Bill Cash

Last updated

Bridget Lee
​
(m. 1965)​
Sir Bill Cash
CH
Official portrait of Sir William Cash crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2017
Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee
In office
8 September 2010 –30 May 2024
Children3, including William
Alma mater Lincoln College, Oxford

Sir William Nigel Paul Cash CH (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1984 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. Cash is a prominent Eurosceptic. Following his tenth election victory in the 2019 general election, aged 79, Cash became the oldest sitting member of the House of Commons.

Contents

Cash was the founder of the Maastricht Referendum Campaign in the early 1990s, and was the elected Chair of the House of Commons' European Scrutiny Committee. He has also served as a vice-president of the Eurosceptic pressure group Conservatives for Britain, and to this day is one of the strongest critics of the European Union from the Conservative Party. In June 2023, he announced his intention to stand down at the 2024 general election. [1]

Cash was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2014 Birthday Honours for political services. [2] He was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour in Boris Johnson's resignation honours. [3] [4]

Education

Cash was born in Finsbury, London, to a political family, which included seven Liberal Members of Parliament, including John Bright. [5] [6]

Cash grew up in Sheffield and was privately educated at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire before attending Lincoln College, Oxford, from where he graduated with a BA in History. He qualified as a solicitor in 1967, and since 1979 has practised as a solicitor on his own account (i.e. he is neither employed by a law firm nor is he a member of a partnership). [7]

Family

Cash married Bridget Mary (née Lee) at Wardour Castle Chapel in Wiltshire on 16 October 1965, [8] and they have two sons and a daughter. His son is the journalist William Cash. [9] [10] [11]

Along with his wife, Bill Cash restored the now Grade I Upton Cressett Hall in the 1970s. The Hall was subsequently voted the 'Best Hidden Gem' heritage destination in the UK at the 2011 Hudson's Heritage awards. [12]

He is a distant cousin of the American country musician and singer Johnny Cash. [13]

Parliament

Cash entered Parliament in 1984, when he was elected as MP for Stafford at a by-election in May following the death of Sir Hugh Fraser. Since the 1997 election he has been MP for Stone, Staffordshire. Stone was a then newly (re-)created constituency, the previous version of which (with slightly different boundaries) had been abolished in 1950.

He has been chairman of various parliamentary committees. He was elected unopposed as Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee on 8 September 2010, [14] and has been a member of the Select Committee on European Legislation since 1985. Cash was elected chairman of the Conservative Backbench Committee on European Affairs (1989–91).

In June 2023, he was one of six Conservative MPs to vote against censuring Boris Johnson following the Commons Privileges Committee investigation. (By contrast, 354 MPs voted to approve the Committee's report). [15] [16]

International affairs

Cash was chairman of a number of All-Party African committees, including those on Kenya and Uganda. He was also chairman of the All-Party Committee on Malaysia. He has also served as chairman on the All-Party Group for the Jubilee 2000 (1997–2000). [17]

He was chairman of the All-Party Sanitation and Water Committee (Third World) in which he worked closely with Wateraid and Tearfund. [18] He introduced the Gender Equality (International Development) Bill 2013, [19] [20] which, although only 18th in the Private Members Ballot, was enacted in March 2014.

Mariella Frostrup wrote in The Times , "The new law that puts gender equality at the heart of our overseas aid policy will be as historic as the Slave Trade Act." [21] Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development, wrote in The Telegraph blog "Yet for assiduously steering his Gender Equality in International Development Bill through Parliament over recent months, Bill Cash deserves the recognition of women everywhere. … It's also a proud legacy for a Parliamentary champion of women's rights [..] Bill Cash." [22] The day after the Act came into force, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, told Cash in the House of Commons, "I am sure the whole House will want to join me in commending my hon. Friend on his Bill, and on his legislative achievement to get that important measure on the statute book." [23]

Euroscepticism and the Maastricht Rebellion

Cash is known as a strong Eurosceptic. He has been described by Kenneth Clarke as the most "Eurosceptic" Member of Parliament. In the book by historian Robert Blake titled The Conservative Party: from Peel to Major, Cash is described as the leader of the Eurosceptics during the Maastricht Rebellion and as being "indefatigable... a constitutional lawyer of great expertise". [24]

The 'Maastricht Rebellion' took place in the early 1990s, and reached its height in 1993. MPs belonging to the governing Conservative Party refused to support the government of John Major in the votes in the House of Commons on the issue of the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union) in British law. It was a major event of John Major's troubled second term as Prime Minister (1992–1997). Major's party had a small majority, thus giving the relatively small number of rebels great influence: for example, there were 22 rebels on the second reading of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill in May 1992, and the government's majority at the time was only 18. The rebellion (as Major later complained in his memoirs) had the support of the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Lord Tebbit. Thatcher declared in a speech in the House of Lords that she "could never have signed that Treaty" and that it was "a recipe for national suicide". [25]

In 1993, Cash founded and remains chairman of the eurosceptic European Foundation which was created during the Maastricht Rebellion, the funding for which he organised. During 1994–1995 Cash was a member of the Tindemans group. He was secretary of the European Reform Forum, and has been vice-president of the Conservative Small Business Bureau. [26]

After fellow Maastricht rebel Iain Duncan Smith became leader of the Conservatives, Cash was appointed to the post of shadow Attorney general in 2001, and in 2003 he was Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, but he returned to the backbenches later that year after Duncan Smith was ousted as party leader.

In April 2019, Cash was in favour of a "No-deal" option as a negotiating position for Britain leaving the European Union. [27] [28]

Writing

In November 2011, Cash published a biography of John Bright, whom he described as "one of the greatest parliamentarians of all time", [29] to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Bright's birth. The biography was received with critical acclaim: reviewer Andrew Roberts notes that Bright's legacy "was largely forgotten until this first-class, encapsulating biography". [30] Amanda Foreman states that "Bill Cash not only breathes new life into Bright but delivers an entirely fresh view of both the man himself and his stance as the professional scourge of the upper classes... Bright's character receives[s its] full due in Cash's nuanced portrait". [30]

In addition to his historical writing, Cash has also published a number of books, pamphlets and essays on Britain's relationship with the European Union, and the Eurosceptic movement. These include: It's the EU, Stupid (2011), The Challenge for the Conservative Party: The future for Britain and Europe (2004), Associated, Not Absorbed: The Associated European Area: a constructive alternative to a single European state (2000), Visions of Europe (Duckworth, 1993) and Against a Federal Europe: The Battle for Britain (Duckworth, 1991).

Expenses claims

On 28 May 2009, it was reported that Cash had claimed £15,000 which he paid his daughter, Laetitia Cash, a prospective Conservative candidate, as rent for a Notting Hill flat, when he had a mortgaged flat of his own a few miles away, which his son Sam Cash was staying in rent-free. "It was only for a year, she was getting married, she wasn't there. My other flat wasn't round the corner, it was in Westminster. It was done through the rules", he said on Newsnight . [31] The following day Cash announced that he had agreed to pay the money back. Cash rejected calls for his resignation and said he was hopeful of getting a fair hearing. David Cameron was said to have ordered Cash to co-operate or risk having the Conservative whip withdrawn. [32] Cash was cleared on appeal in February 2010 by former High Court judge and President of the Court of Appeal, the Rt Hon Sir Paul Kennedy. [33]

Cash faced a no-confidence vote by secret ballot by his constituency party on 2 July 2009. He was, however, re-selected with the support over 98% of the vote. Cash also received a personal letter of support from Conservative leader Cameron before the meeting thanking Cash for "the tireless contribution you make to the work of Parliament. You have a long record of serving your constituents with commitment and integrity." [34] Kennedy, in his letter to Cash regarding his appeal, wrote: "In my judgment there are special reasons why it would not be fair and equitable to require repayment of any money. They are that in 2004–05 you paid rent for accommodation. Such rent was recoverable under the Rules as they existed at the time unless there was some evidence of impropriety. There is no such evidence in your case." [33]

Cash was portrayed by actor Richard Durden in the 2019 HBO and Channel 4 produced drama entitled Brexit: The Uncivil War . [35] [36]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euroscepticism</span> Body of criticism of the European Union

Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Redwood</span> British politician (born 1951)

Sir John Alan Redwood is a British politician and academic who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham in Berkshire from 1987 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Secretary of State for Wales in the Major government and was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party in the 1990s. Redwood subsequently served in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague and Michael Howard; he remained a backbencher from then on. On 24 May 2024, Redwood announced that he would stand down as MP for Wokingham and not seek re-election in the 2024 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lilley</span> British politician (born 1943)

Peter Bruce Lilley, Baron Lilley, PC is a British politician and life peer who served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) Hitchin and Harpenden from 1997 to 2017 and, prior to boundary changes, St Albans from 1983.

The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership of the European Union (EU). Specifically, it called for a referendum on whether the British electorate wanted to be part of a federal European state or to revert to being a sovereign nation that was part of a European free-trade bloc without wider political functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Rosindell</span> British politician (born 1966)

Andrew Richard Rosindell MP is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romford since 2001.

The Bruges Group is a think tank based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1989, it advocates for a restructuring of Britain's relationship with the European Union and other European countries. Its members and staff campaign against the notion of an "ever-closer union" in Europe and, above all, against British involvement in a single European state. The group is often associated with the Conservative Party, including MPs such as Iain Duncan Smith, Daniel Hannan, John Redwood, and Norman Lamont. However, it is formally an independent all-party think tank, and some Labour MPs and peers have cited the publications or attended the meetings of the Bruges Group through the years, such as Frank Field, Gisela Stuart, Lord Stoddart of Swindon and Lord Shore of Stepney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Evans</span> British Conservative politician (born 1957)

Nigel Martin Evans is a former British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ribble Valley in Lancashire from 1992 until 2024. He was Joint Executive Secretary of the 1922 Committee from 2017 to 2019. He served as First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means, one of the Speaker's three deputies, from 2010 to 2013. He was elected as Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Jenkin</span> British Conservative politician

Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich and North Essex, previously Colchester North, since 1992. He also serves as chair of the Liaison Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Hannan</span> British politician (born 1971)

Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere is a British writer, journalist and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 to 2020. He is currently a sitting member of the House of Lords where he takes the Conservative whip, and has since 2020 served as an adviser to the Board of Trade. He is the founding president of the Initiative for Free Trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Pritchard (politician)</span> British politician

Mark Andrew Pritchard is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for The Wrekin since 2005.

William Connoll WalkerOBE, known as Bill Walker, was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2000 until 2008. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and East Perthshire later Tayside North from 1979 to 1997. He never held any office in government and was one of the Maastricht Rebels against the embattled administration of John Major during the mid-1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom</span> Criticism/Opposition to the European Union in the United Kingdom

Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom is a continuum of belief ranging from the opposition to certain political policies of the European Union to the complete opposition to the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. It has been a significant element in the politics of the United Kingdom (UK). A 2009 Eurobarometer survey of EU citizens showed support for membership of the EU was lowest in the United Kingdom, alongside Latvia and Hungary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Campbell Bannerman</span> British Conservative Party politician (born 1960)

David Campbell Bannerman is a British politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England from 2009 to 2019. He is currently Chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation and The Freedom Association. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as Deputy Leader of UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 until 2010, when he was replaced by Paul Nuttall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Reckless</span> British politician

Mark John Reckless is a British lawyer and former politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2010 to 2015. Initially a member of the Conservative Party, he crossed the floor to join the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in September 2014. He has since changed parties a further three times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brexit</span> The United Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union

Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Following a referendum held in the UK on 23 June 2016, Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020. The UK, which joined the EU's precursors the European Communities (EC) on 1 January 1973, is the only member state to have withdrawn from the EU. Following Brexit, EU law and the Court of Justice of the European Union no longer have primacy over British laws. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains relevant EU law as domestic law, which the UK can amend or repeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Tice</span> British businessman and politician (born 1964)

Richard James Sunley Tice is a British businessman and politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness and Deputy Leader of Reform UK since 2024, having previously been the chairman of the party from 2019 to 2021 and again briefly in 2024. Since 2023, he has also been Reform UK's energy and foreign-policy spokesman. He became the leader of Reform UK in March 2021, but stood down in June 2024 and was succeeded by Nigel Farage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom membership of the European Union</span> Period of the United Kingdom being a member state of the European Union

The United Kingdom was a member state of the European Union (EU) and of its predecessor the European Communities (EC) – principally the European Economic Community (EEC) from 1 January 1973 until 31 January 2020. Since the foundation of the EEC, the UK had been an important neighbour and then a leading member state, until Brexit ended 47 years of membership. During the UK's time as a member state two referendums were held on the issue of its membership: the first, held on 5 June 1975, resulting in a vote to stay in the EC, and the second, held on 23 June 2016, resulting in a vote to leave the EU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Research Group</span> Eurosceptic faction within UK Conservative Party

The European Research Group (ERG) is a research support group and caucus of Eurosceptic Conservative Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom. In a Financial Times article in 2020, the journalist Sebastian Payne described the ERG as "the most influential [research group] in recent political history".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen</span> British-Danish dentist and politician (born 1959)

Henrik Eyser Overgaard-Nielsen is a British-Danish dentist and politician who served as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North West of England between 2019 and the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020.

Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020. As of 2020, the UK is the only member state to have left the EU. Britain entered the predecessor to the EU, the European Communities (EC), on 1 January 1973. Following this, Eurosceptic groups grew in popularity in the UK, opposing aspects of both the EC and the EU. As Euroscepticism increased during the early 2010s, Prime Minister David Cameron delivered a speech in January 2013 at Bloomberg London, in which he called for reform of the EU and promised an in–out referendum on the UK's membership if the Conservative Party won a majority at the 2015 general election. The Conservatives won 330 seats at the election, giving Cameron a majority of 12, and a bill to hold a referendum was introduced to Parliament that month.

References

  1. ↑ Castle, Richard (9 June 2023). "Stone MP Sir Bill Cash announces retirement after 40 years in Parliament". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "No. 60895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b2.
  3. ↑ "Resignation Honours 2023". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "No. 64120". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 July 2023. p. 14502.
  5. ↑ Sky News 11 May 2010
  6. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Website of the Law Society of England & Wales". Lawsociety.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "A 'gloriously happy' day for all the family, Christening with a touch of glamour and a large dose of history". Shropshire Star. 20 October 2015. p. 4.From report, by James Fisher, of christening of Sir William's granddaughter Cosima Cash.
  9. ↑ "Liz Hurley among guests at Shropshire man's big day". Shropshire Start. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  10. ↑ William Cash, Becoming a dad at 50 saved my life Archived 12 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine , The Daily Telegraph, 14 April 2017
  11. ↑ "'I almost gave birth on M54': Lady Laura Cash joins campaign to keep rural maternity units". www.shropshirestar.com. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  12. ↑ "Upton Cressett wins Hudson's Heritage Award | Spear's WMS". Archived from the original on 15 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Cash, William (24 October 2019). "Me and my cousin Johnny, by William Cash". Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019– via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  14. ↑ The Committee Office, House of Commons. "He was named chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee in 2010". Publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Home, Conservative (20 June 2023). "The six Conservative MPs who voted against the motion to censure Johnson". Conservative Home. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  16. ↑ full voting details
  17. ↑ "About Bill". Billcashmp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "House of Commons – Register of All-Party Groups as at 5 December 2013: Water and Sanitation in the Third World". Publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  19. ↑ International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014
  20. ↑ "UK Parliament: Bills Online". services.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  21. ↑ Frostrup, Mariella (8 March 2014). "Britain shows the world the way — again" . The Times . London. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  22. ↑ "Clamping down on forced marriage and FGM worldwide: All hail this new piece of law". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 14 May 2014 (pt 0001)". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  24. ↑ Blake, Robert, The Conservative Party: From Peel to Major, p. 399
  25. ↑ "HL S [European Communities (Amendment) Bill]| Margaret Thatcher Foundation". Margaretthatcher.org. 31 December 1992. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "Past Speakers – Bill Cash". the biz club. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Brexit: May in final push to convince MPs to back deal". BBC News. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  28. ↑ "Jacob Rees-Mogg hosts champagne party after May Brexit defeat". The Guardian. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  29. ↑ Cash, Bill (18 November 2011). "We need John Bright's democratic message today". Guardian Northerner Blog. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  30. 1 2 Cash, Bill "John Bright: Statesman, Orator, Agitator" cover
  31. ↑ Bill Cash speaking on Newsnight 28 May 2009
  32. ↑ Jagger, Suzy (30 May 2009). "Bill Cash will pay back £15,000 he claimed if asked for it". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  33. 1 2 "House of Commons, Members Estimate Committee – Review of past ACA payments – First Report of Session 2009–10" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  34. ↑ "Staffordshire Newsletter, 3 July 2009". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
  35. ↑ Bennett, Asa (28 December 2018). "Brexit: The Uncivil War review: Benedict Cumberbatch is superb in this thrilling romp through the referendum". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  36. ↑ Matthew Elliott (4 January 2019). "Vote Leave's Matthew Elliott on Channel 4's Brexit: The Uncivil War". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019. Screenwriter James Graham has turned the campaign into a compelling story — and nailed my mannerisms
  37. ↑ Cash, Bill (5 September 2011). ""It's the EU, Stupid" (PDF). "It's the EU, Stupid". European Foundation. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Stafford
1984–1997 		Succeeded by
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Stone
1997–2024 		Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Attorney General
2001–2003		Succeeded by
New office Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
2003		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Oldest sitting Member of Parliament
2019–2024		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.