Early life

He attended Chelmsford Technical High School. He studied Electronics at the University of Bradford

University of Bradford

The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...

, then an HNC in Electronics at Mid-Essex Technical College. He was a student apprentice at Marconi in Chelmsford from 1965-8. From 1968-9, he was a Work Study Engineer. From 1969-70, he was a Method Study Engineer at Pye Unicam. From 1970-2, he was a Work Study Officer at Sainsbury's. He was a Work Study Manager at BEPI (part of the Pye Group) from 1972-3. From 1973-5, he was a Producer Manager at Sinclair.

Parliamentary career

He served as Conservative Party

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...

 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 South Dorset from 1987 until 2001, when he was defeated in the 2001 general election

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...

. In 1997 he won the seat with a majority of 77 votes.

He was fifth of six in the Conservative Party's list for the Yorkshire and the Humber

Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency)

Yorkshire and the Humber is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...

 region in the 2004 European Parliament election

European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)

The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and London elections.The Conservative Party...

, but was not elected.

Personal life

He married Hazel in 1969. His wife is now a local 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:...

 on the Weymouth and Portland

Weymouth and Portland

Weymouth and Portland is a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consists of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill, Chiswell, Castletown, Fortuneswell, Radipole, Nottington,...

 Borough Council.

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