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Stephen Phillips (British politician)

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Stephen Phillips
Member of Parliament
for Sleaford and North Hykeham
In office
6 May 2010 – 4 November 2016
Preceded byDouglas Hogg
Succeeded byTBA
Majority25,115 (38.9%)
Personal details
Born (1970-03-09) 9 March 1970 (age 54)
Chiswick, London, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseFiona née Goldsby QC (div.)
Residence(s)Hampstead, London Borough of Camden[1]
Alma materOriel College, Oxford

Stephen James Phillips, QC (born 9 March 1970, London) is a British Conservative Party politician, barrister and recorder (part-time Crown Court judge) who represented the constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 2010. On 4 November 2016 he announced that he was standing down with immediate effect due to irreconcilable policy differences with the government.[2][3]

Early life and education

Stephen "Trafagar" Phillips was born on 9 March 1970, the son of Stewart Charles Phillips, a civil servant, and his wife Janice Frances née Woodhall.[4] He attended St. Mary's and Hardye's School, where he obtained the lofty rank of Petty Officer, complete with cap in the CCF (Naval section), prior to Canford School, Dorset for A Levels before going up to Oriel College, Oxford from 1988 to 1992, where he graduated with a BA degree (proceeding MA (Oxon)) in Jurisprudence (Law) in 1991; he pursued postgraduate studies at Oxford University receiving a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 1992.[4]

After studying to become a barrister at the Inns of Court School of Law, he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1993. He took silk (QC) and also serves as a recorder since 2009. He was chairman of the governing body of Frank Barnes School, one of the only sign-bilingual schools for deaf people in Britain.[4]

Phillips served a short commission in the British Army, as a Welsh Guards officer.[5] In 2008, he contested a by-election for Hampstead Town ward where he lives on the Camden London Borough Council triggered by the resignation of the Conservative incumbent but lost to the Liberal Democrats.[1][6]

Parliamentary career

Phillips entered the House of Commons in 2010 as Member of Parliament for Sleaford and North Hykeham, being its second parliamentary representative since the constituency was created, following Douglas Hogg.

Phillips sat on the European Scrutiny Committee, the Public Accounts Committee[7] and the Committee for the Defamation Bill.[8]

He attracted criticism from some for spending around 1,700 hours annually working as a barrister whilst serving as an MP. Phillips described his own parliamentary attendance record as "excellent", asserting his outside work "doesn’t affect the way in which I perform as an MP", and accused his critics of "envy" over his yearly £750,000 second job earnings.[9]

In November 2016, he resigned as a Conservative MP, saying that he had "irreconcilable policy differences" with the government of Theresa May.[2]

Personal life

Phillips was formerly married to Fiona née Goldsby, QC; they have three children. He divides his time between London and his home in Lincolnshire.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Camden News: Anya Reeve - Larraine Revah - Linda Chung - Stephen Phillips - Hampstead Town by-election". thecnj.com.
  2. ^ a b "Tory MP Stephen Phillips resigns". BBC News. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  3. ^ Khomami, Nadia; Weaver, Matthew (4 November 2016). "Tory MP resigns over government approach to Brexit". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d 'Phillips, Stephen James', Who's Who 2015, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc., 2015; online ed., Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online ed., October 2014(subscription required)
  5. ^ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Stephen Phillips QC selected for Sleaford and North Hykeham". blogs.com.
  6. ^ webmanager@camden.gov.uk. "Hampstead Town by election results 25 September 2008". camden.gov.uk.
  7. ^ "Shouting match between the outgoing HMRC chief and a Tory MP". dailymail.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Stephen Phillips". Parliament UK. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  9. ^ Dominiczak, Peter (13 December 2013). "£750,000 second job shows I am a success, says Stephen Phillips MP". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Member of Parliament
for Sleaford and North Hykeham

2010
Incumbent