John Flack (British politician)

John Flack (born 3 January 1957) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England, having lost his seat to the Brexit Party in the 2019 EU Election.[4] He is a supporter of Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.[5]

John Flack
Member of the European Parliament
for East of England
In office
28 June 2017 – 1 July 2019[1][2]
Preceded byVicky Ford
Succeeded byRichard Tice
Personal details
Born (1957-01-03) 3 January 1957 [3]
Romford, Essex, United Kingdom[3]
Political partyConservative

Life and career

Flack attended Abbs Cross High School in Hornchurch. He rose from trainee to junior partner of a firm of chartered surveyors, before directing various property companies.[6]

He also served as a magistrate, initially the youngest in Essex when appointed in 1988. He served for 21 years before transferring to the supplemental list in 2009, in order that he could stand for the European Parliament and to avoid any perception of conflict of interest.

Political career
Flack campaigned to end animal testing

Flack contested the European Parliament constituency of Northumbria in the 1994 election and London in the 1999 election.[6] He contested Enfield Southgate in the 2001 general election, coming second to the Labour incumbent Stephen Twigg almost quadrupling the Labour majority in 1997. He famously announced in the February before the election that “it was all in the bag” and did minimal campaigning after that to the delight of the incumbent Labour MP.[7]

He was 4th on the Conservative list for the East of England region in the European Parliament elections in 2009 and 2014, but only 3 Conservatives were elected on each occasion. He took his seat in 2017 after fellow MEP Vicky Ford was elected as an MP in the general election.[8]

Flack sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development (REGI).[9] He served as the Regional Development Spokesman for the Conservative Party.[10] He was also a substitute member of the Parliament's Committee on Fisheries (PECH).[11]

Flack is an active animal welfare campaigner, and has co-hosted a roundtable event on fur labelling problems in the EU market.[12] He was a member of the European Parliament's Animal Welfare Intergroup.[13] In 2019 he was appointed as a Patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation in acknowledgement of his commitment to animal welfare reform.

References
  1. "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. "Key dates ahead". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. "John FLACK MEP". European Parliament. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  4. "2019 EU Election Result". Chelmsford Council. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. "Co-Chairmen - Political Advisory Board - Supporters". Leave Means Leave. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. "Vote 2001 | Candidates | John Flack". BBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  7. "Vote 2001 | Results & Constituencies | Enfield Southgate". BBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  8. "New Conservative MEP appointed for East of England". ITV News. 4 July 2017.
  9. "Members of the REGI Committee". European Parliament. 30 November 2017.
  10. "John Flack Conservative MEPs". Conservatives in the European Parliament. 30 November 2017.
  11. "Members of the PECH Committee". European Parliament. 30 November 2017.
  12. "Roundtable on fur labelling". Animal Welfare Intergroup. 27 September 2017.
  13. "Members of the Intergroup". Animal Welfare Intergroup. 30 November 2017.
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