Andrew Percy

Andrew Theakstone Percy[2] (born 18 September 1977[1][3]) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Brigg and Goole in 2010 and is an active member of many groups in Parliament including All Party Parliamentary Groups on Financial Education for Young People, Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire as well as being a member of the anti-European Union Better Off Out Group.

Andrew Percy

MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Growth & Northern Powerhouse
In office
17 July 2016 – 14 June 2017
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byThe Baroness Williams of Trafford
James Wharton
Succeeded byJake Berry
Member of Parliament
for Brigg and Goole
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byIan Cawsey
Majority21,941 (50.6%)
Personal details
Born (1977-09-18) 18 September 1977[1]
Kingston upon Hull, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of York
University of Leeds
Websitewww.andrewpercy.org

Early life

Percy was born in Hull and brought up in Humberside, the son of a foundry worker (later a market gardener) and a school secretary; he has an older sister.[4] He attended the all-boys (11–16) comprehensive William Gee School (now part of Endeavour High School) and is a politics graduate of the University of York and studied at Leeds University on a law conversion course.[4][5] He subsequently worked as a secondary school history teacher in several schools, including in the United States and Canada.[5]

Before being elected to Parliament at the 2010 general election, he served as a parish councillor for Airmyn, near Goole,[5] and from 2000 to 2010, as a councillor for the Bricknell ward on Hull City Council.[6] During his time on the City Council Percy served as Chairman of the Licensing Committee, overseeing the transfer of liquor licensing from the Magistrates' Court to the Council. He also served as a Director of Kingstown Works Ltd. He contested the Yorkshire seat of Normanton in 2005, but was ultimately unsuccessful in defeating the sitting Labour MP, Ed Balls.[7][8]

Parliamentary career

Percy was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Brigg and Goole in the 2010 general election by a majority of 5,147.[9] In the 2015 general election he increased his majority to 11,176, receiving 53 per cent of the vote.[10]

Percy is rated as one of the Conservatives' most rebellious MPs and has voted with Labour on key issues such as loan sharking, Education Maintenance Allowance and student tuition fees.[11]

Percy has been part of a number of delegations of the Conservative Friends of Israel group,[12] including during the Operation Defensive Shield conflict when he visited for an Israeli military briefing on the Iron Dome defence system. He defended Israel's actions in the conflict saying "Israel acts as we would", in relation to the provocation faced from Hamas.[13]

In the 2010 Parliament, Percy served on the Health Select Committee, Regulatory Reform Committee and Northern Ireland Committee.

Second term (2015–2017)

Percy was re-elected at the 2015 general election. In the same year, he was also re-elected to the Health and Regulatory Reform committees in the 2015 Parliament. He also served as chairman of the All Party Yorkshire and North Lincs Group and as an officer of a number of other All Party Parliamentary groups, including Financial Education for Young People, The Commonwealth and on Global Education. He is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews.

Percy was elected to the UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive in 2015 and was also appointed to the Speaker's Panel of Chairs.

At a sitting in the House of Commons in April 2016, he asked Conservative Leader of the House, Chris Grayling, if he agreed that the government should bring forward proposals to ensure ex-police officers standing as police and crime commissioner (PCC) candidates should be required to make their public service records available for public scrutiny. Although Percy did not identify any individual PCC candidate, Grayling did in his reply. He said: "My Honourable Friend makes an important point. I am aware of allegations about the Labour PCC candidate in Humberside. If the stories alleged about that candidate are true, he is unfit for public office, and it is a matter of public interest that the truth should be known before election day."[14]

Percy and Grayling subsequently refused to elaborate on the content of any such allegations.[15] Percy quit Twitter several days later, citing "bullies", "trolls", "nastiness" and "aggression" as reasons for doing so.[16][17][18]

After Theresa May became Prime Minister in 2016, Percy was appointed to be the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State and Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse.[19][20]

Third term

Following the general election held on 8 June 2017, Andrew Percy was, again, re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Brigg and Goole with an increased majority of 12,363, an increase from 2015 of 7.4%. Percy announced that he would not return as Parliamentary Undersecretary of State and Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse, stating that he wished to return to the backbenches.

It was announced in September 2017, that Percy would be the Prime Minister's Trade-Envoy to Canada, a newly created role.[21]

On 22 July 2019, Percy resigned from the Trade Envoy role in protest over Liam Fox's planned no-deal policy that he believed would threaten the UK's annual £800 million business with Canada, criticising what he called the "cack-handed" proposal to scrap or slash tariffs on almost all imports – blaming it for Ottawa's refusal to give the UK its existing deal with the EU.[22]

On 13 May 2020, Percy was absent from a vote on Agriculture Bill — New Clause 2 — International trade Agreements: Agricultural and Food Products — Compliance with UK and Word Trade Organisation Standards.[23] When challenged by a member of his constituency he reportedly said: "There was no particular reason for not voting on that amendment". When pressed for an explanation from his farming constituent, Percy declined to expand.[24] Percy participated in three other votes on the same day.

On 15 September 2020 he was one of two Conservative MPs (together with Roger Gale) who voted against the UK Internal Market Bill at second reading.[25][26]

Personal life

Percy converted to Judaism in March 2017, having been baptised into the Church of England. He has identified with the Jewish community since primary school.[4]

References
  1. "Democracy Live: Your representatives: Andrew Percy". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9121.
  3. "Andrew Theakstone PERCY - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. Frazer, Jenni (30 March 2017). "My auntie always said we were Jewish!". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  5. "Andrew Percy". The Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  6. "Kingston Upon Hull City Council Election results 1995–2012" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  7. McGee, Simon (2 April 2005). "Strange case of the vanishing Prime Minister". The Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  8. "Election 2005: Normanton". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  9. "Brigg & Goole". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  10. "Brigg & Goole". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  11. Isaby, Jonathan (15 December 2010). "Philip Hollobone continues to top the league table of backbench rebels". Conservative Home. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  12. "Recent Delegations". Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  13. Mason, Rowena (30 July 2014). "Tory MPs' visit to Israel condemned as bad timing". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  14. Mystery of Chris Grayling 'unfit' PCC candidate claim as Keith Hunter denounces 'mud-slinging', Hull Daily Mail, 30 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  15. Grayling raises Labour candidate “allegations” Archived 6 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Yorkshire Post, 28 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  16. Andrew Percy MP quits Twitter blaming "bullies and trolls" Archived 5 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, ITV News, 3 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  17. Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy quits Twitter over 'increasing levels of personal abuse' Archived 10 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Scunthorpe Telegraph, 3 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  18. Why I quit ‘aggressive and nasty’ Twitter, by Tory MP Andrew Percy Archived 6 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Yorkshire Post, 4 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  19. "New ministerial and government appointments announced on July 17 2016". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  20. "Brigg & Goole MP Andrew Percy named as Northern Powerhouse minister". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  21. "PM heads to Canada to secure ambitious future trade and investment relationship". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  22. Merrick, Rob (22 July 2019). "Brexit news: UK trade envoy quits in protest over no-deal policy threatening £800m Canada agreement". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  23. "Agriculture Bill — New Clause 2 — International trade Agreements: Agricultural and Food Products — Compliance with UK and Word Trade Organisation Standards". Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  24. "MP saw 'no reason' why UK should keep EU farming standards after Brexit". Metro.co.uk. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  25. "PM's Brexit bill clears first hurdle in Commons". BBC News. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  26. Elgot, Jessica; Stewart, Heather (14 September 2020). "Brexit: internal market bill passes by 77 votes amid Tory party tension". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ian Cawsey		 Member of Parliament for Brigg and Goole
2010–present		 Incumbent
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