British Conservative politician
Andrew Robert George Robathan, Baron Robathan
,
PC
(born 17 July 1951) is a
British
Conservative
politician, who served as
Member of Parliament
(MP) for
South Leicestershire
(previously
Blaby
) in
Leicestershire
as well as a
government minister
.
In September 2014 Robathan announced he would stand down at the
2015 general election
,
[1]
and was nominated for a
life peerage
in
2015 Dissolution Honours
,
[2]
being created
Baron Robathan
, of Poultney in the
County of Leicestershire
, on 13 October 2015.
[3]
Early life
[
edit
]
Robathan was born on 17 July 1951. He was educated at
Merchant Taylors' School
, an all-boys
public school
in
Northwood, London
. He went up to read
Modern History
at
Oriel College
,
University of Oxford
, where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
(BA) in 1973, later proceeding
Master of Arts
.
Military career
[
edit
]
Robathan was
commissioned
into the
Coldstream Guards
as a
Second Lieutenant
(on probation) (University Candidate) on 6 October 1974. He was given the
service number
498738.
[4]
His commission was confirmed and he was given seniority as a Second Lieutenant from 6 April 1971. He was promoted to
lieutenant
, back dated to 6 October 1974, with seniority from 6 April 1973.
[5]
Having attended the
Staff College
,
Camberley
, he was promoted to
major
on 30 September 1984.
[6]
He served for a period of time with the
Special Air Service
(SAS),
[7]
and retired on 27 August 1989 being appointed to the Reserve of Officers.
[8]
He worked for
BP
from 1991 to 1992, but volunteered to return to the Army between January and April 1991 during the First
Gulf War
, serving as
Chief of Staff
of the Prisoner of War Guard Force in
Saudi Arabia
,
Iraq
and
Kuwait
.
[9]
Parliamentary career
[
edit
]
Robathan was elected to
Hammersmith and Fulham
Council in May 1990, defeating the then-Labour Mayor in the
Eel Brook
Ward.
[9]
He resigned as a Councillor in late 1991 to fight the
1992 general election
, elected as MP for Blaby in 1992 succeeding
Nigel Lawson
, the former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
. Blaby had a 37% Conservative majority in 1992, but it was considerably reduced by the national swing against the Conservatives and major boundary changes in 1997, creating a rise in Labour support within the constituency. Following a public enquiry by the
Electoral Commission
and submissions from the public including Robathan, the Blaby constituency was reconfigured as
South Leicestershire
.
Robathan served four years on the Defence Select Committee between 1997 and 2001; he was also Chairman of the All-Party Cycling Group, and Vice-Chairman of the All-Party Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group, whilst an
MP
.
[9]
Robathan was
John Redwood
's
Parliamentary Private Secretary
to
Iain Sproat
, Minister for Sport, in the Major administration before returning to the backbenches when the Conservatives lost the
1997 general election
. He returned to the front-bench as
Trade and Industry
Spokesman in 2002.
In the
2001 Conservative Party leadership election
, Robathan was a notable supporter of
Michael Portillo
. After six months on the backbenches, Robathan was appointed Commons Liaison to the Lords and then a Defence Spokesman in which capacity he fought the
2005 general election
.
[10]
In the
2005 Conservative leadership election
, Robathan was one of the first MPs to declare his support for
David Cameron
being rewarded with one of only five paid posts as
Opposition Deputy Chief Whip
.
[9]
In May 2010, he was appointed
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
at the
Ministry of Defence
with responsibility for Welfare and Veterans.
[
citation needed
]
In 2011, he was a member of the Special Select Committee set up to scrutinise the Bill that became the Armed Forces Act 2011.
[11]
In December 2011, campaigners called for him to be sacked after he compared the medal claims of 66,500 veterans of the
Arctic convoys of World War II
to the proliferation of honours made by "authoritarian regimes" and "dictators":
- "One can look, for instance, at North Korean generals who are covered in medals or Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein... We have taken the view in this country, traditionally, that medals will only be awarded for campaigns that show risk and rigour."
[12]
Some 3000 sailors died on the convoys - which
Winston Churchill
described as the "worst journey in the world".
[12]
Portsmouth MPs described his behaviour as "shameful" and "sickening".
[12]
In October 2012 Robathan was told to calm down by
Lindsay Hoyle
, the Deputy Speaker, after complaining about noise levels from the public gallery.
[13]
Soldiers from the "historic" 2nd Battalion
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
who face being disbanded were "politely applauding MPs who spoke up on their behalf".
[13]
A former captain contrasted MoD advice that they went to Afghanistan and Iraq to help democracy with the reality of their own threatened ejection from Parliament.
[13]
Expenses
[
edit
]
Robathan claimed the maximum second home entitlement of £24,006 in the period 2008?09
[14]
though he was not one of the 343 MPs required to repay money by the Legg Report.
[15]
He was one of 177 MPs listed by
The Daily Telegraph
who employed family members.
[16]
The
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
report published two years later, whilst tightening the rules, confirmed that a member may employ one relative subject to general conditions relating to expenses.
[17]
Robathan's expenses were generally in the bottom half of all MPs.
[18]
On 24 August 2009, he was quoted in
The Times
newspaper suggesting that MP's salaries be increased to £110,000. These comments were heavily frowned upon by his colleagues in Parliament and the media.
[19]
On 4 November 2013, it was reported in
The
Leicester Mercury
newspaper and on
BBC Radio Leicester
that Robathan had claimed £4,587 expenses to pay for energy bills for his second home.
[20]
[21]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Robathan married Rachael Maunder in December 1991 in Westminster. They have a son (born December 1996), and daughter (born July 1999). Rachael has been a Conservative councillor on
Westminster City Council
since 2010, representing Knightsbridge and Belgravia ward. In 2020, she became Leader of the Council.
Robathan speaks French and German, and has been admitted as a
Freeman
of the
City of London
.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
News items
[
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]
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