Richard Page | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | |
| In office 14 February 1995 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Charles Wardle |
| Succeeded by | Nigel Griffiths |
| Member of Parliament forSouth West Hertfordshire | |
| In office 14 December 1979 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Dodsworth |
| Succeeded by | David Gauke |
| Member of Parliament forWorkington | |
| In office 4 November 1976 – 7 April 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Peart |
| Succeeded by | Dale Campbell-Savours |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1941-02-22)22 February 1941 (age 84) Tredegar, Wales |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Madeleine Ann Brown |
| Alma mater | University of Bedfordshire |
Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a formerConservativeMember of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979, and from 1979 to 2005.[1]
Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independentHurstpierpoint College inWest Sussex andLuton Technical College, gaining aHNC in Mechanical Engineering in 1962. He was an apprentice atVauxhall Motors inLuton from 1959 to 1963, and then worked for Page Holdings, becoming the Chairman from 1985 to 1995 and 1997 onwards.
He was member of theYoung Conservatives from 1964 to 1966 and a district councillor inBanstead,Surrey,[1] from 1968 to 1971.
Page contestedWorkington in theFebruary andOctober 1974 elections. He won the seat inthe by-election caused by the elevation ofLabour'sFred Peart to theHouse of Lords in 1976, becoming the first Conservative to represent the constituency since it was created in 1918, before losing the seat inMay 1979. Page re-entered Parliament shortly afterwards, when he won thesafe Conservative seat ofSouth West Hertfordshire ina by-election in December that year. He is therefore distinguished as one of a handful of MPs who have been successful in twoby-elections.
Page twice served as Private Parliamentary Secretary toJohn Biffen–firstly whilst Biffen wasSecretary of State for Trade from 1981 to 1982; and later during his stint asLeader of the House from 1983 to 1987. Page was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at theDepartment of Trade and Industry underJohn Major, with responsibility forsmall business,Sustainable energy,biotechnology,coal,oil; as well asBritish Nuclear Fuels Ltd, the UK's nationalised nuclear power corporation. He was the opposition front-bench spokesman onTrade and Industry from 2000 to 2001.
He was the lead minister in the privatisation ofAEA Technology, and used his knowledge of the private members' ballot procedure to be successful with twoprivate members' bills from the single private members' ballot slot. Page moved a 10-minute rule bill to reduce the number of MPs, claiming it could allow MPs to be better paid and save the state money.
Page was a Member of thePublic Accounts Committee in the years 1987-95 and 1997–2000. He was also the Vice-Chairman of: the Conservative Trade and Industry Committee from 1988 to 1995; the All Party Engineering Group from 1997 to 2005; and the All Party Chemistry Group from 1997 to 2005. He was the Joint Chairman of the All-Party Racing and Bloodstock Committee from 1998 to 2005 and Chairman of theAll Party Parliamentary Scientific Committee from 2003 to 2005. He was also International Chairman of theConservative's Central Office from 1999 to 2000 and the Governor of the Foundation for Western Democracy from 1998 to 2000.
Outside of high office, Page won the Lords and Commons Motor car race at Brands Hatch and Donnington on three occasions. He was one of only 13 Conservative MPs who spoke and voted againstthe decision toinvade Iraq (18 March 2003) and the way the re-construction progressed. He stepped down from theHouse of Commons at the2005 General Election due to his wife's ill health.[1]
He was Governor of the Royal Masonic School from 1984 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2013. He was Honorary Treasurer ofThe Leukaemia Research Fund from 1991 to 1995, and has been Chairman of Keep Southwater Green since 2015. He was the master of theWorshipful Company of Pattenmakers.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWorkington 1976–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSouth West Hertfordshire 1979–2005 | Succeeded by |