Edward Leigh
Encyclopedia
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British
Conservative
politician
. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament
for Gainsborough
in Lincolnshire
since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle
between 1983 and 1997. He served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee since 2001, but stepped down at the end of the parliamentary session in 2010 as it is customary for a member of the opposition party to hold this post.
Apart from being dubbed "the Viscount
" upon his arrival in the Commons, in allusion to his landed gentry
background, he also gained a reputation owing to his staunch opposition to abortion
, contraception
and genetic
research, for his support of capital punishment and for his defence of Section 28
, which made Local Authorities
not allowed to "promote the teaching in any maintained-school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".
These strongly held beliefs derive from his Roman Catholic upbringing. Leigh himself was an opponent of the Civil Partnership Act 2004
and voted against it in Parliament at its Second Reading. Once passed, Leigh proposed an amendment to the Act to extend the property and pension rights afforded by civil partnerships to siblings who had lived together for more than 12 years.
This was opposed by many backers of the initial Bill, such as frontbench Conservative MP Alan Duncan
, who considered it a wrecking amendment
.
A veteran bankbencher, Leigh was encouraged to challenge for the Speakership of the House of Commons, and after the 2010 General Election for one of the Deputy Speakerships
, but chose not to pursue this ambition for the time being since parliamentary convention precludes members of the governing party being elected to such high office, unless already in situ
. He speaks regularly in the House, mostly on ecclesiastical and economic matters about which he has considerable knowledge; he has spoken in support of George Osborne
's Sovereign Grant Bill
, saying "It will be tough for the Royal Household, there's no doubt about that... That's what we're about, we're about accountability. And I think they've got absolutely nothing to fear."
, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
(the French School in London), before going up to University College, Durham
where he read History
(BA
) and was elected President of the Durham Union Society
. Before entering politics, he qualified as a barrister
at the Inner Temple
, and practised in arbitration
and criminal law
as a member of Goldsmiths Chambers
. He is a Fellow
of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
. Leigh was elected a member of Richmond Borough Council
and thereafter of the Greater London Council
, serving as Councillor
between 1974 and 1981.
Edward Leigh is a son of the late Sir
Neville Leigh KCVO
, a former Clerk to the Privy Council
, of the West Hall, High Legh
family, and a nephew of Princess Nikolai Galitzine
. He has six children (sons Benedict, Nicholas, Theodore, born 1988, 1994 and 1997, and daughters Natalia, Tamara and Marina, born 1985, 1987 and 1990) by his wife, Mary Goodman, a grandniece of George, Duke of Mecklenburg and a great grand daughter of Lady Ottoline Morrell
, whom he married in London
on 25 September 1984.
, Leigh and a colleague, the former MP
Michael Brown
, went to 10 Downing Street
on the morning of Thatcher's resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
to try to persuade her to carry on. Although Charles Powell
advised them it was a forlorn task, they were nonetheless granted access to the Cabinet
which was in process at the time. Leigh and Brown departed Number 10 and walked down Whitehall
back to the House of Commons reputedly with "tears in their eyes". After Thatcher resigned, in the ensuing leadership election, Leigh supported Michael (now Lord) Heseltine
, after asserting that Heseltine had "stabbed" Thatcher in the front, not in the back.
Leigh served as a Minister in John Major
's Government but was sacked in May 1993 over the stance he took opposing the Maastricht Treaty
. Whilst in office at the DTI he was a keen advocate of privatisation of the Post Office
, a debate which is still ongoing. In the following Conservative leadership election
, Leigh supported John Redwood
.
In October 2006, Leigh was vocal in stating that after David Cameron
had become Leader of his Party core supporters were drifting away from voting Conservative. Nonetheless, despite being on the losing side in successive party leadership elections, his appointment as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee led to the rejuvenation of his parliamentary career.
Early in 2008, as Chairman of the PAC, he was embarrassed by relying on flawed Department for Transport
statistics to attack motorcyclists for tax evasion
. He accused 38% of motorcyclists of evading vehicle excise duty
. He later apologised for this following the admission by the Department for Transport
that 95.5% of motorcycles are entirely legal.
Leigh is President of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group
, which represents the views of over 40 Conservative Members of Parliament. Cornerstone members regularly blog about political and social issues on its website and now recognise that the Conservative Party has regained credibility to govern. At the end of 2010 Leigh was offered but declined the British
Ambassadorship to the Holy See
. Leigh also supports Boris Johnson
's call to George Osborne
for lowering the rate of taxation in the UK
in order to assist its economic recovery following the Credit crunch
. Leigh, a qualified barrister, opposes further human rights legislation, as proposed by the European Court of Human Rights
George III
. Since her husband is a Roman Catholic, however, she has renounced her (very distant) rights in the line of succession to the British throne
.
|-
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He has sat in the House of Commons as 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,...
for Gainsborough
Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Gainsborough is a county 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....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle
Gainsborough and Horncastle (UK Parliament constituency)
Gainsborough and Horncastle is a former county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was called Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
between 1983 and 1997. He served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee since 2001, but stepped down at the end of the parliamentary session in 2010 as it is customary for a member of the opposition party to hold this post.
Apart from being dubbed "the Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
" upon his arrival in the Commons, in allusion to his landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
background, he also gained a reputation owing to his staunch opposition to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
and genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
research, for his support of capital punishment and for his defence of Section 28
Section 28
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
, which made Local Authorities
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
not allowed to "promote the teaching in any maintained-school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".
These strongly held beliefs derive from his Roman Catholic upbringing. Leigh himself was an opponent of the Civil Partnership Act 2004
Civil Partnership Act 2004
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was introduced by the Labour government and supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition. The Act grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom with rights and...
and voted against it in Parliament at its Second Reading. Once passed, Leigh proposed an amendment to the Act to extend the property and pension rights afforded by civil partnerships to siblings who had lived together for more than 12 years.
This was opposed by many backers of the initial Bill, such as frontbench Conservative MP Alan Duncan
Alan Duncan
Alan James Carter Duncan is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, and a Minister of State in the Department for International Development....
, who considered it a wrecking amendment
Wrecking amendment
In legislative debate, a wrecking amendment is an amendment made by a legislator who disagrees with the principles of a bill and who seeks to make it useless rather than directly opposing the bill by simply voting...
.
A veteran bankbencher, Leigh was encouraged to challenge for the Speakership of the House of Commons, and after the 2010 General Election for one of the Deputy Speakerships
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
, but chose not to pursue this ambition for the time being since parliamentary convention precludes members of the governing party being elected to such high office, unless already in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
. He speaks regularly in the House, mostly on ecclesiastical and economic matters about which he has considerable knowledge; he has spoken in support of George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
's Sovereign Grant Bill
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, saying "It will be tough for the Royal Household, there's no doubt about that... That's what we're about, we're about accountability. And I think they've got absolutely nothing to fear."
Early life
He was educated at The Oratory SchoolThe Oratory School
The Oratory School is a Roman Catholic, independent school for boys in Woodcote, Berkshire. It is the last Catholic all-boys boarding school remaining in Great Britain. It has approximately 420 pupils...
, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle is a large French primary and secondary school situated in South Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London...
(the French School in London), before going up to University College, Durham
University College, Durham
University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centred around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 and is the oldest of Durham's colleges. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is, independently of the University, a listed body...
where he read History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
(BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
) and was elected President of the Durham Union Society
Durham Union Society
The Durham Union Society is a debating society founded in 1842 by the students of the Durham University. Commonly referred to as the "DUS" or "The Durham Union", it is the university's largest society with over 3,000 members...
. Before entering politics, he qualified as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, and practised in arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
and criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
as a member of Goldsmiths Chambers
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:Places*In Canada:**Chambers Township, Ontario*In the United States:**Chambers County, Alabama**Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County**Chambers, Nebraska**Chambers Township, Holt County, Nebraska...
. He is a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators is a London based membership organisation for arbitrators for the promotion and facilitation of dispute resolution...
. Leigh was elected a member of Richmond Borough Council
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
and thereafter of the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
, serving as Councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
between 1974 and 1981.
Edward Leigh is a son of the late Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Neville Leigh KCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, a former Clerk to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, of the West Hall, High Legh
High Legh
High Legh is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies six miles north west of Knutsford, seven miles east of Warrington and seventeen miles south west of Manchester City Centre....
family, and a nephew of Princess Nikolai Galitzine
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
. He has six children (sons Benedict, Nicholas, Theodore, born 1988, 1994 and 1997, and daughters Natalia, Tamara and Marina, born 1985, 1987 and 1990) by his wife, Mary Goodman, a grandniece of George, Duke of Mecklenburg and a great grand daughter of Lady Ottoline Morrell
Lady Ottoline Morrell
The Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell was an English aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers such as Aldous Huxley, Siegfried Sassoon, T. S. Eliot and D. H...
, whom he married in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 25 September 1984.
Career
A strong supporter of Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Leigh and a colleague, the former MP
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,...
Michael Brown
Michael Brown (UK politician)
Michael Russell Brown is a British former Conservative Party politician and is now a newspaper and broadcast political journalist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1997.-Biography:...
, went to 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
on the morning of Thatcher's resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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...
to try to persuade her to carry on. Although Charles Powell
Charles Powell
Charles Edwin Powell is an American actor, known for his roles as himself on Popular Mechanics for Kids and as President Harold Bates on 15/Love.-Biography:...
advised them it was a forlorn task, they were nonetheless granted access to the Cabinet
The Cabinet
The Cabinet was a heel professional wrestling stable that was part of World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. It was created by John "Bradshaw" Layfield shortly after he won the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash in 2004....
which was in process at the time. Leigh and Brown departed Number 10 and walked down Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
back to the House of Commons reputedly with "tears in their eyes". After Thatcher resigned, in the ensuing leadership election, Leigh supported Michael (now Lord) Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
, after asserting that Heseltine had "stabbed" Thatcher in the front, not in the back.
Leigh served as a Minister in 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 Government but was sacked in May 1993 over the stance he took opposing the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
. Whilst in office at the DTI he was a keen advocate of privatisation of the Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, a debate which is still ongoing. In the following Conservative leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1995
The 1995 Conservative leadership election was initiated when incumbent leader and Prime Minister John Major resigned as leader on 22 June 1995, in order to face down critics within his party...
, Leigh supported John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...
.
In October 2006, Leigh was vocal in stating that after 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 ....
had become Leader of his Party core supporters were drifting away from voting Conservative. Nonetheless, despite being on the losing side in successive party leadership elections, his appointment as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee led to the rejuvenation of his parliamentary career.
Early in 2008, as Chairman of the PAC, he was embarrassed by relying on flawed Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
statistics to attack motorcyclists for tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
. He accused 38% of motorcyclists of evading vehicle excise duty
Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle Excise Duty is a vehicle road use tax levied as an excise duty which must be paid for most types of vehicle which are to be used on the public roads in the United Kingdom...
. He later apologised for this following the admission by the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
that 95.5% of motorcycles are entirely legal.
Leigh is President of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group
Cornerstone Group
The Cornerstone Group is a socially conservative or traditional conservative political organisation within the British Conservative Party. The group emphasises traditional values, exemplified by the motto: Faith, Flag, and Family. It consists of Members of Parliament with a traditionalist stance,...
, which represents the views of over 40 Conservative Members of Parliament. Cornerstone members regularly blog about political and social issues on its website and now recognise that the Conservative Party has regained credibility to govern. At the end of 2010 Leigh was offered but declined the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Ambassadorship to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. Leigh also supports Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
's call to George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
for lowering the rate of taxation in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in order to assist its economic recovery following the Credit crunch
Credit crunch
A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates...
. Leigh, a qualified barrister, opposes further human rights legislation, as proposed by the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
Personal life
Leigh's wife Mary is descended from Princess Augusta of Great Britain, a sister of KingKing
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. Since her husband is a Roman Catholic, however, she has renounced her (very distant) rights in the line of succession to the British throne
Line of succession to the British Throne
The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...
.
External links
- Edward Leigh MP's official site
- Dods
- Debrett's People of Today
- Edward Leigh MP's biography at the site of the Conservative Party
- Public Accounts Committee
- ePolitix.com - Edward Leigh
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Edward Leigh MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Edward Leigh MP
- The Public Whip - Edward Leigh MP voting record
- BBC News - Edward Leigh profile, 15 February 2005
- Guardian writer Michael White hailing Leigh's redemption - 2007
- Interview with Edward Leigh November 2007
- Nicholas Cecil, London Evening Standard Chief Political Correspondent, writing about Edward Leigh and the Speakership of the House of Commons - 2010
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