Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (born 1953) - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Clifton-Brown is related to seven other MPs, including Douglas Clifton Brown and Harry Hylton-Foster who both became Speaker, the former from 1943 to 1951 and the latter from 1959 to 1965. He was selected for the exceptionally safe Conservative parliamentary constituency of Cirencester and Tewkesbury following the retirement of the former Cabinet minister Nicholas Ridley. Clifton-Brown won the seat during the 1992 general election, with a majority of 16,058, and made his maiden speech on 12 June 1992. When newly elected he became a member of the Environment Select Committee, where he worked until 1995. Clifton-Brown was then appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Douglas Hogg. His constituency was abolished, but he contested and won the newly drawn constituency of Cotswold during the 1997 general election. He returned to Parliament as a backbencher whilst William Hague was the Leader of the Opposition. After Iain Duncan Smith beame leader of the Conservative Party, Clifton-Brown became the Shadow Minister for Local and Devolved Government Affairs in 2002. After the 2005 general election, he retained the seat of Cotswold and returned to Westminster as assistant Chief Conservative Whip. On the accession of David Cameron as Leader of the Conservative Party, he was appointed the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Investment.

After the 2010 election and the formation of the Coalition Government, Clifton-Brown returned to the backbenches allowing him to devote more time to his Constituency and to overseas visits in his role as Head of the Conservative Party's International Office.