Siddhesh Joshi (Editor)

Richard Graham (politician)

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Preceded by
  
Parmjit Dhanda

Spouse(s)
  
Anthea Graham

Party
  
Conservative Party

Political party
  
Conservatives

Role
  
British Politician

Nationality
  
British

Name
  
Richard Graham

Majority
  
7,241 (8.8%)

Alma mater
  
Christ Church, Oxford


Richard Graham (politician) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Born
  
4 April 1958 (age 65) (
1958-04-04
)

Education
  
Christ Church, Oxford, University of Oxford, Eton College

Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (born 4 April 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was first elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gloucester.

Contents

Richard Graham (politician) wwwstroudnewsandjournalcoukresourcesimages40

Early life and career

Richard Graham (politician) Richard Graham politician Wikipedia

Graham was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford where he was an exhibitioner in Modern History. Whilst at Oxford University, he was a Cadet with the Oxford University Air Squadron. Graham has played international squash and still plays cricket for Gloucester City Winget Cricket Club and the Gloucestershire Over 50s.

Richard Graham (politician) Road safety champion Tory MP Richard Graham given sixmonth driving

Graham was previously an airline manager, a diplomat and a pensions manager. He started with John Swire and Sons and became general manager of Cathay Pacific Airways in France at 24 and in the Philippines at 26, concurrently Vice-chairman of the board of Airline Representatives. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986, and was Second, later First, Secretary, in the British High Commission Nairobi and then British Trade Commissioner China, First Secretary British Embassy Beijing and HM Consul Macao (1989–1992). Graham joined Barings Bank as its Chief Representative China in 1993, and became a director of Baring Asset Management in 1996. Graham has lived and worked in ten countries and speaks eight languages.

Richard Graham (politician) Richard Graham MP Gloucestershire Live

He was previously a Director of the charitable company Care for Children, which organises and trains foster parents for Chinese orphans.

Richard Graham (politician) Richard Graham MP WriteYou

In 2010, Graham created the first Gloucester History Festival and chairs the Gloucester History Committee. He is also a trustee of the Gloucestershire Community Foundation, Patron of the Discover de Crypt project and an Hon. Member of the Showmen's Guild.

Richard Graham (politician) MP Richard Graham given sixmonth driving ban BBC News

Graham was elected as a Cotswold district councillor in 2003, becoming Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2006. He unsuccessfully contested the Conservative Party Stroud Parliamentary nomination and the South West of England in the 2004 European elections.

First parliament (2010–15)

Richard Graham (politician) Tory MP Richard Graham banned from driving after being caught at

In the run up to the 2010 general election, Graham was criticised by the incumbent Gloucester Labour MP Parmjit Dhanda and Stroud MP David Drew for using members and supporters of the foxhound pack Heythrop Hunt to campaign and leaflet on his behalf.

Following his election to the House of Commons in 2010, Graham was a member of the Select Committee for Work and Pensions May–November 2010, and since July 2015. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Lord Howell from November 2010 to September 2012. He was also Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Hugo Swire, Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2014. In November 2012, Graham was appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Indonesia. In January 2016 he was also appointed the Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Malaysia, the Philippines, and the ASEAN Economic Community.

In June 2010, his first debate in Parliament regarding apprenticeships and their importance to Gloucester was cancelled after he arrived late. Graham later blamed a 'Printer Error'. Graham also apologised to the Serjeant at Arms in 2010 after he shared a photo taken of him in the House of Commons Chamber with the Gloucester Citizen which also accompanied an article in that newspaper on his maiden speech. Photography is only permitted by the Speaker in exceptional circumstances.

In January 2013, Graham attracted criticism after suggesting to a local newspaper that women wearing short skirts and high heels increase their risk of rape. Graham denied he was "victim blaming", saying that his comments were about "risk management".

Graham successfully campaigned for stronger dangerous driving sentencing laws in 2013. In July 2015, he was banned from driving for six months at Stroud Magistrates Court after he was caught driving at 90mph in a 70mph speed limit on the A417 near Cirencester, in the Cotswolds on 14 December 2014. He already had nine points on his licence at the time so faced automatic disqualification. He was fined £525 with £85 costs and a £53 victim surcharge. Consequently, he also had a road safety award withdrawn which he received from the charity Brake in January 2015.

In June 2013, he was advised by the Information Commissioner's Office that he was in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the EU directive concerning Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 after sending political campaign emails to people who had contacted him on parliamentary business without first obtaining their permission.

In November 2014, a visit by a cross-party group of parliamentarians to China, led by Peter Mandelson, had to be cancelled at the last minute, as Graham was denied a visa to China following a Westminster debate on the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong where he voiced his support for the protesters' human rights demands.

Second parliament (2015–17)

In April 2015, Graham was ordered by a judge to remove tweets that discussed a murder trial in Gloucester after the defendant's barrister accused him of "a clear attempt to win votes by ingratiating himself with his electors." Graham was re-elected with an increased majority of 7,241 in the 2015 general election. He apologised for parking his official campaign van in a disabled parking bay after a "37 hour day" following the election.

In May 2015, Graham was mocked on Twitter after taking a joke by David Schneider about YouGov Polls at face value.

In November 2015, Graham was accused of quoting Joseph Goebbels in defending a new surveillance bill with the words "if you've nothing to hide you have nothing to fear". The Independent pointed out that former Conservative Foreign Secretary William Hague had also used the same phrase in 2013 whilst Graham dismissed the argument as "clearly absurd" as Goebbels would have spoken in German.

In 2016, Graham was a member of the joint Select Committee which investigated the British Home Stores Pension Fund. He asked Sir Philip Green, who had responded angrily to previous questions about corporate governance, if he regarded the offshore company structure as appropriate for a modern UK company. Green did not answer directly, but said the structuring could have been more aggressive and others were jealous of his success.

In January 2016, Graham launched the UKTI Education is GREAT campaign to increase engagement with British education in Malaysia.

Graham campaigned for Remain during the 2016 EU membership referendum but has since been involved in informal talks regarding future Free Trade Agreements as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to the Philippines.

In May 2017, during a BBC interview regarding the benefits system Victoria Derbyshire discussed personal independent payments for disabled people with Graham and asked why some people with permanent degenerative conditions are being reassessed for their social security payment. Graham said: "some conditions do degenerate, some stabilise, occasionally some do get better. It's a mixed situation" but didn't clarify his remarks leading to criticism.

Graham was re-elected with a increased share of the vote of 50.3% but a reduced majority of 5,520 in the 2017 general election.

Graham chairs the All Party Parliamentary Groups for Pensions, Indonesia, China, and Marine Energy and Tidal Lagoons.

References

Richard Graham (politician) Wikipedia