British politician (born 1960)
Richard Henry Ronald Benyon, Baron Benyon
PC
[1]
[2]
(born 21 October 1960) is a British politician who has served as
Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy
since 2023.
[3]
A member of the
Conservative Party
, he was
Member of Parliament
(MP) for
Newbury
from 2005 to 2019.
Benyon studied at the
Royal Agricultural College
and
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
before serving in the
British Army
, being posted to Northern Ireland and the Far East with the
Royal Green Jackets
. He was elected to Newbury Council in 1991 and became Conservative group leader in 1994.
Benyon became MP for Newbury at the
2005 general election
. In opposition, he served on the
Home Affairs Select Committee
, as an opposition whip and as a shadow minister for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Under
David Cameron
, he first served as a government minister at DEFRA from May 2010 to October 2013. He had the Conservative
whip removed on 3 September 2019
by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
, after voting against the government, and sat as an independent MP until he had the whip restored on 28 October 2019.
In December 2020, it was announced Benyon would have a
life peerage
conferred after a
nomination
by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
.
[4]
Following the resignation of
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
in May 2021, he was again made Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
[5]
Early life
[
edit
]
Benyon was born on 21 October 1960 in
Reading
.
[6]
He is the son of
Sir William Richard Benyon
, a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1992,
[7]
and is the great-great-grandson of former Conservative Prime Minister
Lord Salisbury
.
[8]
He was educated at nearby
Bradfield College
and the
Royal Agricultural College
.
Military service
[
edit
]
Having attended the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
, he was commissioned into the
Royal Green Jackets
,
British Army
, as a
second lieutenant
on 8 August 1981.
[9]
He was promoted to
lieutenant
on 8 August 1983.
[10]
During his four years' service, he was posted to Northern Ireland, other parts of the UK, and the Far East.
[11]
He transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers on 8 August 1984, thereby ending his military career but maintaining call-up liability.
[12]
Political career
[
edit
]
He was elected in 1991 to
Newbury
District Council, and became Conservative group leader in 1994, in opposition to the then-ruling Liberal Democrats. He lost his council seat in 1995.
House of Commons
[
edit
]
Benyon contested the
Newbury constituency
at the
1997 general election
but lost heavily to the 1993 by-election incumbent
Liberal Democrat
David Rendel
. Benyon and Rendel contested Newbury again at the
2001 general election
, and Rendel came out again as the victor with a reduced majority. He and Rendel again contested Newbury at the
2005 UK general election
and Benyon was elected with a majority of 3,460, replacing Rendel.
Benyon made his
maiden speech
on 20 May 2005 and served on the
Home Affairs Select Committee
from 2005 to 2007, when he became an Opposition Whip. He was the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2009 until the 2010 general election when he entered government. He was also one of the first 15 MPs to support David Cameron's Conservative Party leadership bid.
In May 2009, he was listed by
The Daily Telegraph
as one of the "saints" in the expenses scandal exposed by that newspaper.
[13]
Benyon was made
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
at the
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
in the first
Cameron Ministry
.
[14]
and remained in post until a ministerial reshuffle in October 2013.
[15]
In 2012, while Wildlife Minister, Benyon refused a request from other MPs that possession of
carbofuran
, a deadly poison used to kill
raptors
that is banned in Canada and the European Union, should be made a criminal offence.
[16]
Green Party MP
Caroline Lucas
was quoted as saying: "The minister's shocking refusal to outlaw the possession of a poison used only by rogue gamekeepers to illegally kill birds of prey would be inexplicable were it not for his own cosy links to the shooting lobby".
[16]
In December 2012, Benyon's neighbours complained when
Hanson Aggregates
were given permission to extract 200,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year from woodlands on Benyon's family estate, leading it to be described as a 'bombsite'.
[17]
Benyon said that the estate was controlled by a family trust.
[17]
In 2013, Benyon succeeded in preventing any cuts in fishing quotas. He said that if British fishermen had their quotas cut they would dump even more fish overboard, and the more fish they are allowed to catch, the better it will be for "the health of our seas". Back in 2004, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution proposed that 30% of the United Kingdom's waters should become reserves preventing fishing or any other kind of extraction.
[18]
Also in 2013, Benyon's policy relating to access to rivers and his role as an owner of fishing rights was criticised. Writing in
The Guardian
,
George Monbiot
wrote that Benyon "repeatedly wields his power in ways that promote his own interests" and being "so enmeshed in potential conflicts of interest that were he to recuse himself from all the issues in which he has a personal stake, he would have nothing to do but order the departmental paperclips".
[19]
Benyon was opposed to
Brexit
prior to the
2016 European Union membership referendum
.
[20]
On 16 December 2016, he was appointed to the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
.
[21]
In 2017, Benyon was accused of
nepotism
by
Private Eye
after he hired his sister, Catherine Haig, as a part-time researcher while an MP as a part-time senior researcher in his office just before a parliamentary ban on such practices came into force. This accusation was in spite of her extensive qualifications for the job.
[22]
In 2019 he was one of 21 Conservative MPs who lost the whip for supporting the
European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019
.
[23]
He stood down in the
general election called thereafter
.
[24]
On 3 September 2019, Benyon - along with 20 other Conservative MPs - had the Conservative
whip removed
by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
, after voting against the government and supporting an emergency motion to allow the
House of Commons
to undertake proceedings on the
European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill
. Benyon sat as an independent MP until he had the Conservative whip restored on 28 October 2019.
According to The Register of Members' Financial Interests, as at 21 January 2019, he was paid £15,000 per annum by the UK Water Partnership, a not-for-profit company set up to promote the interests of the UK water sector. He received donations amounting to £8,250 in 2018, from
Philip Lavallin Wroughton
(three payments amounting to £7,000) and from
Chris Gent
(a single payment of £1,250).
[25]
Benyon stood down as
Member of Parliament
for
Newbury
at the
2019 United Kingdom general electionciting
disagreements over Brexit.
House of Lords
[
edit
]
In January 2021, Benyon was raised to the
House of Lords
by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
, styled
Baron Benyon
, of Englefield in the Royal County of Berkshire.
[26]
On 13 May 2021, Lord Benyon was made
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity
, following the resignation of
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
.
[5]
On 25 October 2022
Rishi Sunak
promoted him and appointed him as a Minister of State at the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
.
Philanthropy
[
edit
]
Benyon is a patron of the charity,
Berkshire Vision
, a charity dedicated to supported the visually impaired in the county.
[27]
Benyon is one of nine Vice-Presidents of
Berkshire County Scout Council
.
Property
[
edit
]
He controls the Englefield Estate, a 14,000 acre estate of mainly rural land and property in West Berkshire and Hampshire between Reading, Newbury and Basingstoke. It is the largest private landowner in West Berkshire.
[28]
The family seat is
Englefield House
, a large Grade II* Listed building owned by the Benyon family for many generations.
Englefield Estates owns the Benyon Estate, a portfolio of 371 homes in
Hackney, London
. His brother Edward Benyon manages the London properties. In March 2014, the Benyon Estate bought a 10% stake in the
New Era Estate
in Hoxton, and was awarded the contract to manage the estate. They sold their share in November 2014 following a dispute over rent.
[29]
Benyon also owns the Glenmazeran Estate in Inverness, Scotland.
Personal life
[
edit
]
In December 2017, Benyon was banned from driving for six months after admitting to using a mobile phone while driving 5 to 7 metres in a traffic jam. He had previously spoken out against mobile phone-using drivers after four people were killed by a distracted driver in an accident in his constituency.
[30]
Ancestry
[
edit
]
Ancestors of Richard Benyon
|
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|
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs, Access to Nature and Biosecurity from May 2021 to September 2022 and Natural Environment, Water and Rural Affairs from June 2010 to October 2013.
- ^
Sat as an
independent politician
while Conservative whip was suspended from 3 September to 28 October 2019.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Political Peerages 2020"
.
Gov.uk
. Retrieved
22 December
2020
.
- ^
"Ministers' interests"
(PDF)
. Cabinet Office.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 14 October 2012
. Retrieved
21 September
2015
.
- ^
"Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for International Environment) - GOV.UK"
.
www.gov.uk
. Retrieved
13 October
2022
.
- ^
"Political Peerages 2020"
.
Gov.uk
. Retrieved
22 December
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"The Rt Hon Lord Benyon"
.
GOV.UK
. Retrieved
13 May
2021
.
- ^
"Democracy Live: Your representatives: Richard Benyon"
.
BBC News
.
Archived
from the original on 27 October 2012
. Retrieved
21 November
2012
.
- ^
"Keeping it in the Family"
.
Scribd
.
Archived
from the original on 23 February 2014
. Retrieved
21 September
2015
.
- ^
"General Election 2005 Research Paper"
(PDF)
. House of Commons Library. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 27 March 2009.
- ^
"No. 48770"
.
The London Gazette
(Supplement). 19 October 1981. pp. 13269?13270.
- ^
"No. 49455"
.
The London Gazette
(Supplement). 22 August 1983. p. 11159.
- ^
"Richard Benyon"
. Politics.co.uk.
Archived
from the original on 11 November 2014
. Retrieved
11 November
2014
.
- ^
"No. 49844"
.
The London Gazette
(Supplement). 20 August 1984. p. 11401.
- ^
"MPs' Expenses: the saints"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London. 18 May 2009.
Archived
from the original on 21 May 2009
. Retrieved
1 July
2009
.
- ^
"Fuller list of junior appointments"
.
Conservative Home
.
Archived
from the original on 29 November 2014
. Retrieved
21 September
2015
.
- ^
"Coalition government reshuffle"
.
The Guardian
. 7 October 2013.
Archived
from the original on 16 June 2018
. Retrieved
7 October
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Michael McCarthy,
"Fury at minister Richard Benyon's 'astounding' refusal to ban deadly bird poison"
Archived
17 January 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Independent
, 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^
a
b
Tom Rowley (9 December 2012).
"Environment Minister Richard Benyon's family estate to destroy 218 acres of woodland"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London. Archived from
the original
on 9 December 2012
. Retrieved
9 December
2012
.
- ^
Monbiot, George.
"Ship-Wrecked"
.
Archived
from the original on 18 February 2013
. Retrieved
11 February
2013
.
- ^
Monbiot, George (4 April 2013).
"We have no right to our rivers while Richard Benyon's interests are served"
.
The Guardian
. London.
Archived
from the original on 5 August 2013
. Retrieved
7 April
2013
.
- ^
Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016).
"Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?"
.
The Spectator
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2019
. Retrieved
11 October
2016
.
- ^
"Privy Council appointments: Diane Abbott, Richard Benyon and Emily Thornberry"
.
GOV.UK
. Retrieved
24 August
2022
.
- ^
"Nepotism update".
Private Eye
. London: Pressdram Ltd. 11 August 2017.
- ^
"Who were the Conservative Brexit rebels?"
. 5 September 2019.
Archived
from the original on 7 October 2019
. Retrieved
18 October
2019
.
- ^
"Newbury MP Richard Benyon will not fight next election"
.
BBC News
. 9 September 2019
. Retrieved
30 May
2020
.
- ^
"The Register of Members' Financial Interests as at 21 January 2019 - Benyon, Richard (Newbury)"
.
Parliament.uk
.
Archived
from the original on 7 February 2019
. Retrieved
5 February
2019
.
- ^
"Crown Office"
.
www.thegazette.co.uk
. Retrieved
11 February
2021
.
- ^
"Patrons Berkshire Vision Berkshire Vision"
.
berkshirevision.org.uk
. Retrieved
10 August
2020
.
- ^
"The thirty landowners who own half a county"
.
Who owns England?
. 17 April 2017.
Archived
from the original on 11 January 2019
. Retrieved
10 January
2019
.
- ^
Johnston, Chris (13 November 2014).
"Tory MP's family firm pulls out of Hoxton's New Era estate over rent row"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
26 September
2023
.
- ^
"MP Richard Benyon banned for texting while driving"
.
BBC
. 14 April 2018.
External links
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