Neil Parish - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Neil Parish was elected Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Honiton on 6 May 2010. The Conservative vote was 3.6 per cent up, with Mr Parish attracting 27,614 votes - a 50.3 per cent share of the overall votes cast. He won with a majority of 9,320 votes.

In June 2010, weeks into be elected MP, Neil was elected by his fellow MPs onto the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. The committee is elected by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its associated public bodies including the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Commission for Rural Communities.

Neil Parish was elected by Conservative backbenchers as Chairman of the 1922 Backbench Environment Policy Committee on Wednesday 20 July 2010. The Policy Committee plays a significant role both in policy formation and acting as a channel of communication between backbenchers and ministers.

Neil Parish is currently the Chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare. The Group's purpose is to raise awareness of animal welfare issues amongst Parliamentarians.

July 2012 Neil Parish relaunched and was elected Chairman of both the All Party Parliamentary Group on Beef and Lamb and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pig and Poultry. The purpose of these two separate groups is to ensure Parliamentarians are briefed by industry experts on the latest developments in the industry, including supply chains, exports, sustainability, health and nutrition.

Neil Parish was one of the 79 Conservative MPs who, on 24 October 2011, rebelled against a three-line whip and voted for a national referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union.