Bob Neill

Biography

Neill attended Abbs Cross Technical High School, Abbs Cross Lane, Hornchurch. He took his law degree at the London School of Economics and in criminal law after graduating. He was later a councillor in the London Borough of Havering, served as Greater London Council member for Romford 1985–86. He previously stood for the Dagenham parliamentary constituency in 1983, at the age of 30, coming within 2,997 votes of winning the historically Labour seat from Bryan Gould MP. He refought the seat in 1987, but Gould defeated him again. He also stood for election in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 1994 and 1998.

Neill was first elected to the London Assembly in the 2000 assembly election, and served as the Conservative member for Bexley and Bromley from 2000 until 2008. He served as Leader of the Conservative Group on the Assembly from 2000 to 2002 and again from 2004.

Between January 2013 and March 2015 he also served as a substitute member on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. A pro-European, he supported former Conservative Chancellor Kenneth Clarke in both of his bids for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

He is a Freemason. Since April 2017, Neill has been a Bencher at the Middle Temple.

His ex-wife was a Southend Conservative Councillor and former Mayor, Daphne White. Neill said in a parliamentary debate that his election to Parliament allowed his wife to live "every Essex girl's dream: wake up in Kent". His 2017 election communication stated he has a partner, "Ann-Louise [who] teaches at a local school".

In a lawsuit filed on 21 December 2016 in the United States, Neill is alleged to be the basis for one of the central characters in Jacob M. Appel's best-selling novel, The Mask of Sanity.

Bromley and Chislehurst by-election

Following the death of Eric Forth in May 2006, on 3 June 2006 he was adopted as the Conservative candidate for the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election which took place on 29 June 2006. His selection by the local Conservative Association raised eyebrows, as new leader David Cameron had pressed for an "A-List" candidate, to help present Cameron's vision of the new Conservative Party. The Parliamentary constituency forms a part of Neill's London Assembly constituency. He stated at his selection that he would not resign his London Assembly seat as the resultant by-election, which would see around 400,000 voters go to the polls, would be unduly expensive.

A few questions were raised about Neill's position as a non-executive director of the North East London Strategic Health Authority, which fell foul of the House of Commons Disqualification Act of 1975. His response was that, because the body was due to be abolished before he would have had the chance to take his seat in Westminster, any such arguments were immaterial.

Neill won the by-election by just 633 votes, compared to the 13,342 majority achieved by his predecessor at the 2005 general election. Factors contributing to this were assumed by commentators to include a substantial drop in the turnout (down from 64.8 to 40.18%), with the drop disproportionally hitting the Conservative vote; the presence of a high-profile UKIP candidate, Nigel Farage – Labour ended up coming fourth, after UKIP; and a campaign by the Liberal Democrats that heavily focused on Neill personally. In his acceptance speech Neill criticised "a minority of candidates" (which was assumed to be specifically criticising the Liberal Democrat candidate) for their ad hominem attacks on him. These included statements regarding Neill's occupations outside his future parliamentary role (including the nickname "Three Jobs Bob") and the fact that, at that time, he did not live in the constituency, although he has now purchased a house there.

In parliament

In 2008 Neill was made Shadow Local Government Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and was assigned the shadow planning brief from January 2009. He was elected as MP for a second term in the May 2012 elections and worked as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government until September 2012, when he was named Vice Chairman of the Conservative party for Local Government.

Neill's approach to statistics and parliamentary privilege has been questioned by Dr Ben Goldacre. Neill claimed local government could save 20% from all services, based on a management consultant's estimate of how much could be saved from mobile phone bills.

On 10 June 2010 Neill answering questions in the House of Commons as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said, "Those in greatest need ultimately bear the burden of paying off the debt which this country has been left". The Opposition claimed that the north is taking far bigger cuts than the south and this was not challenged by Neill.

Neill was re-elected for a third term in May 2015, shortly after which he was elected as Chairman of Parliament’s Justice Select Committee. Following the General Election on 8 June 2017, he was returned to this role.

Neill was strongly opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.. On 7 February 2017, along with six other Conservative Members of Parliament, he defied the Party whip and voted in favour of New Clause 110 of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.

Expenses

As of 2008, Neill claims an allowance for a second home outside London, despite his constituency home being only 12 miles from Westminster. A spokesman said that his claims were "in accordance with the rules". He was returned to parliament in the United Kingdom general election, 2010.