Preceded by Nicholas Ridley Children Jacqueline, Edward Party Conservative Party Political party Conservative Role British Politician | Nationality British Name Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Majority 12,864 (23.5%) Residence Gloucestershire | |
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Born 23 March 1953 (age 71)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England ( 1953-03-23 ) Education Royal Agricultural University, Eton College | ||
Geoffrey Robert Clifton-Brown (born 23 March 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician and comes from a family with a history of parliamentary service. He is the Member of Parliament for the United Kingdom constituency of The Cotswolds, Vice-President of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists, as well as the Chairman of the International Office. Clifton-Brown has interests in wildlife conservation, also country living and has been the managing director of a farming company since 1979. He is also a Freeman of the City of London.
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Early career
Clifton-Brown, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Clifton-Brown, was born in Cambridge. Clifton-Brown was educated at Tormore School, in Upper Deal, Kent and then Eton College, before attending the Royal Agricultural College where he qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1975. He began his career as a graduate estate surveyor at the Property Services Agency in Dorchester and, later in 1975, became an investment surveyor with Jones Lang Wootton. He became the vice chairman of the Norfolk North Conservative Association in 1984. He was elected as Constituency Chairman in 1986, a position he held until he resigned in 1991 in order to stand for election as a Conservative candidate.
Parliamentary career
During 1991, Clifton-Brown was selected as the candidate for the then Conservative parliamentary constituency of Cirencester and Tewkesbury, following the retirement of the former Cabinet minister Nicholas Ridley. He retained the seat at the 1992 general election, with a majority of 16,058, and made his maiden speech on 12 June 1992.
When newly elected he became a member of the Environment Select Committee, where he remained until 1995. Clifton-Brown was then appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Douglas Hogg, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Later his constituency was abolished, but he contested and was elected for the newly drawn constituency of Cotswold at the 1997 general election and returned to Parliament as a backbencher, whilst William Hague was the Leader of the Opposition. After Iain Duncan Smith beame leader of the Conservative Party, Clifton-Brown became the Shadow Minister for Local and Devolved Government Affairs in 2002.
After the 2005 general election, he retained the seat of Cotswold and returned to Westminster as assistant Chief Conservative Whip. On the accession of David Cameron as Leader of the Conservative Party, he was appointed the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Investment.
After the 2010 election and the formation of the subsequent Coalition Government, Clifton-Brown returned to the back benches, also making overseas visits in his role as Chairman of the Conservative Party's International Office. At this time he became the Parliamentary Chairman of the Conservative Friends of the Chinese.
Political heritage
Clifton-Brown is related to seven other previous members of Parliament, including Geoffrey Benedict Clifton-Brown, also Douglas Clifton Brown and Harry Hylton-Foster who both became Speaker of the British House of Commons. Howard Clifton Brown was elected as member of Parliament on several occasions.