Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Sir Geoffrey Robert Clifton-Brown FRICS (born 23 March 1953)[1] is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for The Cotswolds. He also serves as the treasurer of the 1922 Committee.

For the MP from Bury St Edmunds, see Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Bury St Edmunds MP).

Sir
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
FRICS MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for The Cotswolds
Cotswold (1997–2010)
Cirencester and Tewkesbury (1992–1997)
Assumed office
9 April 1992
Preceded byNicholas Ridley
Majority20,214 (33.0%)
Personal details
Born (1953-03-23) 23 March 1953
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Alexandra Peto-Shepherd
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 2004)​
ChildrenJacqueline, Edward, Robert
ResidenceGloucestershire
Alma materRoyal Agricultural College
OccupationMember of Parliament
ProfessionPolitician and Surveyor
Websitecliftonbrown.co.uk

Early career

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was born in Cambridge, elder son and eldest of four children of farmer Robert Lawrence Clifton-Brown (1929–2016), of Maltings Farmhouse, Haverhill, Suffolk, a councillor and mayor (2002) of St Edmundsbury, Suffolk,[2] and (Florence) Elizabeth Lindsay (1926–2006), daughter of Ronald Arthur Vestey, of Great Thurlow Hall, Suffolk, DL, High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1961, and grand-daughter of Sir Edmund Hoyle Vestey, 1st Baronet.[1] His paternal grandfather, Lt-Col Geoffrey Benedict Clifton-Brown, late of the 12th Royal Lancers, was MP for Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk from 1945 to 1950.[3][1] He is a descendant of the Army officer and MP James Clifton Brown.[4]

He 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.[5]

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 became leader of the Conservative party, Clifton-Brown became the Shadow Minister for Local and Devolved Government Affairs in 2002.[6]

Following the 2005 general election, he retained the Cotswold seat 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.[6]

Following the 2010 election and the formation of the subsequent Coalition government, Clifton-Brown returned to the back benches, 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.[6] In 2014, he received critical attention in the media following a visit to China paid for by the Chinese authorities.[7] In a 2015 interview with CNN, Clifton-Brown stated that his family has been doing business in China since the 1920s.[8] Clifton-Brown has remained engaged in dialogue with Chinese authorities.[9][10]

During the parliamentary expenses scandal in 2009, Clifton-Brown switched his main residence from his house in the Cotswolds to a London flat.[11][12][13] The Cotswolds Conservative Party Association said that Clifton-Brown had acted within the rules.[11]

In the 2018 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor for political and public service.[14]

In 2019, Clifton-Brown was asked to leave the Conservative Party Conference being held in Manchester, after a dispute with security staff who prevented him from entering a meeting room with a guest who did not have a relevant identification pass. According to a BBC Online report, he later apologised and described the incident as a "minor verbal misunderstanding".[15]

He has previously been voted as the worst MP in parliament in a survey of constituents ranking MPs on categories such as attendance and helping constituents.[16]

Political heritage

Clifton-Brown is related to seven other previous members of Parliament, including his grandfather Geoffrey Benedict Clifton-Brown, and also his great-uncle Douglas Clifton Brown and his son-in-law[17] Harry Hylton-Foster (married to Audrey Clifton-Brown) who both became Speaker of the House of Commons. His great-uncle Howard Clifton Brown was elected as member of Parliament on several occasions.[18]

Personal life

In 1979, Clifton-Brown married Alexandra, daughter of Wing Commander Denis Noel Peto-Shepherd, RAF, of Great Durnford, Wiltshire. They have two sons and one daughter.[1] They divorced in 2004.[19] He is now married to Kym Erlich. He has an interest in UK-China relations and is chair of the Conservative Friends of the Chinese.[20] He is a Freeman of the City of London.[21]

References
  1. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 538
  2. "Tributes to 'dedicated' St Edmundsbury councillor and 'devoted' family man". Suffolk News. 13 October 2016.
  3. Parliament document parliament.uk
  4. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, pp. 484, 538
  5. "Hansard report. Cirencester and Tewkesbury 1992". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. "Geoffrey Clifton-Brown biography". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  7. McFadden, Brendan (6 June 2014). "Cotswold MP defends trip to China paid for by Chinese communists". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  8. "U.K. aims to be 'China's best' trade partner in the West". CNN. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  9. "Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Speaks about BRI". British Chamber of Commerce in China | Beijing. 7 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  10. "Guo Yezhou Exchanges Views with Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary China Group of the U.K. via Videolink". International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  11. Tilley, Emma (20 May 2009). "Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown is latest to be embroiled in expenses scandal". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  12. Watt, Holly (16 May 2009). "Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 'flips' to £2.7m house: MPs' expenses". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  13. "MPs' expenses in detail". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  14. "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N2.
  15. "Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: MP kicked out of Tory conference after clash". BBC News. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  16. "Every UK MP has been ranked from best to worst in new 'People-Power Index' - this is how yours scored". 6 December 2019.
  17. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 539
  18. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 293. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  19. Clifton-Brown, Sir Geoffrey. UK Who's Who. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U11232. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  20. "Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown". Conservative Friends of the Chinese. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  21. "Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
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