Parliamentary Profiles
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oral assessments Mar '88; in an adjournment debate he urged guaranteed continuation of research and development after electricity privatization, including the Marchwood establishment in his constituency Mar '88; voted for 26-week ceiling on abortion May '88; was dissatisfied with Firearms (Amendment) Bill, which showed Government's lack of comprehension May '88; criticized BBC's Mandela concert June '88; Born 27 September 1932 London
Family S late Captain Ivan Beale Colvin RN and Joy (Arbuthnot) OBE; m '56 Nicola (Cayzer) d of Baron Cayzer, Life President of British and Commonwealth Holdings; 1s James '65, 2d Amanda (10 Downing Street secretary) '57, Arabella '60; Education West Downs, Winchester; Eton; RMA, Sandhurst; Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester;
Occupation Director: Accrep Ltd (property investment) '62-; Adviser: National Licensed Victuallers Association '84-, British Field Sports Society (Vice Chairman) '87-; Lloyd's Underwriter '87-; Farmer: Tangley Estates (600 acres with stately home, Tangley House), Hampshire, Colvin Farms, Essex; Forester: Langley Woodlands, Cramond and Harthill Estates in Scotland; Publican: owner of "The Cricketers Arms"", Tangley, Hampshire ("for the record, Mr Colvin bought the pub to save it for the village and he makes little money from it" (SUNDAY TIMES); ex: Account Executive, J Walter Thompson '57-61; Regular in Grenadier Guards '50-57; Captain in '56 - served in Berlin, Suez, Cyprus;
Traits Silver-haired; slim; intelligent; "lucid and thoughtful" (Edwina Currie); qualified pilot and parachutist; "accomplished artist of professional standard" (DAILY TELEGRAPH); designer;
Address Tangley House, nr Andover, Hants SP11 0SH; Telephone 026 470 215; 01 828 6664; 01 219 4208 (H of C);
Derek (Leslie) CONWAY Conservative
SHREWSBURY & ATCHAM '83-
Majority 9,064 over Liberal 4-way; Constituency It is dominated by the beautiful, medieval county town with the Sir John Moore barracks for the Light Infantry Regiment; it also includes rural areas stretching to the Welsh border;
Position ex: Secretary, Conservative MPs' Environment Committee '84-85; On Select Committees on: Agriculture '86-87, Transport
TK87-88; Tyne and Wear Councillor (Leader its
Conservative Opposition '79-82) '77-83; Gateshead Borough Councillor (Deputy Leader, Opposition) '74-81; member of Washington Development Corporation, North of England Development Council; Conservative Party National Executive '72-81; National Vice Chairman, Young Conservatives '73-75;
Outlook Little-known, quietly-ambitious Geordie in unexpectedly plum seat; Rightish on punishment, interventionist in economics, protective about local hospitals; an enthusiastic Terrier Major; although locally self-publicizing, he has "made little impact at Westminster so far" (Peter Riddell, FINANCIAL TIMES); anti-EEC;
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Parliamentary Profiles
History He was a Labour sympathizer until he was 12; joined the Conservatives; became a member of Conservative Party National Executive '72; became National Vice Chairman of Young Conservatives '73; became Vice Chairman of Northern Area Conservative Council; contested Durham Oct '74, Newcastle East May '79; elected to Tyne and Wear Council May '77; selected for Shrewsbury from among 250 applicants, in succession to Sir John Langford-Holt '82; elected June '83; concerned about the accountability of precepting authorities such as Transport Executives June '83; opposed the building of £27m Telford General Hospital Aug '83; moved 2nd Reading of contested Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council (Lords) Bill Feb '84; he was one of 19 Tories who voted against suspending elections to the Greater London Council before abolition Apr '84; tried to introduce a Bill compelling local authorities to consult local opinion before providing a waste disposal license July '84; in the debate on the Army, he spoke up for the Territorials against the Regulars Oct '84; backed a reappraisal of Trident because of "worsening exchange rate between the US dollar and the £ Sterling" Oct '84; with 'wets' he resisted cuts in housing benefit Oct '84; claimed that metropolitan councils, like Tyne and Wear on which he had served, had "deteriorated from a noble idea to a municipal farce" Dec '84; backed a rebel motion calling for councils to be able to spend more of their money from house sales on house building Jan '85; with other anti-Marketeers, he voted against the European Single Act Apr '86; he was one of 30 rebel Tories who helped increase MPs' allowances for secretaries and researchers July '86; visited Jordan and West Bank as a guest of the Arab League July '86; visited Turkey as a guest of the Turkish Government Oct '86; met resistance from Mrs Thatcher when he urged a Royal Commission on national service Nov '86; urged free syringes be provided for diabetic children before drug addicts Dec '86; complained about the sale of Leyland Trucks to DAF because of the resultant movement of engines from Perkins Engines in his constituency to the Netherlands Feb '87; backed the resistance of the Shropshire Health Authority to making cuts of £2m Mar '87; visited Morocco on an IPU delegation Mar '87; urged the abolition of the West Midlands Regional Health Authority to "give us fewer administrators and more nurses" Apr '87; defended Trident missile, partly because it brought more jobs to Shrewsbury May '87; in an adjournment debate he complained about the growth of hospital spending in the Telford area at the expense of Shrewsbury cuts June '87; again deplored the financial penalties imposed by the DHSS on unemployed Territorials paid for weekend exercises Oct '87; urged Moscow to let many more Jews emigrate and to evacuate Afghanistan and other occupied territories Dec '87; voted for David Alton's abortion-curbing Bill Jan '88; voted against televising the Commons Feb '88; disclosed that, from '86, he had played a leading role in securing the release after three years of Private lan Thain, also from the Light Infantry, who had been serving a life sentence for murdering a Roman Catholic in Northern Ireland Feb '88;
Born 15 February 1953 Newcastle upon Tyne
Family S Leslie Conway, District Superintendent, Parks Department, and Florence (Bailes); his father's late brother was a Labour Councillor and Mayor of Gateshead; m '80 Colette (Lamb), ex-TV makeup artist/secretary; 2s Henry '82, Frederick '85; Education Sunderland Road Junior School; King Edward Street School; head boy at Beacon Hill Boys' (secondary modern) School; Gateshead Technical College; Newcastle Polytechnic; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; Occupation Farmer, Lea Farm, Shropshire '87-; ex: Principal Organizer for Action Research for the Crippled Child/National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases
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