Chris Davies - Biography

Biography

Davies was born in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. His father was a doctor, and his mother a nurse. He was educated at Cheadle Hulme School (1965–72), at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (1972–75, reading history) and from 1975 to 1977 at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

He became the MP for Littleborough and Saddleworth after a by-election in 1995, but the seat was abolished by the time of the 1997 General Election. Davies contested Oldham East and Saddleworth at this election but lost to Phil Woolas of Labour.

He was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the North West England constituency in 1999.

Due to controversy over the tone of a series of emails he exchanged with a pro-Israeli constituent, Davies was forced to resign as leader of the Liberal Democrats group in the European Parliament. Davies now serves as the Liberal Democrat spokesman on the environment and public health in the European Parliament.

In 2008, Davies made some widely publicised comments on an unpublished report which, he claimed, contained evidence of "embezzlement and fraud" among EU parliament members.

At the autumn 2009 Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth, Davies made a speech in a debate about the MP expenses scandal, where he appeared to become very angry, exclaiming "I hate, I hate the dirty cheating bastards who have taken every opportunity to fill their private pockets with public money.. .. they should play no part in public life". He went on the implore his Liberal Democrat colleagues to "Publish everything, reveal all, hide nothing..".

In December 2009 Davies appeared on the The Politics Show North West alongside Nick Griffin on a debate regarding climate change and the then forthcoming 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which both men were attending as part of the EU Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

Davies is a resident of Greenfield, in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester.