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
ResidenceGloucestershire
Alma materRoyal Agricultural College
OccupationMember of Parliament
ProfessionPolitician and Surveyor
Websitecliftonbrown.co.uk

Sir Geoffrey Robert Clifton-Brown FRICS (born 23 March 1953)[1] is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for The Cotswolds since the 1992 general election.[2][3]

Early life and career

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was born in Cambridge, the eldest of four children of farmer Robert Lawrence Clifton-Brown (1929–2016), of Maltings Farmhouse, Haverhill, Suffolk, a councillor and mayor of St Edmundsbury, Suffolk,[4] and (Florence) Elizabeth Lindsay (1926–2006), grand-daughter of Sir Edmund Hoyle Vestey, 1st Baronet.[1]

He was educated at Tormore School, in 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 won the seat at the 1992 general election with 55.6% of the vote and a majority of 16,058,[2][5], both slightly higher than at the 1987 general election.[6] Clfiton-Brown made his maiden speech on 12 June 1992.[7]

When newly elected Clifton-Brown became a member of the Environment Select Committee, where he remained until 1995. He was then appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Douglas Hogg, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The constituency of Cirencester and Tewkesbury was abolished, but Clifton-Brown contested and was elected for the newly drawn constituency of Cotswold at the 1997 general election. He won with 46.4% of the vote, a decrease of 8% from 1992, and a majority of 11,965, down from 16,058.[8][9]} He was again re-elected at the 2001 general election with an increased vote share of 50.3% and an increased majority of 11,983.[10]

In 2002, after Iain Duncan Smith became leader of the Conservative party, Clifton-Brown became the Shadow Minister for Local and Devolved Government Affairs.[11]

Clifton-Brown was re-elected at the 2005 general election with a decreased vote share of 49.3% and a decreased majority of 9,688.[12] He 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.[11]

During the parliamentary expenses scandal in 2009, Clifton-Brown switched his main residence from his house in the Cotswolds to a London flat.[13][14][15] The Cotswolds Conservative Party Association said that Clifton-Brown had acted within the rules.[13]

Clifton-Brown was again re-elected at the 2010 general election, increasing his vote share to 53% and his majority to 12,864.[16][17] [18] After the formation of the subsequent Coalition government, Clifton-Brown returned as a backbencher, 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.[11] In 2014, he received critical attention in the media following a visit to China paid for by the Chinese authorities.[19] In a 2015 interview with CNN, Clifton-Brown stated that his family has been doing business in China since the 1920s.[20] Clifton-Brown has remained engaged in dialogue with Chinese authorities.[21][22]

Clifton-Brown was again re-elected at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 56.5% and an increased majority of 21,477.[23][24] He was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 60.1% and an increased majority of 25,499.[25][26]

In the 2018 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor for political and public service.[27]

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. He later apologised and described the incident as a "minor verbal misunderstanding".[28]

Clifton-Brown was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 58% and a decreased majority of 20,214.[29]

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.[30]

Political heritage

Clifton-Brown is related to seven other previous members of Parliament, including his grandfather Geoffrey Benedict Clifton-Brown, and his great-uncle Douglas Clifton Brown and his son-in-law[31] 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.[32] He is also a descendant of the Army officer and MP James Clifton Brown.[33]

Personal life

In 1979, Clifton-Brown married Alexandra, daughter of Wing Commander Denis Noel Peto-Shepherd, RAF. They have one son and one daughter.[1] They divorced in 2004.[34] He is now married to Kym Clifton-Brown.[35] He is a Freeman of the City of London.[36]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 538
  2. 1 2 "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Tributes to 'dedicated' St Edmundsbury councillor and 'devoted' family man". Suffolk News. 13 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  6. ↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Hansard report. Cirencester and Tewkesbury 1992". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Percentage change and swing for 1997 is calculated relative to the Rallings and Thrasher 1992 notional constituency result, not actual 1992 result. See C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
  10. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 "Geoffrey Clifton-Brown biography". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. 1 2 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.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "MPs' expenses in detail". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Cotswolds, The". news.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ↑ Percentage change and swing for 2010 is calculated relative to the PA (Rallings and Thrasher) 2005 notional result, not actual 2005 result "Press Association Elections". Press Association. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ "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.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Declaration of result" (PDF). Cotswold District Council. 19 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Cotswolds, The parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News.
  26. ↑ "Declaration-of-result" (PDF). 9 June 2017.
  27. ↑ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N2.
  28. ↑ "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.
  29. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).
  30. ↑ "Every UK MP has been ranked from best to worst in new 'People-Power Index' - this is how yours scored". 6 December 2019.
  31. ↑ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 539
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, pp. 484, 538
  34. ↑ 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.
  35. ↑ Hughes, Janet (21 March 2021). "Reports that Sir Geoffrey-Clifton Brown has wed for second time". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  36. ↑ "Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
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