| Nick Gibb MP | |
|
Member of Parliament
for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
|---|---|
| Majority | 7,822 (19.2%) |
|
|
|
| Born | 3 September 1960 Amersham, Buckinghamshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Durham University |
Nicolas John "Nick" Gibb MP (born September 3, 1960) is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Gibb also holds the post of Shadow Minister of State for Schools in Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.
Contents |
Early life
Nick Gibb was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and was educated at Maidstone Grammar School, Kent, Roundhay School, Leeds, and Thornes House School, Wakefield. He then attended the College of St Hild and St Bede at the University of Durham where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in law in 1981.[1]
In 1982, Gibb joined NatWest as a trainee accountant, before working on Kibbutz Merom Golam in 1983. In 1984 he joined KPMG as a chartered accountant until his election to parliament.[1]
Political career
Gibb worked as an election agent to Cecil Parkinson at the 1987 General Election, and becoming the secretary of the Bethnal Green and Stepney Conservative Association in 1988, becoming its chairman the following year.
Gibb contested Stoke-on-Trent Central at the 1992 General Election but was defeated into second place some 13,420 votes behind the sitting Labour MP Mark Fisher. In 1994, Gibb was selected to contest the 1994 Rotherham by-election, caused by the death of James Boyce, held on May 5, 1994. He finished in third place, 12,263 votes behind the winner Denis MacShane.
Gibb was selected to stand as the Conservative candidate for the newly created West Sussex seat of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton at the 1997 General Election. Gibb won the seat with a majority of 7,321 and has remained the MP there since.[2] He made his maiden speech on July 4, 1997[3], in which he spoke of the visit of King George V in 1929 to Bognor Regis to take in the sea air, hence the suffix of Regis on the town's name. He recalled also the town of Felpham which was the home of poet William Blake.
Opposition
Shortly after his election, Gibb joined the opposition frontbench of William Hague when he was appointed as the spokesman on trade and industry in 1997, before joining the social security select committee later in the year. The following year, in 1998 he rejoined the frontbench as a spokesman on the treasury, moving back to trade and industry in 1999.
He was briefly a spokesman on environment, transport and the regions following the 2001 General Election but resigned under the leadership of Iain Duncan Smith, reportedly because he was unhappy at his new role[4]. Michael Howard brought him back to the frontbench following the Conservative Party's defeat in the 2005 General Election as a spokesman for Education and Young People. Shortly afterwards, the newly elected Conservative Party Leader, David Cameron, promoted Nick Gibb from within the education team to shadow Minister for Schools.[2]
Views
Gibb is a longstanding advocate of synthetic phonics as a method of teaching children to read,[5] and is also a supporter of the motor neurone disease cause, currently being vice-chair of the All Party Motor Neurone Disease Group in parliament.[2]
Personal life
He is the brother of Robbie Gibb, a former spin doctor who is now editor of the BBC's political programmes, The Daily Politics and This Week.
Publications
- Forgotten Closed Shop: Case for Voluntary Membership of Student Unions by Nicholas Gibb and David Neil-Smith, 1985, Cleveland Press ISBN 0-948194-01-4
- Simplifying Taxes by Nick Gibb, 1987
- Duty to Repeal by Nick Gibb, 1989, Adam Smith Institute ISBN 1-870109-71-6
- Bucking the Market by Nick Gibb, 1990
- Maintaining Momentum by Nick Gibb, 1992
References
- ^ a b "Nick Gibb Biography". Conservative Party. http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/Gibb_Nick.aspx. Retrieved 3 June, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Nick Gibb". UK Parliament Biographies. http://biographies.parliament.uk/parliament/default.asp?id=25544. Retrieved 3 June, 2009.
- ^ "Hansard: 4 July, 1997". Hansard. 4 July, 1997. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970704/debtext/70704-09.htm#70704-09_spnew1. Retrieved 3 June, 2009.
- ^ "Tory frontbench resignations". The Guardian. 18 October, 2001. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/oct/18/conservatives.uk. Retrieved 3 June, 2009.
- ^ "Teaching of reading to be revised". BBC News. 20 March, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4818516.stm. Retrieved 3 July, 2009.
External links
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Nick Gibb MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Nick Gibb MP
- The Public Whip - Nick Gibb MP voting record
- BBC News - Nick Gibb MP BBC profile
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New Constituency |
Member of Parliament for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton 1997– Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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