The Right Honourable
The Lord Farmer
Lord Farmer in 2018
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
5 September 2014
as a life peer
Personal details
Born
Michael Stahel Farmer

(1944-12-17) 17 December 1944
Tonbridge, Kent, England
Political partyConservative
Children3
RelativesSuzan Farmer (sister)
Candace Owens (daughter-in-law)
OccupationBusinessman, politician
Websitewww.lordmichaelfarmer.co.uk

Michael Stahel Farmer, Baron Farmer (born 17 December 1944) is a British businessman, former treasurer of the Conservative Party, and life peer in the House of Lords.

Early life

Farmer was born on 17 December 1944 in Tonbridge, Kent, England. His sister, actress Suzan Farmer, died in September 2017.[1] Michael has described how he and his sister had a violent and chaotic early childhood, characterised by 'poverty, neglect and shame.' His father, David Farmer, a metals trader,[2] died due to his alcoholism when Farmer was aged four, and he and his sister narrowly avoided removal from their mother's care due to her own struggle with alcohol.[3]

Farmer was educated at Wantage Grammar School, as a boarder.[4]

Business career

Farmer started work at eighteen. He began as a difference account clerk and messenger in a London Metal Exchange member firm, earning eight pounds a week, and spent most of his career in the City of London, involved in the trading of base metals, especially copper.

By the late 1980s, Farmer headed the global base metal trading at Phibro Salomon Brothers and in 1999 his trading company, the Metal & Commodity Company Ltd, was floated on the London Stock Exchange under the title MG Plc. He was subsequently a founding partner of the Red Kite Group of hedge funds,[4] which provides mine finance and futures investment opportunities for funds.

Political career

Farmer supported the former leader, David Cameron when he accepted the Centre for Social Justice's Breakthrough Britain report emphasising the wider social repercussions of family breakdown.[5][6]

On 5 September 2014 Farmer was created a life peer as Baron Farmer, of Bishopsgate in the City of London and in the House of Lords joined the Conservative benches.[7][8] His maiden speech was about women's homelessness, domestic violence and social exclusion.[3]

He is also a vocal supporter of welfare and prison reform, and was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to carry out a review of how supporting men in prison to have better family and other relationships can reduce reoffending rates.[9] Following its acceptance of his recommendations, the MoJ commissioned a further review from Lord Farmer on the importance of relationships for female offenders' rehabilitation, which is also being implemented.[10]

The frequency of his speaking appearances, voting record and tabling of written questions is above average in the House of Lords.[11]

As a parliamentarian Farmer has spoken about family hubs and other measures to ensure families who need it receive early help;[12][13][14] boosting statutory help for children leaving local authority care;[15][16][17] improving children and young people's mental health and wellbeing,[18][19][20] including by reducing family breakdown and regulating access to pornography;[21] enabling upwards social mobility and better life chances;[22][23][24] and addressing the persecution of Christians in North Korea,[25] the Middle East [26][27] and the United Kingdom.[28]

He introduced a Private Member's Bill which would make family impact assessments statutory for all changes to government policy and spending and that would ensure the Government keeps track of family stability rates (the number of children who grow up with both their parents).[29]

He has also been an active and vocal supporter of Brexit.[30][31][32][33][34]

He was a member of the Select Committee on Social Mobility[35] and the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill.[36]

He and Samantha Callan founded the Family Hubs Network in 2019 to support the spread of Family Hubs across the whole of the United Kingdom.[37]

He is a board member of the Conservative Foundation.

Personal life

In 1975, in the City of London, Farmer married Jennifer Potts.[38] They have three children.[4] His son George Farmer is CEO of the conservative social networking service Parler and in 2019 married the American political commentator Candace Owens.

Farmer became the Christian deputy chair of the Council of Christians and Jews in 2016.[39]

References

  1. ↑ Suzan Farmer obituary The Guardian, 24 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Suzan Farmer obituary". the Guardian. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Lord Farmer maiden speech, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Farmer, Baron cr. 2014 (Life Peer), of Bishopsgate in the City of London (Michael Stahel Farmer)", in Who's Who, online edition, accessed 17 April 2021 (subscription required)
  5. ↑ "Breakdown Britain: Fractured Families". The Centre for Social Justice. December 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. ↑ "Breakthrough Britain: Family Breakdown". The Centre for Social Justice. July 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "No. 60986". The London Gazette. 11 September 2014. p. 17674.
  8. ↑ "Parliamentary page for Lord Farmer". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "The Importance of Strengthening Prisoners' Family Ties to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. June 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Lord Farmer Numerology in Parliament". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Early Years Intervention, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Welfare Reform and Work Bill, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "A Manifesto to Strengthen Families, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "Young Care Leavers, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "Children and Social Work Bill, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Children: Welfare, Life Chances and Social Mobility, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Mental Health, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  19. ↑ "Queen's Speech, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  20. ↑ "Mental Health of Children and Young Adults, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  21. ↑ "Pornography, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Life Chances Strategy, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  23. ↑ "Poverty: Metrics, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  24. ↑ "Child Poverty Act 2010 (Persistent Poverty Target) Regulations 2014, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  25. ↑ "Korean Peninsula, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  26. ↑ "Palestine: Recognition, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  27. ↑ "Immigration Bill, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  28. ↑ "Religious Persecution, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  29. ↑ "Family Relationships (Impact Assessment and Targets) Bill [HL] 2017–19 – UK Parliament". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  30. ↑ "Lord Farmer: A Brexit will be a 'bright new beginning'". The Telegraph. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  31. ↑ "Brexit: Domestic and International, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  32. ↑ "Brexit: Preparations and Negotiations, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  33. ↑ "Don't blame Brexit for UK economic wobbles, says 'Mr Copper'". Financial Times. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  34. ↑ "Further Discussions with the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  35. ↑ "Social Mobility Committee - Membership". UK Parliament. June 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  36. ↑ "New appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs". PoliticsHome. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  37. ↑ "Home". The Family Hubs Network. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  38. ↑ "FARMER Michael S. / POTTS / London City 14 643"; "POTTS Jennifer D. R. / Farmer / London City 14 643" in General Index to Marriages in England and Wales, 1975
  39. ↑ "Patron & Trustees". Council of Christians and Jews. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
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