Ashley Fox
| Ashley Fox MEP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the European Parliament for South West England & Gibraltar | |
|
Assumed office 4 June 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Caroline Jackson |
| Leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament | |
|
Assumed office 25 November 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Syed Kamall |
| Bristol City Council Councillor for Westbury on Trym | |
|
In office 2 May 2002 – 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | David Poole |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
15 November 1969 Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Fox |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Bristol, United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Bristol Polytechnic |
| Occupation | Politician, formally Solicitor |
| Website | www.ashleyfoxmep.co.uk |
Ashley Peter Fox (born 15 November 1969[1][2]) is a British Member of the European Parliament, representing the South West England & Gibraltar for the Conservative Party. He is leader of the Conservative delegation which is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group. .
Life And History
Educated at The King's School, Worcester, Ashley studied law at Bristol Polytechnic before working for a year as an English assistant in France. He took his solicitors finals at Chester College of Law. After completing his articles, he qualified as a Solicitor in 1994.
Before being elected as a MEP Ashley Fox worked for 15 years as a Solicitor in Bristol, specialising in Insurance Litigation. He was a Partner at Badhams Thompson and an Associate at Morgan Cole.
From 1998 -2000 Ashley was Chairman of Bristol West Conservative Association. He stood as the Conservative candidate for Bath at the General Election in 2001. In 2002 he was elected as Councillor for Westbury-on-Trym on Bristol City Council, a position he held for 8 years.
Ashley lives in Bristol with his wife and two children.[2][3]
In the European Parliament
Ashley was first elected to the European Parliament in 2009 and was re-elected in 2014.
Ashley was elected as Leader of the Conservative MEPs in November 2014. As a British Conservative he is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) where he served as Chief Whip from 2010 - 2014.
In 2011/12 Ashley was rapporteur on Corporate Governance in Financial Institutions. [4]
In 2016 he was the shadow rapporteur for energy efficiency labelling[5]
Ashley is a member of the Industry, Research & Energy Committee and the Economic & Monetary Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.
In the European Parliament
In the Parliament he is the leading British campaigner seeking to scrap the wasteful ‘Strasbourg Circus’ – which costs taxpayers £93m every year.[6] As part of this campaign he co-authored the Fox-Hafner[7] report which received widespread support and finally changed the official position of the Parliament in favour of having a single seat.
He has campaigned on numerous Animal Welfare causes such as against puppy smuggling [8] and has supported the Dogs Trust UK as well as BirdLife Malta in its campaign against the hunting of migrating birds.
In the South West & Gibraltar
In 2011 Ashley opposed plans by the Environment Agency to move the sea defences a mile inland to create salt marshes and mudflats between Clevedon and Kewstoke. [9]
During the controversy to build an offshore wind farm off the Jurassic Coast in Dorset that was finally rejected by the UK government Ashley was one of the most vocal opponents. [10]
Ashley has campaigned for a fairer tax system for South West cider makers. [11]
In February 2016 an EU rule-concession for rod and line fishermen in Dorset was won after interventions from the MEP. [12]
Ashley regularly visits Gibraltar and meets with representatives of the Gibraltarian Government to make sure that the ‘Rocks’ voice is heard. He pressured the Commission to intervene when the Spanish started to artificially close the border in 2013. He has always supported Gibraltar’s right to determine its own future no matter the provocation from Spain. [13]
Notes
- ↑ "Ashley Fox". European Parliament. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- 1 2 Who's who for second forename,birthplace, parents, marriage and family details
- ↑ "About Ashley". Mark Weston. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ↑ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+AMD+A7-2011-0074+001-008+DOC+PDF+V0//EN
- ↑ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A8-2016-0213+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=en
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/10565686/The-farce-of-the-EU-travelling-circus.html
- ↑ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A7-2013-0350+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
- ↑ http://www.ashleyfoxmep.com/communications/270-mep-urges-eu-to-step-up-fight-against-puppy-smuggling
- ↑ http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/mep-visit-flood-defence-row-village/story-11261958-detail/story.html
- ↑ http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/13342253.Exclusion_zone_should_be_set_up_to_protect_Jurassic_Coast_from_wind_farm_development__MEP_says/
- ↑ http://www.ashleyfoxmep.com/communications/268-tax-signals-look-positive-for-south-west-cider-producers
- ↑ http://www.ashleyfoxmep.co.uk/communications/251-mep-wins-battle-for-dorset-sea-bass
- ↑ https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/opinion/european-commission-turns-blind-eye-gibraltar
Most information from Ashley Fox's Website