Neil Parish

Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (born 26 May 1956) is a British farmer and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previously a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 1999 to 2009. Parish chaired the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee from 2015 until his resignation from the House of Commons.

In April 2022, Parish had the Conservative party whip suspended pending an investigation into allegations that he had watched pornography in the Commons chamber during a debate. After admitting to the allegations, he resigned as an MP. His departure triggered a by-election held on 23 June, which was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate, Richard Foord.

Early life and career

Neil Quentin Gordon Parish was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, on 26 May 1956. Parish attended Brymore School, a local authority-run agricultural boarding school at Cannington near Bridgwater. In 1972, he left school at 16 to manage the family farm.

Parish began his career in politics in local government, serving from 1983 to 1995 as Councillor, Sedgemoor District Council; 1989–95 as Deputy leader, Sedgemoor District Council; 1989–93 as Councillor, Somerset County Council. In the 1997 general election, he contested Torfaen, a safe Labour seat in South Wales. Incumbent MP Paul Murphy defeated him by 24,536 votes.

European Parliament

Parish was elected to the European Parliament for the South West England region in the 1999 election. He was re-elected in 2004 on the top of the Conservatives' party list.