Neil Balfour

Education

Balfour was educated at Ampleforth College and University College, Oxford, and then read for the Bar. Although being called to the Bar in 1968 (Middle Temple), Balfour did not practise but instead joined Baring Brothers & Co, the commercial bankers.

Family

In 1969, Balfour married HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, the only daughter of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia. She bore him one son,

Their marriage fell apart and they were divorced in 1978. However, Balfour wrote a sympathetic official biography of his father-in-law in 1980, called Paul of Yugoslavia: Britain's Maligned Friend.

Balfour remarried in 1978 to Serena Mary Churchill Russell, granddaughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough. She bore him two children,

Neil had another son,

He also has two stepdaughters, Morgan Alexandra McConnell (born 1973) and Lucinda Mary McConnell (born 1975).

Byelection campaign

Balfour was the Conservative Party candidate for Chester-le-Street at a by-election in March 1973, a seat that it had little chance of winning. Balfour was candid about his chances but hoped to come a strong second, despite his campaign being based in a caravan in a garden. In the event, the Conservative vote collapsed to the Liberals and he lost his deposit; the Labour campaign accused the Liberals of dirty tricks but regarded Balfour as an honourable opponent.

Further politics

After fighting the Chester-le-Street seat again in the February 1974 general election, Balfour moved jobs to join the European Banking Co. Ltd as an assistant manager. He served as an Executive Director from 1980 to 1983. In the October 1974 general election he fought Hayes and Harlington, and he was elected to the European Parliament in the 1979 European Parliament elections from the Yorkshire North constituency.

European Parliament

In the European Parliament, Balfour concentrated on trade policy. He attacked member state governments for lacking any will to remove state aids to industry and to institute free trade. As budget spokesman for the Conservative MEPs, he attacked the European Community's budgeting process but, in October 1981, joined with other Conservative MEPs in signing a letter calling on the UK to join the European Monetary System. In December 1982, he made an impressive speech attacking the MEPs voting to withdraw a budget rebate for the United Kingdom that had been accepted by the European Council. However, the next year, he led a more moderate group in supporting a short freeze in payment of the rebate because he worried that opposing it would lead the Parliament to vote to stop payments altogether.

Ryedale

Balfour stood down at the 1984 European Parliament election. He had been appointed Chairman of the York Trust Ltd in 1983, which later became York Mount Group. However, he did not give up Parliamentary ambitions. John Spence, the Conservative MP for Ryedale (part of his former European Parliament constituency), died in 1986, and Balfour was selected to defend the seat in a by-election.

The by-election took place at a time when the Conservatives were unpopular and the Liberals nominated a popular local teacher, Elizabeth Shields. On polling day, Shields won the seat comfortably. Balfour returned to merchant banking, and from 1991 was Chairman of Mermaid Overseas Ltd. In 1999 he became involved with the emerging Polish market as a Director of Mostostal Warszawa SA, serving as Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to 2002.

Policy stance

In 2000 he wrote a letter to The Spectator in which he declared "as a committed Europhile" that the best solution would be to allow Britain to opt into EU laws it liked, and supported the call from Conrad Black for Britain to negotiate membership of the North American Free Trade Agreement.