Philip Bushill-Matthews

Philip Bushill-Matthews

Member of the European Parliament for West Midlands
In office 10 June 1999 – 4 June 2009
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Anthea McIntyre^[a]
Personal details
Born	Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Occupation	Politician
a. ^ Office vacant from 4 June 2009 – 30 November 2011

Philip Bushill-Matthews (born on 15 January 1943 in Droitwich) was a British politician and was a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands.

Biography

After a management career with several food manufacturing businesses which culminated in an appointment as Managing Director of Red Mill Snack Foods Ltd in the Black Country and Red Mill Company BV, the Netherlands, he was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. In addition to his position as MEP, he was a former leader of the Conservative group in Brussels.^[1]

Having been elected Deputy Leader of the Conservative MEPs in November 2007, in June 2008 Bushill-Matthews was elected Leader after Giles Chichester chose to step down in order to clear his name following allegations of withdrawing parliamentary funds for private use.^[2] During his leadership he put in place a 'Right to Know' system whereby Conservative MEPs openly declared their expenses on line. Conservative Central Office described him as "a safe pair of hands".

He was appointed Conservative Spokesman for Employment & Social Affairs following his first election as an MEP, and held this position for ten years. In 2007 he was also elected Co-ordinator for Employment and Social Affairs for the Group of the European Peoples' Party and European Democrats. His aim was to ensure that EU legislation was proportionate and realistic, and employment opportunities helped not hindered in the process. He was instrumental in preserving the UK individual opt-out from the Working Time Directive and promoting Corporate Social Responsibility as voluntary.

He did not submit his name for reselection at the 2009 European elections and stood down as MEP in June 2009. In 2011 he was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, and elected Vice-Chairman in 2012.

Bushill-Matthews is the author of 'The Gravy Train' published in 2003 and 'Who Rules Britannia?' in 2005. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

Education

1956–1962: Attended Malvern College^[3]
1962–1965: MA (English Language and Literature), University College, Oxford
1987: Harvard Business School

Career

1965: Joined Unilever
1976: Seconded to Thomas Lipton Inc., U.S.
1977: National Accounts Director, Birds Eye Sales Ltd
1980: Managing Director, Iglo Indústrias de Gelados, Lisbon
1981: Sales Director, Birds Eye Wall's Ltd
1988: Managing Director, Craigmillar Ltd, and Director, Van den Bergh and Jurgens Ltd
1991: Managing Director, Red Mill Snack Foods Ltd, Wednesbury, West Midlands, and Managing Director, Red Mill Company BV, Netherlands
1999: Conservative MEP, European Parliament ; and Conservative Spokesman for Employment & Social Affairs, European Parliament
2003: Author of 'The Gravy Train'
2005: Author of 'Who Rules Britannia?'
2007: Deputy Leader of Conservative MEPs, European Parliament
2007: Co-ordinator for Employment and Social Affairs for European Peoples' Party and European Democrats
2008: Leader of Conservative MEPs

Notes

↑ MIdlands MEP leads battle to preserve work opt-out status, by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Post, 10 December 2008.
↑ Tories sack EU chief whip in wake of expenses row, Jenny Percival ,The Guardian, Friday 6 June 2008
↑ Biographies of EP Moldova Delegation. EU Delegation to the 8th EU-Moldova PCC, Chisinau, 6–7 October 2005. www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 10 July 2010.

References

European Parliament Election, 2004 (UK)

External links

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