Martin Vickers | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forBrigg and Immingham Cleethorpes (2010–2024) | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Shona McIsaac |
| Majority | 3,243 (7.6%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martin John Vickers (1950-09-13)13 September 1950 (age 74)[1] Cleethorpes,Lincolnshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Ann Gill |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Cleethorpes |
| Alma mater | University of Lincoln |
| Website | www.martinvickers.org.uk |
Martin John Vickers[2] (born 13 September 1950) is a BritishConservative Party politician. He was elected as theMember of Parliament (MP) forBrigg and Immingham since the2024 general election. He previously represented theCleethorpes constituency from2010 until itsabolition in 2024.
Born inCleethorpes,Lincolnshire, Vickers was educated atHavelock School andGrimsby College.[3] He gained apolitics degree at theUniversity of Lincoln after six years as apart-time student in 2004.[4] His father, Norman Vickers of 140 Heneage Road in Grimsby, died, aged 71, in May 1988, having worked for 42 years with British United Trawlers, and served inWorld War II in the Army.[5]
In1979, he stood as a Conservative candidate for the Cromwell ward onGreat Grimsby Borough Council, but was not successful. In1980, he was elected as a councillor for theWeelsby ward on that council.[6] Having only narrowly held his seat in1986 by just 74 votes, he changed seats in1990 to theScartho ward (even then, only winning by an even narrower 30 votes) whileLabour comfortably gained his old seat. In May1994, he lost his seat inScartho to theLiberal Democrats.[7][8]
In1995, he stood for the Scartho ward (with boundaries similar to the formerHumberside County Council division) on the then-newly created unitary authorityNorth East Lincolnshire Council which replaced the Great Grimsby andCleethorpes borough councils, but was unsuccessful. He did, however, gain the seat from Labour in May1999[9] and remained on the authority until2011.[10]
Before being elected an MP, he served as full-time Conservativeagent[11] forEdward Leigh.[citation needed] He had a newsagents on Freeman Road,[12] the Card Cabin.[13]
Vickers was elected to theHouse of Commons asMember of Parliament (MP) forCleethorpes in the2010 general election, by a majority of 4,298.[14] On 24 October 2011, Vickers was one of 81 Conservative MPs to rebel against theCameron government to vote for anational referendum on the European Union.[15] He was re-elected in the2015,2017,2019 and2024 elections.[16]
In December 2024, he replacedWendy Morton on theBackbench Business Committee.[17]
Vickers opposes thelegalisation of same-sex marriage. He voted againstMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 which introduced it in England and Wales.[18] Vickers also voted against similar legislation which introduced it in Northern Ireland in 2019.[19] In the same year, Vickers was one of 21 MPs who voted againstLGBT inclusive sex and relationship education inEnglish schools.[20] He also voted against thelegalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland in 2019.[19]
Despite hissocial conservative views ongay rights andabortions, Vickers has maintained he opposes the reintroduction of thedeath penalty.[21]
Vickers supportedBrexit in the2016 EU membership referendum.[22] He voted for then Prime Minister Theresa May'sBrexit withdrawal agreement.[23]
He is a member of theConservative Christian Fellowship.[24][better source needed] As of 31 July 2019, Vickers is the vice chair of theAPPGs for Albania, Azerbaijan, Central America, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Isle of Man, East Coast Main Line, Economic Development, Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers, Fisheries, Football, Rail in the North, Transport Across the North, and Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. He is the secretary of the APPG for Australia and New Zealand and the treasurer for the APPG for Heritage Rail. He is also the chair of the APPG for Kosovo, North Macedonia, Freeports, Oil Refining Sector, Rail. Vickers is co-chair of the APPG for Montenegro and an officer for the APPG for Serbia and River Thames.[25]
Following an interim report on the connections betweencolonialism and properties now in the care of theNational Trust, including links withhistoric slavery, Vickers was among the signatories of a letter toThe Telegraph in November 2020 from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative MPs. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured bycultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[26]
He married Ann Gill[27] on Saturday 3 October 1981 at St Peter's church in Cleethorpes,[28] and they have one daughter.[29][30] His wife works in his parliamentary office as a part-time junior secretary.[31]
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCleethorpes 2010–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forBrigg and Immingham 2024–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
