest,” Duncan was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Duncan is a libertarian
. The Guardian has variously described him as 'economically libertarian' and 'socially libertarian'. He has been described as the 'liberal, urbane face of the Conservative Party'. He is a moderniser within the Conservative Party.
One of the chapters in his book Saturn's Children
is devoted to an explanation of his support for the legalisation of all drugs. However this chapter was removed when the paperback edition was published to prevent embarrassment to the Party leadership. The omitted chapter was available on Duncan's personal website; however, as of 2011 it no longer appears. He believes in minimising the size of government, and in Saturn’s Children advocated limiting government responsibility to essential services such as defence, policing and health. He has been described as a "staunch" Eurosceptic
.
He is on the council of the Conservative Way Forward
(CWF) group. He is one of the leading British members of Le Cercle
, a secretive foreign policy
discussion forum. In contrast with most members of both CWF and Le Cercle, who hold pro-Republican
Atlanticist
views, he actively supported John Kerry
in the US 2004 presidential election
. Duncan is friends with Kerry, having met him whilst at Harvard.
on 29 July 2002, although he has said that this came as no surprise to friends. Indeed, in an editorial published on the news of Duncan's coming out, The Daily Telegraph
reported, "The news that Alan Duncan is gay will come as a surprise only to those who have never met him. The bantam Tory frontbencher can hardly be accused of having hidden his homosexuality."
On 3 March 2008, it was announced in the Court & Social page of The Daily Telegraph that Duncan would be entering into a civil partnership with his partner James Dunseath, which would make him the first member of either the Cabinet or the Shadow Cabinet to enter into a civil partnership. The two were joined as civil partners on 24 July 2008.
Duncan has a committed following in the gay community and is active in speaking up for gay rights. He was responsible for formulating the Conservatives' policy response to the introduction of civil partnership legislation in 2004, which he considered his proudest achievement of the Parliament between 2001 and 2005. In 2007, Pink News
named him the 15th-most powerful LGBT person in the UK.
In April 2009, during the storm over Tony McNulty
's second home
allowance claims, he was reported to be one of sixty-five MPs to claim an expense on second homes whilst simultaneously receiving rental income from privately renting out other properties. Since 2001, he had claimed a total of £143,392 in second home allowance, despite owning two properties in Westminster
, one of which he rents out. Reacting to McNulty's expenses claims, he has argued for the abolition of the allowance, in conjunction with an increase in MPs' salaries.
and Saturn’s Children: How the State Devours Liberty, Prosperity and Virtue
[with Dominic Hobson], (Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995) ISBN 1-85619-605-4.
The latter book presents a detailed case regarding the history and consequences of government control over institutions and activities which were historically private, to the extent that many citizens assume that privately or communally developed municipal facilities and universities are creations of the state, and that prohibitions on drug use, sex, and personal defence have always existed.
: first appearing on 28 October 2005,
then 20 October 2006,
and again on 2 May 2008
and 24 April 2009.
His 2009 appearance sparked controversy due to a badly received ironic joke about murdering the latest Miss California
, who stated that she opposed same-sex marriages.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. He is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Rutland and Melton, and a Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
in the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
.
Duncan began his career in the oil industry with Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, and was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
. After several minor positions in the government of John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, he played a key role in William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
's successful bid for the Conservative leadership in 1997
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1997
A leadership election was triggered in the British Conservative Party when John Major resigned on 2 May 1997, following his party's defeat at the 1997 general election .-Announced:...
. He received several promotions to the Conservative front bench until he eventually joined the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
after the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
and stood for the Conservative leadership in 2005 but withdrew early on because of a lack of support. Eventual winner David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
appointed him Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. Its secondary title is the President of the Board of Trade...
in December 2005, the title of which was changed to Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in July 2007, now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
He is known as one of the most liberal and progressive MPs within the Conservative Party, and is a leading member of the Thatcherite
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
Conservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward is a British campaigning group that operates within the Conservative Party. It is a Thatcherite group in outlook and agenda, and Baroness Thatcher herself is the President....
grouping. He is also well known as the first openly gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
Conservative Member of Parliament, having publicly come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
in 2002.
Early life
Duncan was born in RickmansworthRickmansworth
Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles west of Watford.The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley regional park.Rickmansworth is a small town in...
, Hertfordshire, the son of J.G. Duncan OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, an RAF wing commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
, and his wife Anne Duncan (née Carter), a teacher. The family travelled much, following Alan's father on NATO postings, including in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Italy, and Norway.
Education
Alan Duncan was educated at two independent schoolIndependent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
s: Beechwood Park School
Beechwood Park School
Beechwood Park School, also familiarly referred to as "Beechwood", is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Hertfordshire in England, UK for reception to year 8. It is set on the site of an old Mansion house with extensions put in over the last 50 years including the junior...
in Markyate
Markyate
Markyate is a village and civil parish in north-west Hertfordshire close to the border with Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.-Geography:Having a number of former names, including Markyate Street and Mergyate, it has been a part of all three counties since it was first founded as the county...
, and Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
in Northwood
Northwood
Northwood is a suburban area in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.The population was recorded as 11,068 in 2008, by the Office for National Statistics.-Toponomy:...
, at both of which he was 'Head Monitor' (head boy). Whilst coming from a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
family, and running (and losing) as a Liberal at a school mock election
Mock election
A mock election is an election organized for educational or transformative purposes.- Mock election for educational purposes :...
in 1970, Duncan joined the Young Conservatives in 1972. Alan Duncan had two brothers, who also attended Beechwood Park School, Robin and Kevin. Robin was also Head Boy.
Duncan then attended St John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where he coxed
Coxswain (rowing)
In a crew, the coxswain is the member who sits in the stern facing the bow, steers the boat, and coordinates the power and rhythm of the rowers.- Role :The role of a coxswain within a crew is to:...
the college first eight
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, and was elected President of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
in 1979. Whilst there, he formed a friendship with Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, and ran her successful campaign to become the President of the Oxford Union. He then went on to win a Kennedy Scholarship
Kennedy Scholarship
Kennedy Scholarships provide full funding for six to eight British post-graduate students to study at either Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
to study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
between 1981 and 1982.
Business career
Upon graduation from Oxford, he worked as a trader of oil and refined products, first with Royal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
(1979–1981) and from 1982 to 1988 for Marc Rich
Marc Rich
Marc Rich is an international commodities trader and entrepreneur. He is best known for founding the commodities company Glencore. He was indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegally making oil deals with Iran during the late 1970s-early 1980s Iran hostage crisis and tax evasion...
, working in London and Singapore. From 1988 to 1992, Duncan was self-employed, acting as a consultant and adviser to foreign governments on oil supplies, shipping and refining. In 1989, Duncan set up the independent Harcourt Consultants, which advises on oil and gas matters. He made over a million pounds after profiting from the need to supply oil to Pakistan after Kuwait's supplies had been disrupted in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
.
He has maintained his connections with the energy industry as an MP. In 2008 it emerged that Mr Duncan’s private office was being funded by donations from the chairman of Vitol
Vitol
The Vitol group is an energy trading company founded in Rotterdam in 1966. Vitol operates worldwide and, along with Glencore and Trafigura, is one of the world's top three crude oil traders. Vitol's headquarters are located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Geneva, Switzerland...
while Duncan was shadow business secretary with responsibility for Conservative energy policy. He later declared the funding in the register of MPs’ interests.
Political career
Duncan was an active member of the BatterseaBattersea (UK Parliament constituency)
Battersea is a parliamentary constituency located in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.- Boundaries :The...
Conservative Association from 1979 until 1984, when he moved to live in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, from which he returned in 1986. After Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
resigned in November 1990, he offered his home in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
as the headquarters of John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
's leadership campaign.
Member of Parliament
Duncan first stood for Parliament as a ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate in the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, unsuccessfully contesting the safe
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
seat of Barnsley West and Penistone. For the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
he was selected as the Conservative candidate for Rutland and Melton, a safe Conservative seat, which he won with 59% of the vote. In the Labour landslide of 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
his share of the vote was cut back to 45.8% but has since increased to 48.1% in 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
and 51.2% in 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
.
From 1993 to 1995, Duncan sat on the Social Security Select Committee. His first governmental position was as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Minister of Health, a position he obtained in December 1993. He resigned from the position within a month after it emerged that he had used the right-to-buy programme to make profits on property deals. It emerged that he had lent his elderly next door neighbour money to buy his home under the right-to-buy legislation. The neighbour bought the 18th century council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
at a significant discount and sold it to Duncan just over three years later. Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
describes this event in his diary as '...little Alan Duncan has fallen on his sword. He did it swiftly and with good grace.'
After returning to the backbenches, he became Chairman of the Conservative Backbench Constitutional Affairs Committee. He returned to government in July 1995, when he was again appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the Conservative Party
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in power, the Chairman is usually a member of the Cabinet being given a sinecure position such as Minister without Portfolio...
, Brian Mawhinney
Brian Mawhinney
Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney PC is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 until 1997 and a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 2005.-Early life:...
. In November 1995, Duncan performed a citizen's arrest
Citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval Britain and the English common law, in which sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers.Despite the...
on an Asylum Bill protester who threw paint and flour at Mawhinney on College Green
College Green (London)
College Green in London is a small grass-covered public area diagonally opposite the Palace of Westminster at the corner of Millbank and Abingdon Street, and is a common place for TV reporters to interview Members of Parliament.-Location:...
.
Duncan was a key player in the 1997 leadership contest
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1997
A leadership election was triggered in the British Conservative Party when John Major resigned on 2 May 1997, following his party's defeat at the 1997 general election .-Announced:...
, being the right-hand man of William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, the eventual winner. In this capacity, he was called 'the closest thing [the Conservatives] have to Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
'. Duncan and Hague had been at Oxford at the same time, both been Presidents of the Oxford Union, and had been close, both politically and personally, since at least the early 1980s.
Front bench career
As a reward for his loyalty to Hague during the leadership contest, in June 1997, Duncan was entrusted with the positions of Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and Parliamentary Political Secretary to the Party Leader. In June 1998 he became Shadow Health Minister. In June 1999 he was made Shadow Trade and Industry spokesman. In September 2001 he was appointed a Front Bench Spokesman on Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.When Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
became Conservative party leader in November 2003, Duncan became Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
The Secretary of State for Justice is a senior position in the cabinet of the United Kingdom. It was created in 2007 replacing the abolished Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, which was originally intended to fulfil those functions of the office of Lord Chancellor which related to the...
, but as Howard had significantly reduced the size of the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
, Duncan was not promoted to the top table. This continued to be the case when he was moved to become Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Secretary of State for International Development
In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world...
in September 2004. However, following the 2005 general election, the Shadow Cabinet was expanded to its original size once more, and Duncan joined it as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
.
He held this position for just seven months, becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 7 December 2005, after David Cameron's election to the party leadership the previous day. On 2 July 2007, he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, as new prime minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
had abolished the Department of Trade and Industry the previous week, replacing it with the aforementioned new department. In January 2009 he became Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House in arranging Commons business and holding the Government to account in its overall management of the House...
.
Failed leadership bid
Before the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, Duncan was rumoured to be planning a leadership campaign in the event that then-leader Michael Howard stepped down after a (then-likely and later actual) election defeat. On 10 June 2005, Duncan publicly declared his intention of standing in the 2005 leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2005
The 2005 Conservative leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as leader in the near future. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted,...
. However, on 18 July 2005, he withdrew from the race, admitting in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that his withdrawal was due to a lack of 'active lieutenants', and urged the party to abandon those that he dubbed the 'Tory Taliban':
Comments on Miss California Carrie Prejean
On the 24 April 2009 edition of television programme Have I Got News For YouHave I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, Duncan was asked his opinion of Miss California USA 2009 Carrie Prejean
Carrie Prejean
Caroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller is an American model, author, former Miss California USA 2009 and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean received national attention in 2009 when she told a pageant judge that marriage should be between a man and a woman; pageant judge and gossip blogger...
publicly opposing same-sex marriage
Miss USA 2009 controversy
The Miss USA 2009 controversy centered around Miss California USA 2009 Carrie Prejean's answer to a question regarding same-sex marriage. During the ceremony, the five finalists were all asked about political issues such as how to fight domestic violence, whether or not to use taxpayer money to...
during the 2009 Miss USA pageant. Duncan replied, "If you read that Miss California has been murdered, you will know it was me, won't you?"
According to the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, The Metropolitan Police received a complaint regarding the comment. The BBC also reported receiving an unspecified number of complaints. In a statement published on 1 May 2009, the BBC stated:
We've received some complaints from viewers who were unhappy with Alan Duncan's comments about Miss California on Have I Got News For You, BBC One, Friday 24 April 2009.
Alan was not seriously suggesting Miss California should be killed. He was expressing his opinion on her views on gay marriage forcefully and in an exaggerated way for comic effect.
Duncan later remarked: "I'm sure [Prejean is] very beautiful and that if we were to meet we would love each other. I have no plans to kill her. I'll send her a box of chocolates – unpoisoned."
MPs' expenses 2009
As part of the British Parliamentary expenses scandalUnited Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
, the Daily Telegraph reported that Duncan allegedly claimed more than £4,000 over a three year period in expenses for gardening costs until he agreed with the Commons Fees Office that such claims "could be considered excessive" and stopped. Duncan quickly responded by suggesting that the reports in the Telegraph were "misleading", and that all his claims were "legitimate and approved by the fees office".
On 15 May 2009, the satirical BBC programme Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
showed footage of Duncan's previous appearance on the show in which he boasted about his second home allowance, denied that he should pay any of the money back and stated it was "a great system". The show then cut to footage of David Cameron announcing that Duncan would return money to the fees office, followed by Duncan's personal apology, in which he called for the system to be changed.
Pranksters from online magazine and marketing company Don't Panic paid a visit to his constituency home where they planted flowers in the shape of a pound sign on his lawn and left a money tree. On 14 August, Duncan said (whilst being filmed without his knowledge by Don't Panic), that MPs, who are paid around £64,000 a year – within the top four percent of the population – were having, "to live on rations and are treated like shit. I spend my money on my garden and claim a tiny fraction on what is proper. And I could claim the whole lot, but I don't." These remarks attracted the attention of the press, and were criticised by commentators from all sides. Duncan apologised once more, and Cameron, though critical of Duncan's comments, denied that he would sack him from the Shadow Cabinet. Despite these assurances, on 7 September 2009, Duncan was "demoted" from the Shadow Cabinet, to become Shadow Minister for Prisons
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, after he and Cameron came to an agreement that his position was untenable.
Wikileaks 2010
According to The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, American spies drew up a dossier on Duncan, compiling details of his relationships with leading Conservatives, including William HagueWilliam Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
. The cable called for further intelligence on "Duncan's relationship with Conservative party leader David Cameron and William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
", and asked: "What role would Duncan play if the Conservatives form a government? What are Duncan's political ambitions?"
Oil price
Oil prices could surge to as much as $250 a barrel if terrorists attack oil tankers and reserves in Libya and the Middle East, Duncan, a former oil trader, told The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. Oil prices of $200 a barrel are “on the cards” if anyone is “reckless and foments unrest,” Duncan was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Political views
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
. The Guardian has variously described him as 'economically libertarian' and 'socially libertarian'. He has been described as the 'liberal, urbane face of the Conservative Party'. He is a moderniser within the Conservative Party.
One of the chapters in his book Saturn's Children
Saturn's Children
Saturn’s Children: How the State Devours Liberty, Prosperity and Virtue is a political science book by Alan Duncan and Dominic Hobson. Its main thesis is that states expropriate private property, eliminate personal liberties, and undermine the material well-being of the people.Its title refers to...
is devoted to an explanation of his support for the legalisation of all drugs. However this chapter was removed when the paperback edition was published to prevent embarrassment to the Party leadership. The omitted chapter was available on Duncan's personal website; however, as of 2011 it no longer appears. He believes in minimising the size of government, and in Saturn’s Children advocated limiting government responsibility to essential services such as defence, policing and health. He has been described as a "staunch" Eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
.
He is on the council of the Conservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward is a British campaigning group that operates within the Conservative Party. It is a Thatcherite group in outlook and agenda, and Baroness Thatcher herself is the President....
(CWF) group. He is one of the leading British members of Le Cercle
Le Cercle
Le Cercle is a foreign policy think-tank specialising in international security. Set up after World War II, the group has members from twenty-five countries and meets at least bi-annually, in Washington, D.C....
, a secretive foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
discussion forum. In contrast with most members of both CWF and Le Cercle, who hold pro-Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Atlanticist
Atlanticism
Atlanticism is a philosophy of cooperation among Western European and North American nations regarding political, economic, and defense issues, with the purpose to maintain the security of the participating countries, and to protect the values that unite them: "democracy, individual liberty and...
views, he actively supported John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in the US 2004 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
. Duncan is friends with Kerry, having met him whilst at Harvard.
Personal life
Duncan was the first sitting Conservative MP voluntarily to acknowledge that he is gay; he did this in an interview with The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on 29 July 2002, although he has said that this came as no surprise to friends. Indeed, in an editorial published on the news of Duncan's coming out, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported, "The news that Alan Duncan is gay will come as a surprise only to those who have never met him. The bantam Tory frontbencher can hardly be accused of having hidden his homosexuality."
On 3 March 2008, it was announced in the Court & Social page of The Daily Telegraph that Duncan would be entering into a civil partnership with his partner James Dunseath, which would make him the first member of either the Cabinet or the Shadow Cabinet to enter into a civil partnership. The two were joined as civil partners on 24 July 2008.
Duncan has a committed following in the gay community and is active in speaking up for gay rights. He was responsible for formulating the Conservatives' policy response to the introduction of civil partnership legislation in 2004, which he considered his proudest achievement of the Parliament between 2001 and 2005. In 2007, Pink News
Pink News
Pink News is a United Kingdom-based online gay newspaper.The paper version, The Pink News, officially launched at the Law Society on 28 June 2006 by Francis Maude, Chairman of the Conservative Party, Meg Munn, Minister for Equality, Simon Hughes, President of the Liberal Democrats and Meg Hillier,...
named him the 15th-most powerful LGBT person in the UK.
In April 2009, during the storm over Tony McNulty
Tony McNulty
Anthony "Tony" James McNulty is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Harrow East from 1997 to 2010 and was a government minister from 2002 to 2009. He was Minister for London and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform at the Department for...
's second home
Second home
Second home may refer to:* Vacation property* Pied-à-terre* Second Home , an album by Marié Digby...
allowance claims, he was reported to be one of sixty-five MPs to claim an expense on second homes whilst simultaneously receiving rental income from privately renting out other properties. Since 2001, he had claimed a total of £143,392 in second home allowance, despite owning two properties in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, one of which he rents out. Reacting to McNulty's expenses claims, he has argued for the abolition of the allowance, in conjunction with an increase in MPs' salaries.
Books
He has written two books: An End To Illusions (Demos, 1993) ISBN 1-898309-05-1,and Saturn’s Children: How the State Devours Liberty, Prosperity and Virtue
Saturn's Children
Saturn’s Children: How the State Devours Liberty, Prosperity and Virtue is a political science book by Alan Duncan and Dominic Hobson. Its main thesis is that states expropriate private property, eliminate personal liberties, and undermine the material well-being of the people.Its title refers to...
[with Dominic Hobson], (Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995) ISBN 1-85619-605-4.
The latter book presents a detailed case regarding the history and consequences of government control over institutions and activities which were historically private, to the extent that many citizens assume that privately or communally developed municipal facilities and universities are creations of the state, and that prohibitions on drug use, sex, and personal defence have always existed.
Television
Duncan has appeared four times on the satirical news quiz Have I Got News For YouHave I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
: first appearing on 28 October 2005,
then 20 October 2006,
and again on 2 May 2008
and 24 April 2009.
His 2009 appearance sparked controversy due to a badly received ironic joke about murdering the latest Miss California
Carrie Prejean
Caroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller is an American model, author, former Miss California USA 2009 and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean received national attention in 2009 when she told a pageant judge that marriage should be between a man and a woman; pageant judge and gossip blogger...
, who stated that she opposed same-sex marriages.
External links
- Alan Duncan MP official constituency website
- Alan Duncan Profile at New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
Your Democracy