Julian Lewis

Julian Murray Lewis (born 26 September 1951 in Swansea, Wales) is a British politician and Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for New Forest East in Hampshire since the 1997 general election.

Education and Student Activism

Born in Swansea, Julian Lewis went to Dynevor Grammar School, Swansea. At Balliol College, Oxford, he received an MA in Philosophy and Politics in 1977, then a DPhil in Strategic Studies in 1981 from St Antony's College, Oxford. In 1976, with secret funding from the Freedom Association, he posed as a Labour Party moderate and briefly won control of Newham North East Constituency Labour Party, in an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the deselection of the local MP, Reg Prentice.^[1] Prentice himself eventually joined the Conservatives.

Pressure Group Campaigns and Political Research

Dr Lewis was a leading opponent of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and other Left-wing organisations, throughout the 1980s. From 1981-5, he was Research Director of the Coalition for Peace through Security. From 1985, he has been Director of Policy Research Associates.

With fellow Conservative John Bercow - later elected Speaker of the House of Commons - he ran an Advanced Speaking and Campaigning course for more than ten years, which trained over 600 Conservatives (including several current MPs) in campaigning and communication techniques.

From 1990 to 1996, he was a Deputy Director of the Research Department at Conservative Central Office, but resigned to campaign against Britain joining the single European currency before opposition to the euro was officially adopted by the Conservative Party.

Military Writings

A second edition of his book Changing Direction: British Military Planning for Post-war Strategic Defence, 1942-1947was published in 2003 and a university paperback edition in 2008. His essay on "Nuclear Disarmament versus Peace in the 21st Century"won the Trench Gascoigne Prize of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studiesin 2005. Two years later, he was awarded this prize for a second time,with an essay entitled "Double-I, Double-N: A Framework for Counter-Insurgency". His 10,000-word dissertation on The Future of the British Nuclear Deterrentwas selected for an award and for publication as a Seaford House Paper by the Royal College of Defence Studiesof which he was a Parliamentary member in 2006.

Parliamentary career

He contested Swansea West at the 1983 general election. As MP for New Forest East, he successfully opposed the development of a large container port at Dibden Bay, between Marchwood and Hythe, and waged other high-profile local campaigns. In Parliament, he currently holds the position of Shadow Defence Minister, having previously served as Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Opposition Whip. Before joining the Front Bench, he was a Member of the Defence Select Committee and the Welsh Select Committee, and had also been elected to the Executive of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee.

He has been described by the Daily Telegraph as "one of the most vigorous rightwingers in the Commons" and by the Guardian as the Conservative Party's "front bench terrier".

From May to July 2008, he initiated and organised the successful campaign to change the Freedom of Information Act in order that a High Court ruling, that 14 MPs' home addresses should be published, could never be repeated in respect of any other Parliamentarians. More than 250 backbenchers from all parties, as well as members of the Government and the Shadow Cabinet, supported this campaign.

In March 2009, his amendment to the Political Parties and Elections Bill was carried by a majority of 59. It removed the requirement for General Election candidates to disclose their home addresses on nomination and ballot papers, and was upheld by a majority of 72 when the Bill went through the House of Lords in July 2009. In both Houses, Labour and Conservatives were given Free Votes on the 'Lewis Amendment', whilst Liberal Democrats were whipped to vote against it.

Expenses

In May 2009, the Sunday Telegraph alleged that Dr Lewis had asked in 2006 if he could claim the £6,000 cost of a wooden floor in his second home, but was told by officials in the Fees Office that this “could be seen as extravagant”. However, he maintained that: “At no stage did I claim for the flooring and it did not cost the taxpayer a penny.” At the end of June 2009, Dr Lewis was informed by the Conservative Party's Scrutiny Panel, after examination of his expenses claims, that "we do not require you to answer any queries about them and there is no requirement for any repayments to be made". A senior Commons official also confirmed that, by seeking advice in advance about second home expenditure, he had acted "in accordance with best practice as recommended by this department" and that "it is not true that you attempted to claim £6000 in expenses for a wooden floor at your second home".

Voting record

The following is a brief summary of Lewis' voting record on high-profile issues:

Bills voted for

• Military action against Iraq
• Introduction of compulsory identity cards

Bills voted against

• Ban on fox hunting
• Reduction of the age of consent for gay men to 16
• Adoption rights for unmarried and gay couples

References

External links

• Dr Julian Lewis MP official site
• Dr Julian Lewis MP biography at the site of the Conservative Party
• ePolitix.com - Julian Lewis
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Julian Lewis MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Julian Lewis MP
• The Public Whip - Julian Lewis MP voting record
• BBC News - Julian Lewis profile, 2005