Andrew Murrison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Andrew Murrison MP
|
|
|
Member of Parliament
for Westbury |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 June 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | David Faber |
|---|---|
| Majority | 5,346 (9.6%) |
|
|
|
| Born | 24 April 1961 Colchester |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Jenny Murrison |
| Children | five daughters |
| Alma mater | Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth |
| Profession | Physician |
| Website | andrewmurrison.co.uk |
Dr Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961, Colchester) is a doctor and politician in the United Kingdom. He is Conservative Member of Parliament for Westbury.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
The son of William Gordon Murrison RD and Marion Murrison, he grew up in Harwich, Essex, and went to local schools there, Harwich High School,[1][2] and the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.[3]
[edit] Medical and naval career
With the benefit of a Royal Naval scholarship, Murrison qualified as a doctor from the Bristol University medical school in 1984 and holds the degrees of MD, MB and ChB.[1][3]
Until 2000, he served in the Royal Navy as a medical officer based at Fareham.[3] He served in the Gulf War of 1990-1991[4] and retired with the rank of Surgeon-Commander.[1] During his Naval career he served as an Honorary Research Registrar at Southampton General Hospital and spent one year as a postgraduate student at Hughes Hall, Cambridge University, obtaining a Diploma in Public Health.[1] From 2000, he worked as a general practitioner locum in Wiltshire and as a Consultant at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
In 2003, as a naval reserve officer, he was recalled to serve in Iraq for a six-month tour of duty.[1]
In September and October 2008, he took part in Exercise Apollo, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, to refresh his skills, including dealing with combat casualties.[5]
[edit] Political career
Before entering full-time politics, Murrison was a member of the Bow Group, an assistant to Sir Peter Lloyd, the member of parliament for his home constituency of Fareham, and then from 1999 to 2000 an assistant to Lord Freeman, whose role at Conservative Central Office was screening potential parliamentary candidates.[3]
In September 2000, Murrison was selected as the prospective Conservative candidate for the West Wiltshire constituency of Westbury and in June 2001 he was elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency. He was then appointed to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee and was also a member of the Standing Committee on the NHS Reform Bill.
In the 2001 Conservative leadership election, Murrison supported Michael Portillo.[3]
On 9 July 2003, Murrison asked the Prime Minister in parliament "The Criminal Records Bureau is blaming its disclosure fee and tight targets for its terrible performance. Last week, the fee doubled, the targets were scrapped and the disclosure deadline was kicked into the long grass. Who is responsible for this Horlicks, which is affecting so many of our constituents, and what is the Prime Minister doing about it?" He received the reply "The actual output of the Criminal Records Bureau has improved significantly over the past few months... It has been difficult to establish the Criminal Records Bureau and to get it working in the way that we want."[6]
In November 2003, Murrison was appointed as a Conservative Shadow Minister for Health, while also taking an active interest in defence policy.
In 2004, in a free vote, he voted against the bill to ban foxhunting and hare coursing which became the Hunting Act 2004.[7]
He was re-elected to parliament at the General Election in May 2005, and was appointed as shadow defence minister.[8]
In 2005, he spoke in parliament against European military union, saying "The threat that the proposed Euro force might pose to one of the most successful post-war organisations, NATO, and to our symbiotic relationship with the United States, has surely not been adequately explored".[8]
In 2006, Murrison asked the Prime Minister in the House of Commons about the proposed closure of all four community hospitals in his constituency: "Given that the Secretary of State for Health today declined me an audience to discuss the impending disaster facing my constituents in West Wiltshire, will the Prime Minister at least attempt to reconcile the rhetoric in her White Paper with the bitter reality facing my constituents on the ground?"[9]
In House of Commons divisions in 2007 on a number of House of Lords reform options, Murrison voted for options 7 and 8, proposing a 100% elected House of Lords, including the removal of all remaining hereditary peers, and against options 4 and 5, which proposed a partly elected and partly appointed upper chamber.[7]
In the debate on a Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill in May 2008, he supported amendments to the bill aimed at reducing the maximum gestational age for an abortion from twenty-four to twenty weeks, commenting: "The shock of the abortion list twenty-five years ago is still clear in my mind. Since then, societal attitudes have changed, in part because of improved imaging of the unborn child. I'm sure the law needs updating and twenty weeks appears to strike the right balance".[5]
He is a member of the Cardiac Risk in the Young All Party Parliamentary Group.[10]
Murrison's present Westbury constituency is due to be formally abolished at the next UK general election, but he has been selected as the Conservative candidate for the new South West Wiltshire constituency, which includes most of his present electoral area.
[edit] Family
Murrison is married to Jennifer Jane Munden (Jenny), a physiotherapist. They have five daughters and live near Mere in Wiltshire.[1][2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f andrewmurrison.co.uk biography
- ^ a b MURRISON, Dr Andrew William at ukwhoswho.com (subscription site)
- ^ a b c d e Robert Waller & Byron Criddle, The Almanac of British Politics, Routledge, 2002, p. 852 at books.google.com
- ^ Milan Rai, Regime Unchanged: Why the War on Iraq Changed Nothing (Pluto Press, 2003) p. xvii
- ^ a b andrewmurrison.co.uk events
- ^ Commons Hansard, 9 July 2003 (Column 1155) at publications.parliament.uk
- ^ a b howtheyvoted (Andrew Murrison)
- ^ a b guardian.co.uk Andrew Murrison
- ^ Commons Hansard, 3 May 2006 (Column 966) at the-stationery-office.co.uk
- ^ c-r-y.org.uk Andrew Murrison MP
- Dr Andrew Murrison MP official site
- Profile at the Conservative Party website
- Biography at ePolitix.com for Andrew Murrison MP
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Andrew Murrison MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Andrew Murrison MP
- The Public Whip - Andrew Murrison MP voting record
- BBC News - Dr Andrew Murrison profile 10 February, 2005
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Faber |
Member of Parliament for Westbury 2001 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Mark Harper |
Shadow Minister for Defence 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
