Christopher Chope

Sir Christopher Chope
OBE MP
Member of Parliament
for Christchurch
Assumed office
1 May 1997
Preceded by Diana Maddock
Majority 25,171 (49.7%)
Member of Parliament
for Southampton Itchen
In office
9 June 1983 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by Bob Mitchell
Succeeded by John Denham
Personal details
Born (1947-05-19) 19 May 1947[1]
Putney, London, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s)
Christine Mary Hutchinson (m. 1987)
Children 2
Alma mater University of St Andrews[2]
Website www.chrischope.com

Sir Christopher Robert Chope OBE MP (born 19 May 1947) is a British barrister and Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Christchurch. A Brexit advocate, he has been supportive of Leave Means Leave, a Eurosceptic pressure group.[3]

Early life

Christopher Chope was born in Putney, the son of Pamela (née Durell) and Robert Charles Chope (1913–1988), a circuit judge and former judge of county courts.[4][5][6] He was educated at the St Andrew's Preparatory School in Eastbourne and Marlborough College, before attending Queen's College at the University of St Andrews where he was awarded an LLB degree in 1970. He was a contemporary of Michael Fallon and Michael Forsyth, and was influenced by Madsen Pirie.[7] He finished his education at the Inns of Court School of Law. Chope was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1972.

Chope was elected as a councillor on the Wandsworth London Borough Council in 1974 and became the council leader in 1979; he left the council on his first election to Parliament in 1983. Chope was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year Honours for services to local government.[8]

Parliamentary career

He was elected as an MP at the 1983 general election for Southampton Itchen where he defeated the Social Democratic Party (and previously Labour) MP Bob Mitchell by 5,290 votes and became the first Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen since the constituency was created in 1950.

Chope was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Peter Brooke, the Minister of State at the Treasury in 1986, before being promoted by Margaret Thatcher to serve in her government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment later in the same year, where he was responsible for steering through the "Community Charge" (popularly known as the Poll tax) legislation.[9][10] He was moved under the leadership of John Major to serve in the same rank at the Department of Transport from 1990 until he lost his Southampton Itchen seat to John Denham at the 1992 general election.

After his defeat, Chope took up a consultancy with Ernst & Young in 1992, but was re-elected at the 1997 general election for the Christchurch constituency. In 1997, he became a spokesman on the Environment, Transport and the Regions as well as being the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party under William Hague, but left the frontbench later that year when he became a member of the Trade and Industry Select Committee. He returned to the frontbench after the 2001 election as a spokesman on the Treasury. In 2002, he moved to Transport, then left frontbench politics after the 2005 general election. He currently serves on the Panel of Chairs.

Chope was chairman of the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group and used to be a barrister in the Chambers of Peter Rawlinson.

During the expenses scandal of 2009, it emerged that Chope claimed £136,992 in parliamentary expenses in 2007-8. This included claiming £881 to repair a sofa.[11]

On 11 October 2011, Chope questioned the time allotted to a debate on MPs' pensions. Because this debate came before a debate into the Hillsborough disaster inquiry, it was reported that Chope had threatened to delay the inquiry, leading to widespread criticism of Chope's actions.[12][13]

Chope was criticised in January 2013 for referring to House of Commons dining room staff as "servants" in a speech.[14]

Chope was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for political and public service.[15]

Political views

On 10 February 2009, Chope co-sponsored an Employment Opportunities Bill to the House of Commons, which would have enabled workers to opt out of the minimum wage.[16] The bill was objected to and later dropped.[17]

Chope is sceptical of climate change and attended a meeting of climate change sceptics in the Palace of Westminster in October 2010.[18]

Chope helped to lead backbench support for the motion calling for a referendum to leave the European Union. He has also been heavily involved in the use of private member's bills to achieve this aim.[19][20]

Chope voted against the legislation for same-sex marriage in 2013.[21]

In 2014, Chope voted against requiring all companies with more than 250 employees to declare the gap in pay between the average male and average female salaries.[22]

In June 2013, Chope was one of four MPs who camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on an "Alternative Queen’s Speech" – an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver.[23] 42 policies were listed including reintroduction of the death penalty and conscription, the privatisation of the BBC, banning the burka in public places, holding a referendum on same sex marriage and preparing to leave the European Union.[23]

In July 2017, Chope and Peter Bone, the Conservative MP for Wellingborough, tabled 73 bills between them, of which 47 were placed by Chope.[24][25] In order to be at the front of the queue to table the bills, the pair had camped in the Palace of Westminster for three days. Chope's bills included legislation to privatise the BBC and Channel 4, limit the interest rate chargeable on student loan debt (and forgive it in certain circumstances), reduce stamp duty, and decriminalise TV licence-dodging. Because of the number of slots for bills they took, Chope and Bone were criticised for their actions.[25]

Chope has consistently supported Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.[26] Prior to the 2016 referendum, he announced his support for Brexit.[27] He has supported Leave Means Leave, a Eurosceptic pressure group.[3]

Blocking and filibustering of bills

Chope is a member of a group of backbench Conservative MPs who regularly object to private members bills which, in their view, have not received sufficient scrutiny. These have included a number which were previously believed to have widespread public and parliamentary support.[28] The BBC's parliamentary correspondent, Mark D'Arcy, said the group "make a practice of ensuring that what they see as well-meaning but flabby legislation is not lazily plopped on to the statute book by a few MPs on a poorly attended Friday sitting."[29] Chope said that he objects on principle to legislation being introduced to the statute books without debate: "[T]his is something I have fought for in most of my time as an MP and it goes to the very heart of the power balance between the government and Parliament. The government is abusing parliamentary time for its own ends and in a democracy this is not acceptable. The government cannot just bring in what it wants on the nod."[30]

On 12 March 2010, he blocked a bill to protect poor countries from vulture funds, despite his party's support for the bill.[31]

In December 2013, Chope objected to the second reading of the Alan Turing (Statutory Pardon) Bill in the House of Commons.[32] Because of this, the Government decided to act under the royal prerogative of mercy. On 24 December 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a free pardon.[33][34]

In November 2014, Chope blocked a bill that would have banned the use of wild animals in circus performances, on the basis that a bill on EU membership should have been called before the bill.[35] In the same month, Chope, alongside Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, filibustered a bill intended to make revenge evictions an offence.[36] Defending his filibuster, Chope claimed that the bill would have weakened landlords' ability to recover possessions, deterring them from letting properties.[37] Chope was reported as having been a private landlord himself, but he denied these claims.[37][38]

In October 2015, Chope, Davies and Conservative MP David Nuttall filibustered a private member's bill that would have placed restrictions on hospital parking charges for carers.[39]

On 15 June 2018, Chope blocked the passage of a private member's bill that would have made upskirting a specific offence. Chope said that his reason for blocking the passage was in objection to parliamentary procedure rather than to the bill itself: he stated that he would "wholeheartedly" support a government bill that outlawed upskirting.[30] Chope's actions drew immediate criticism from fellow MPs, including some in his own party.[40][41] The prime minister, Theresa May, also expressed her disappointment at the objection.[40] Following his objection, the government reaffirmed its commitment to introduce legislation to outlaw upskirting.[42] In protest at his actions, staff at the House of Commons placed a bunting of women's underwear outside Chope's office entrance. A similar bunting was also placed outside his constituency office.[43] Protestors also confronted Chope at his constituency surgery.[44]

On the same day as the upskirting bill, Chope and Davies forced a delay to the final debate on a bill which would have improved the oversight of the use of force in mental health units. Chope also blocked a bill which would have given extra legal protection to police dogs and horses.[28][45][46], an action the BBC subsequently cited for the continued lack of protection for police dogs.[47]

On 16 July 2018, Chope blocked a motion calling for the House of Commons chamber to be used for a Women MPs of the World Conference on a day in November when MPs were not sitting.[48][49] The conference was due to the mark the centenary of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom;[49][50] the motion had been moved by Conservative MP Mims Davies and was supported by Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons. Defending his actions, Chope stated that the Commons chamber should only be used by elected parliamentarians, with the exception of its annual use by the UK Youth Parliament.[48] Alongside Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne, Chope tabled an amendment to the motion which would require the conference to invite only parliamentarians and hold a debate while using the chamber.[48][51]

In July 2018 ministers stepped in to ensure that a global women’s conference could be held in the Commons after Chope used parliamentary procedure to obstruct the plan.[52]

Personal life

On 20 April 1987, Chope married Christine Mary, daughter of Robert Hutchinson, of Wimborne, in Wimborne Minster.[53] Prior to their marriage, Christine had been employed as Chope's House of Commons' secretary and researcher for three years.[53][54] They have a daughter, Antonia, born in February 1990 and a son, Philip, born in August 1992.[55][56]

References

  1. ↑ "Birthdays today". The Times. London. 19 May 1988. p. 14.
  2. ↑ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (7 May 2007). The Almanac of British Politics. Routledge. p. 301. ISBN 1135206767.
  3. 1 2 "Co-Chairmen – Political Advisory Board – Supporters". Leave Means Leave.
  4. ↑ "Chope, His Honour Robert Charles : Who Was Who - oi". doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u162881. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. ↑ Dod's Parliamentary Companion, 2005, Vacher Dod Publishing, p. 121
  6. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  7. ↑ "Christopher CHOPE" (PDF). Parliamentary Profile Services Ltd.
  8. ↑ "No. 48837". The London Gazette. 30 December 1981. p. 9.
  9. ↑ "Appointments". The Times. London. 2 May 1986. p. 14.
  10. ↑ "'Lost' MP discovers he's a minister". The Times. London. 17 September 1986. p. 5.
  11. ↑ Hennessy, Patrick (24 May 2009). "MPs' expenses: Tory Christopher Chope's £881 bill for repairing sofa". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  12. ↑ Codd, Joanna (13 October 2011). "Hillsborough row 'storm in a teacup' says MP Chris Chope". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  13. ↑ "Tory MP Christopher Chope condemned for Hillsborough debate objection". Liverpool Echo. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "Tory MP Chope Calls Commons Staff 'Servants'". Sky News. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N2.
  16. ↑ "Employment Opportunities Bill" (PDF). publications.parliament.uk. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  17. ↑ "Employment Opportunities Bill 2008–09 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  18. ↑ Hickman, Leo (26 October 2010). "Cabal of climate sceptics to descend on UK Parliament". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  19. ↑ D'Arcy, Mark (1 July 2010). "Three crafty Musketeers". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  20. ↑ "Voting Record — Christopher Chope MP, Christchurch (10103) — The Public Whip". www.publicwhip.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  21. ↑ "Gay marriage how did your mp vote Map". The Guardian. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  22. ↑ "Equal Pay: Seven male Tory MPs vote against bill to make big companies reveal gender pay gap". The Independent. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  23. 1 2 Robert Watts (20 June 2013). "Conservative MPs launch attempt to bring back death penalty, privatise the BBC and ban burka". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  24. ↑ "Brexit bank holiday among scores of measures proposed by MPs". Belfast Telegraph. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  25. 1 2 Slade, Darren (29 July 2017). "The 47 bills Christchurch MP Chris Chope wants to put before Parliament". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  26. ↑ "Christopher Chope MP, Christchurch – TheyWorkForYou". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  27. ↑ "EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand". BBC News. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  28. 1 2 "New upskirting law blocked by Tory MP". BBC News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  29. ↑ "May 'disappointed' at upskirting law block". BBC News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  30. 1 2 Martin, Andy (17 June 2018). "Christchurch MP Christopher Chope: I DO support upskirting ban". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  31. ↑ Nigel Morris, Andy McSmith and Kunal Dutta (13 March 2010). "Tory MP blocks bill targeting 'vulture funds'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  32. ↑ Roberts, Scott (2 December 2013). "Lib Dem MP John Leech disappointed at delay to Alan Turing pardon bill". Pink News. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  33. ↑ Oliver Wright (23 December 2013). "Alan Turing gets his royal pardon for 'gross indecency' – 61 years after he poisoned himself". The Independent.
  34. ↑ "Alan Turing granted Royal pardon by the Queen". The Daily Telegraph.
  35. ↑ Frampton, Will (14 November 2014). "Anger after bill to ban wild animals in circuses is blocked by MP Chris Chope". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  36. ↑ "MPs block revenge evictions bill – Shelter Response". 5 December 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014.
  37. 1 2 Slade, Darren (29 November 2014). "MP Chris Chope defends blocking bill to ban 'revenge evictions' after criticism". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  38. ↑ Slawson, Nicola (15 June 2018). "Who is Christopher Chope, The MP Who Derailed The Upskirting Bill?". HuffPost. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  39. ↑ Perraudin, Frances (30 October 2015). "Tory MP's filibuster blocks bill to give carers free hospital parking". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  40. 1 2 Allegretti, Aubrey (16 June 2018). "Theresa May 'disappointed' as Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope blocks upskirting bill". Sky News. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  41. ↑ "Revealed: Conservative MPs turn on Christopher Chope on Tory WhatsApp | Coffee House". The Spectator Coffee House. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  42. ↑ Crerar, Pippa (18 June 2018). "Upskirting: government confirms plan to introduce ban". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  43. ↑ "'Pants protest' against Commons row MP". BBC News. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  44. ↑ Lewis, Jason (22 June 2018). "WATCH: Protestors confront Sir Christopher Chope in Christchurch over 'upskirting' bill". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  45. ↑ "'Seni's Law' given initial approval". BBC News. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  46. ↑ Berg Olsen, Martine (15 June 2018). "Tory MP blocks law to protect police dogs and horses from getting stabbed". Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  47. ↑ "Man admits stabbing Derbyshire police dog PD Axle". BBC news Derby. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  48. 1 2 3 "Upskirting row MP under fire again". BBC News. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  49. 1 2 "House of Commons Votes and Proceedings (Vote Bundle No. 172) - 16 July 2018". publications.parliament.uk. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  50. ↑ Buchan, Lizzy (17 July 2018). "Tory MP accused of 'sexist behaviour' for blocking women's conference motion". The Independent. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  51. ↑ "Business for Tuesday 17 July 2018". publications.parliament.uk. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  52. ↑ "Tory MP who blocked upskirting bills objects to women's conference". The Guardian.
  53. 1 2 "MP marries secretary". The Times. London. 21 April 1987. p. 2.
  54. ↑ "Hitched". The Times. London. 14 April 1987. p. 14.
  55. ↑ Dod's Parliamentary Companion, 2005, Vacher Dod Publishing, p. 80
  56. ↑ Christopher Chope MP biography at the site of the Conservative Party
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Bob Mitchell		 Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen
1983–1992		 Succeeded by
John Denham
Preceded by
Diana Maddock		 Member of Parliament for Christchurch
1997–present		 Incumbent
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