Christopher Pincher
Encyclopedia
Christopher John Pincher MP
(born 24 September 1969
in Walsall
) is a British Conservative
politician and Member of Parliament
for Tamworth
, winning the seat from Labour
at the 2010 general election.
, he ran for Parliament for the newly-created safe Labour
seat of Warley
, in Sandwell
; he came a distant second, with 24% of the vote.
Pincher was a member of Iain Duncan Smith
's successful campaign for the party leadership in 2001
. He failed to win election to Parliament for Tamworth in 2005
, gaining a 2.8% swing from Labour, but losing vote share to Veritas
and the UK Independence Party. Despite Brian Jenkins
clinging onto the seat, Pincher said he had won the arguments, after campaigning for more police and school discipline. He was re-selected to fight the seat at the next election.
While a candidate, he campaigned against the decision to close Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
, which had been earmarked for closure under Building Schools for the Future
, and called the 2009 decision to keep the school open a 'victory for people power'. He also successfully put pressure on Persimmon
to resume and complete construction of the half-built Tame Alloys Estate in Wilnecote
. In 2008, Pincher called for efforts to improve visibility at the site at an accident blackspot
in Hopwas
.
. In his first ten months as an MP, Pincher had the second-highest House of Commons attendance rate of the West Midlands
' 57 MPs, after James Morris
. In his first year, he spoke in 94 debates: top amongst Staffordshire
's eleven MPs.
Pincher has campaigned against the building of High Speed 2
, which is planned to run past the outskirts of Tamworth. He has defended residents from accusations they were 'Nimbies
' and has called the HS2 business case 'significantly flawed'. In December 2010, he said any route via Mile Oak or Hopwas
was 'just not acceptable'. Soon after, the route via Hopwas Ridge was rejected: a move welcomed by Pincher and campaigners.
He endorsed closer links with Latvia
after meeting Prime Minister
Valdis Dombrovskis
in January 2011. He has since met with the Latvian ambassador with a view to setting up an all-party parliamentary group
for Latvia.
He has opposed moving the clocks permanently forward an hour to Central European Time
.
After the 2011 AV referendum, he urged a continuation of the coalition government
He has lobbied in Parliament for the Olympic Torch to pass through Tamworth during the 2012 torch relay
. Tamworth lies between Birmingham
and Stoke-on-Trent
, which were both announced as stops in June 2011, making a journey through Tamworth a possibility.
Pincher has called for a full debate in Parliament on ensuring that mental health
services are given focus as part of £3bn increase in spending on the National Health Service
.
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,...
(born 24 September 1969
in Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
) is a British Conservative
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 and 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,...
for Tamworth
Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Tamworth is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
, winning the seat from 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...
at the 2010 general election.
Before Parliament
Pincher has been a member of the Conservative Party since 1987. In the 1997 general electionUnited 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...
, he ran for Parliament for the newly-created safe 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 Warley
Warley (UK Parliament constituency)
Warley is a borough constituency in the West Midlands represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, in Sandwell
Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...
; he came a distant second, with 24% of the vote.
Pincher was a member of Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
's successful campaign for the party leadership in 2001
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2001
The 2001 Conservative leadership election was held after the United Kingdom Conservative Party failed to make inroads into the Labour government's lead in the 2001 general election. Party leader William Hague resigned, and a leadership contest was called under new rules Hague had introduced...
. He failed to win election to Parliament for Tamworth 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....
, gaining a 2.8% swing from Labour, but losing vote share to Veritas
Veritas (political party)
Veritas is a political party in the United Kingdom, formed in February 2005 at Hinckley golf club by politician-celebrity Robert Kilroy-Silk following a split from the United Kingdom Independence Party . Kilroy-Silk served as party leader from formation, through the 2005 General Election, until...
and the UK Independence Party. Despite Brian Jenkins
Brian Jenkins (politician)
Brian David Jenkins is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Tamworth from 1997 until 2010, and has lived in the constituency for over 50 years...
clinging onto the seat, Pincher said he had won the arguments, after campaigning for more police and school discipline. He was re-selected to fight the seat at the next election.
While a candidate, he campaigned against the decision to close Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
I go to this school and when I joined it was not a very good school and the more popular school was the nearby Rawlett but now it has turned into an academy it has a higher standard of education and better behaviour. So I am really pleased. So keep going Qems...
, which had been earmarked for closure under Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future is the name of the previous UK Government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England. The program is very ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicians from all English political parties supportive of the principle but...
, and called the 2009 decision to keep the school open a 'victory for people power'. He also successfully put pressure on Persimmon
Persimmon plc
Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England, at a building called Persimmon House. The Company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE...
to resume and complete construction of the half-built Tame Alloys Estate in Wilnecote
Wilnecote
Wilnecote is an English housing district about 3 km south east of Tamworth, Staffordshire. It is one of the largest communities in the town....
. In 2008, Pincher called for efforts to improve visibility at the site at an accident blackspot
Accident blackspot
An accident blackspot is a term used in road safety management to denote a place where road traffic accidents have historically been concentrated...
in Hopwas
Hopwas
Hopwas is a village in Staffordshire, England. It lies just over west of Tamworth and east of Lichfield. It is situated where the A51 road crosses both the River Tame and the Coventry Canal...
.
Member of Parliament
He won election to Parliament at the 2010 election on a 9.5% swing: taking him to 45.8% of the vote and a majority of 6,090 or 13.1%, over 14-year incumbent Brian JenkinsBrian Jenkins (politician)
Brian David Jenkins is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Tamworth from 1997 until 2010, and has lived in the constituency for over 50 years...
. In his first ten months as an MP, Pincher had the second-highest House of Commons attendance rate of the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
' 57 MPs, after James Morris
James Morris (British politician)
James George Morris is a Conservative Party politician in England. He is the Member of Parliament for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, having won the Labour-held seat at the 2010 general election with a majority of 2,023 over the Labour Party candidate...
. In his first year, he spoke in 94 debates: top amongst Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
's eleven MPs.
Pincher has campaigned against the building of High Speed 2
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
, which is planned to run past the outskirts of Tamworth. He has defended residents from accusations they were 'Nimbies
NIMBY
NIMBY or Nimby is an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard". The term is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies...
' and has called the HS2 business case 'significantly flawed'. In December 2010, he said any route via Mile Oak or Hopwas
Hopwas
Hopwas is a village in Staffordshire, England. It lies just over west of Tamworth and east of Lichfield. It is situated where the A51 road crosses both the River Tame and the Coventry Canal...
was 'just not acceptable'. Soon after, the route via Hopwas Ridge was rejected: a move welcomed by Pincher and campaigners.
He endorsed closer links with Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
after meeting Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Latvia
The Prime Minister of Latvia is the most powerful member of the Government of the Republic of Latvia, and presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers...
Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis is the Prime Minister of Latvia. He previously served as Latvia's Minister of Finance and as a Member of the European Parliament for the New Era Party.-Education and science career:...
in January 2011. He has since met with the Latvian ambassador with a view to setting up an all-party parliamentary group
All-Party Parliamentary Group
An all-party parliamentary group is a grouping in the UK parliament that is composed of politicians from all political parties.-All-party parliamentary groups:...
for Latvia.
He has opposed moving the clocks permanently forward an hour to Central European Time
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
.
After the 2011 AV referendum, he urged a continuation of the coalition government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
He has lobbied in Parliament for the Olympic Torch to pass through Tamworth during the 2012 torch relay
2012 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay will be run from 19 May 2012 until 27 July 2012, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics. Plans for the relay have been further developed in 2010/11, with the torch bearer selection process announced on 18 May 2011....
. Tamworth lies between Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, which were both announced as stops in June 2011, making a journey through Tamworth a possibility.
Pincher has called for a full debate in Parliament on ensuring that mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
services are given focus as part of £3bn increase in spending on the National Health Service
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
.
External links
- Pincher's Facebook page
- Pincher on TheyWorkForYou.com
- Pincher on Conservative Party site