Andrew Pelling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Andrew Pelling MP | |
 |
|
|
Member of Parliament
for Croydon Central |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Geraint Davies |
|---|---|
| Majority | 75 (0.2%) |
|
|
|
| In office 4 May 2000 – 1 May 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Steve O'Connell |
|
|
|
| Born | 20 August 1959 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Lucy Slaytor |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Andrew John Pelling (born August 20, 1959) is a British Conservative politician. He is member of Parliament for Croydon Central, and a former member of the London Assembly for Croydon and Sutton and councillor.
Pelling was educated at the Trinity School, Croydon and then New College, Oxford where he led the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1980. He was elected to the position of Librarian of the Oxford Union and ran for President four times, on one occasion losing to William Hague.
He was first elected to Croydon Council in 1982 in Broad Green ward and later represented the ward of Heathfield. He served as Chair of the Education Committee in the early 1990s and subsequently became Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group when they lost control of the Council in 1994. He was then, from 2002 until 2005, the leader of the opposition Conservative group in Croydon and stepped down from the Council in 2006 after 24 years. He used to be an international investment banker.
Pelling was first elected to the London Assembly in 2000, and retained his seat in 2004. He is a member of the London Development Agency and chairs the GLA budget committee. At the 2005 general election, he won the Croydon Central parliamentary seat by just 75 votes from Labour's Geraint Davies.
On May 28, 2007 Pelling was one of 18 Conservative MPs to vote in favour of an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act proposed by David Maclean, which would see the Houses of Parliament and MPs exempted from the disclosure requirements of the Act.
[edit] Personal life
Pelling was married to Japanese citizen Sanae for 16 years, and the couple had three children: Alice (born 1986), Elizabeth (born 1989) and Alexander (born 1991). Pelling met Lucy Slaytor (b 1982), who assisted his campaign team, during the 2005 General Election. After the election Sanae visited her dying father in Tokyo, and on her returned released a statement to the press revealing Pelling's affair with Slaytor, saying at the time: "He treated me like a doormat. As far as he was concerned I was there to raise his children and cook his food. His only love is politics.” [1]
After Pelling divorced Sanae, he married Lucy, who became his Parliamentary Assistant. On September 18, 2007 Pelling was arrested at his home after the Metropolitan Police received a complaint from his pregnant wife Lucy. He was released on bail later that night after being questioned.[2] A Metropolitan Police statement released the following day said: "A man in his 40s was arrested on September 18 at an address in south London in connection with allegations of assault. He was taken to a south London police station and was bailed to return on 1 October. The alleged victim is a female in her 20s." However the police later announced that no charges were to be made against Mr Pelling. Lucy made statements to the Press that resulted in the Conservative Whip in the Commons being withdrawn from Mr Pelling.
Pelling has subsequently been suspended from the Conservative party, following his arrest on allegations of assaulting his wife, Lucy.[3] However, the Crown Prosecution Service later decided not to prosecute .[4] On December 3, 2007 he announced that he would not seek re-election to Parliament at the next general election [1] He had already announced he would not be contesting his London Assembly seat and stood down in 2008.
[edit] References
- ^ Tory MP accused of assaulting pregnant wife may now lose his seat Mail on Sunday - 21 September, 2007
- ^ MP quizzed over 'assault on wife' BBC News - 19 September 2007
- ^ Tories suspend assault quiz MP BBC News - 25 September, 2007
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7054002.stm MP will not face assault charges.
[edit] External links
- Andrew Pelling MP. Putting Croydon first
- Conservative Party Profile
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Andrew Pelling MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Andrew Pelling MP
- Biography from the London Assembly
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Geraint Davies |
Member of Parliament for Croydon Central 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
