Richard Graham (politician)

First parliament (2010–15)

In the run up to the 2010 general election, Graham was criticised by the incumbent Gloucester Labour MP Parmjit Dhanda and Stroud MP David Drew for using members and supporters of the foxhound pack Heythrop Hunt^[12] to campaign and leaflet on his behalf.^[13]

Following his election to the House of Commons in 2010, Graham was a member of the Select Committee for Work and Pensions May–November 2010, and since July 2015.^[14] He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Lord Howell from November 2010 to September 2012. He was also Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Hugo Swire, Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2014. In November 2012, Graham was appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Indonesia.^[15] In January 2016 he was also appointed the Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Malaysia, the Philippines, and the ASEAN Economic Community.^[16]

In June 2010, his first debate in Parliament regarding apprenticeships and their importance to Gloucester was cancelled after he arrived late. Graham later blamed a 'Printer Error'.^[17] Graham also apologised to the Serjeant at Arms in 2010 after he shared a photo taken of him in the House of Commons Chamber with the Gloucester Citizen which also accompanied an article in that newspaper on his maiden speech.^[18] Photography is only permitted by the Speaker in exceptional circumstances.^[19]

In January 2013, Graham attracted criticism after suggesting to Gloucester Citizen that young women who wear high heels and short skirts put themselves at greater risk of rape. He said, "If you are blind drunk and wearing those clothes how able are you to get away?"^[20] Graham denied he was "victim blaming", saying that his comments were about "risk management".^[21]

Graham successfully campaigned for stronger dangerous driving sentencing laws in 2013.^[22] In July 2015, he was banned from driving for six months at Stroud Magistrates Court after he was caught driving at 90 mph in a 70 mph speed limit on the A417 near Cirencester, in the Cotswolds on 14 December 2014.^[23] He already had nine points on his licence at the time so faced automatic disqualification.^[24] He was fined £525 with £85 costs and a £53 victim surcharge. Consequently, he also had a road safety award withdrawn which he received from the charity Brake in January 2015.^[23]

In June 2013, he was advised by the Information Commissioner's Office that he was in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the EU directive concerning Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 after sending political campaign emails to people who had contacted him on parliamentary business without first obtaining their permission.^[25]

In November 2014, a visit by a cross-party group of parliamentarians to China, led by Peter Mandelson, had to be cancelled at the last minute, as Graham was denied a visa to China following a Westminster debate on the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong where he voiced his support for the protesters' human rights demands.^[26]

Second parliament (2015–17)

In April 2015, Graham was ordered by a judge to remove tweets that discussed a murder trial in Gloucester after the defendant's barrister accused him of "a clear attempt to win votes by ingratiating himself with his electors."^[27] Graham was re-elected with an increased majority of 7,241 votes at the 2015 general election. He apologised for parking his official campaign van in a disabled parking bay after a "37 hour day" following the election.^[28]

In May 2015, Graham was mocked on Twitter after taking a joke by David Schneider about YouGov Polls at face value.^[29]

In November 2015, Graham was accused of quoting Joseph Goebbels in defending a new surveillance bill with the words "if you've nothing to hide you have nothing to fear". The Independent pointed out that former Conservative Foreign Secretary William Hague had also used the same phrase in 2013 whilst Graham dismissed the argument as "clearly absurd" as Goebbels would have spoken in German.^[30]

In 2016, Graham was a member of the joint Select Committee which investigated the British Home Stores Pension Fund. He asked Sir Philip Green, who had responded angrily to previous questions about corporate governance, if he regarded the offshore company structure as appropriate for a modern UK company. Green did not answer directly, but said the structuring could have been more aggressive and others were jealous of his success.^[31]

In January 2016, Graham launched the UKTI Education is GREAT campaign to increase engagement with British education in Malaysia.^[32]

Graham campaigned for a "Remain" vote during the 2016 EU membership referendum^[33] but has since been involved in informal talks regarding future Free Trade Agreements as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to the Philippines.^[34]

In May 2017, during a BBC interview regarding the benefits system, Victoria Derbyshire discussed Personal Independent Payments (PIPs) for disabled people with Graham and asked why some people with permanent degenerative conditions are being reassessed for their social security payment. Graham said: "some conditions do degenerate, some stabilise, occasionally some do get better. It's a mixed situation" but didn't clarify his remarks leading to criticism.^[35]

Graham was re-elected with an increased share of the vote with 50.3%, but a reduced majority of 5,520 votes at the 2017 general election.

In March 2018, Graham voted through in favour of changes for any parent of children in Year 3 and above earning more than £7,400 to be ineligible to claim the free school meals.^[36]

In August 2018, Graham said in an online newsletter to his constituents that immigrants to the city were responsible for increased fly tipping and required an education programme, which drew criticism from other local politicians and the public alike with accusations of bigotry.^[37]

Graham chairs the All Party Parliamentary Groups for Indonesia, China, and Marine Energy and Tidal Lagoons. He is also a member of the Exiting the European Union Select Committee.