Bob Spink | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forCastle Point | |
| In office 7 June 2001 – 12 April 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Christine Butler |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca Harris |
| In office 9 April 1992 – 8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Bernard Braine |
| Succeeded by | Christine Butler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-08-01)1 August 1948 (age 77) Haworth,West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (until 2008) UKIP (2008, 2014-) |
| Spouse | Janet Barham (divorced) |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester,Cranfield University |
| Profession | Member of Parliament |
| Website | Bob Spink MP |
Robert Michael Spink (born 1 August 1948) is a British former politician who was amember of parliament (MP) forCastle Point inEssex (1992 to 1997, and 2001 to 2010).
Spink was elected as theConservative Party MP for Castle Point in 1992, lost his seat in 1997, but regained it in 2001. Having resigned the Conservative whip in March 2008, in April 2008 he defected to theUK Independence Party (UKIP), becoming that party's first MP. In November 2008, he became anindependent.[1] Standing as an independent, he lost his seat in the2010 election to the Conservative candidate,Rebecca Harris.
Spink subsequently rejoined UKIP.[2] In 2017, he was convicted on four counts of electoral fraud,[3] and was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in January 2018.[4]
He was educated at Holycroft Secondary Modern School (now a primary school) on Victoria Road inKeighley and Southall Technical College.[citation needed] At theUniversity of Manchester, he gained aBSc Hons (1st) in 1972. AtCranfield University, he gained anMSc inindustrial engineering and administration in 1975 andPhD in economics and management in 1988.
He joined theRoyal Air Force (RAF) in 1964 and, until 1966, did hisbasic training atRAF Cosford andRAF Uxbridge, being invalided. He was an engineer forEMI Electronics Ltd from 1966 to 1977 inHayes and gained anOrdinary National Certificate (ONC) from Southall Technical College in 1969 when on day-release, then became an industrial management consultant in 1977 for Harold Whitehead and Partners. From 1980 to 1984, he was a director of Seafarer Navigation International Ltd (eventually bought by Standard Communications)[5] inBournemouth and, from 1989 to 1993, he was a non-executive director ofBournemouth International Airport. From 1984 to 1993, he was a management consultant. From 1997 to 2001, he worked for Harold Whitehead inWindsor. He was a county councillor in Dorset from 1985 to 1992.
In May 1994, Spink presented anadjournment debate in the House of Commons in strong opposition to proposals to reduce the age of consent for homosexual acts from 21 to 18[6] The age of consent was later reduced to 18 after the passing of theCriminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
In April 2005, before thegeneral election, Spink placed an advertisement in the localYellow Advertiser newspaper criticising the Labour government's record against illegal immigration. His rival for the constituency, the Labour candidateLuke Akehurst, denounced Spink's advert as provoking racial tension.[7] Spink won the election increasing his share of the vote by 3.7%.
In March 2008, Spink announced to the UK House of Commons that he had resigned the Conservative Partywhip because of "criminal and other irregularities" in his constituency.[8] Soon afterwards, in April 2008, he joinedUK Independence Party and therefore became it first member of parliament.[9] He later found himself at odds with his new party over the issue of whether or not to extend the amount of time a suspect can be detained without charge from 28 to 42 days. He voted for the bill, but UKIP opposed it.
Spink is opposed toabortion and supports the reintroduction ofcapital punishment.[citation needed] He is against research intoanimal chimeras.[10]
In March 2010, Spink confirmed he was encouraging candidates to stand in local elections under the label "Independent Save Our Green Belt".[11] At the 2010 general election, he stood as an independent candidate, but made it clear that he was supporting UKIP. UKIP aided his election campaign and he received 27% of the vote, but lost Castle Point to the ConservativeRebecca Harris. In 2014, he rejoined UKIP.
In January 2018, Spink was given a six-month suspended prison sentence with 150 hours community service and ordered to pay £5,000 costs, for electoral fraud.[3] He had tricked elderly and infirm constituents into signing election nomination forms which they believed were petitions. They did not know they were to nominate a UKIP candidate or that Spink represented UKIP. Sentencing, Judge Ian Graham said, "This sort of offending undermines the working of democratic structures in this country. The democratic process depends on the good faith of those who engage in it, because a lot of what happens is of course quite difficult to police."[12]
He married Janet Barham and they have three sons and a daughter. They have since divorced.[13]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of parliament forCastle Point 1992 –1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of parliament forCastle Point 2001 –2010 | Succeeded by |