David Curry

David Maurice Curry (born 13 June 1944) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Skipton and Ripon from 1987 to 2010.

The Right Honourable David Curry
Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee
In office 20 October – 19 November 2009
Preceded by	Sir George Young
Succeeded by	Sir Malcolm Rifkind
Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs
In office 11 November 2003 – 15 March 2004
Leader	Michael Howard
Preceded by	David Davis (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)
Succeeded by	Caroline Spelman
Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office 11 June 1997 – 3 November 1997
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Douglas Hogg
Succeeded by	Tim Yeo
Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon
In office 12 June 1987 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	John Watson
Succeeded by	Julian Smith
Personal details
Born	13 June 1944 Burton-on-Trent, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Anne Helene Maud Roullet
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Oxford Harvard University

Early life

Curry, the son of a teacher, was educated at the Ripon Grammar School where he was head boy in 1962, and then at Corpus Christi College, Oxford where he received a BA degree in Modern History in 1966. He also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar. He began his career as a reporter on the Newcastle Journal in 1966. In 1970, he became the world trade editor at the Financial Times where he remained until he was elected to the European Parliament. In 1977, he founded the Paris Conservative Association.

Political career

Curry contested the safe Labour seat of Morpeth at the February 1974 general election, but was beaten by the sitting Labour MP George Grant by 13,034 votes. The two met again at the October 1974 general election, when Grant won by 14,687 votes.

Curry was elected a Member of the European Parliament in 1979 for Essex North East. He served until 1989.

Curry was elected to the House of Commons for the safe Conservative seat of Skipton and Ripon at the 1987 general election on the retirement of the sitting Conservative MP John Watson. Curry won the seat with a majority of 17,174 and held the seat safely until he retired from Parliament in 2010.

Following his election Curry became a member of the Agriculture Select committee until he was promoted to the government of Margaret Thatcher in 1989 as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. He was promoted within the same department to Minister of State after the 1992 general election by John Major. A year later he moved sideways to the Department for the Environment where he remained until the Major government fell at the 1997 general election. He became a Member of the Privy Council in 1996.

In opposition Curry became the Shadow Agriculture Secretary, but resigned from the Shadow Cabinet in December 1997 in protest at the policy of ruling out Britain joining the single European currency for the next ten years.[1] In 1998, he became the chairman of the Agriculture Select Committee and, after the 2001 general election, its successor the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee until 2003 when he promoted again to the Shadow Cabinet by Michael Howard as Shadow Local and Devolved Government Secretary. He resigned again in 2004, this time citing 'family reasons'[2] and was replaced by Caroline Spelman. He was a member of the Public Accounts Select Committee from 2004.

On 5 February 2009, Curry announced that he would not stand at the 2010 election.[3]

On 19 November 2009, Curry stood down from his position as chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Standards and Privileges after claims by The Daily Telegraph regarding his expenses and reportedly referred himself to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority for investigation.[4]

In January 2013, Curry was appointed Editor-in-Chief of The Parliamentary Review.

Publications

• The Food War: US-EU Food Politics by David Curry, 1982, EDG
• The Conservative Tradition in Europe Edited by David Curry, 1998, Mainstream
• Lobbying Government: A practical Guide for the Housing Industry and Lobby by David Curry, 1999, Chartered Institute of Housing, ISBN 1-900396-48-3
• The Sorcerers Apprentice: Government and Globalisation by David Curry, 2000, Local Government Association, ISBN 1-84049-161-2

References

1. Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (2000). "4: Party Politics". The Longman companion to Britain since 1945 (2 ed.). Harlow: Longman. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-582-35674-0.
2. "Curry quits the Tory front bench". BBC News. 15 March 2004. Archived from the original on 26 May 2004. Retrieved 4 December 2005.
3. "MP to stand down at next election". BBC News. 5 February 2009. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
4. Prince, Rosa; Winnett, Robert; Watt, Holly (19 November 2009). "MPs' expenses: David Curry quits as standards chief over new Telegraph disclosures". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.

External links

• ePolitix.com - David Curry MP
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: David Curry MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - David Curry MP
• The Public Whip - David Curry MP voting record
• BBC News - David Curry MP profile 30 March 2006
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by David Curry