Kenneth Clarke

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Kenneth Clarke

Kenneth Clarke has been the Conservative MP for Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire since 1970.[1]

He was Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in the incoming coalition cabinet appointed in 2010.[2] He was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet in September 2012.[3] he left the government in July 2014.[4]

Kenneth Clarke entered Parliament in the June 1970 General election with a majority of 12,974 votes.[5]

Early life

After passing his 11+, Clarke attended Nottingham High School, one of Britain's oldest private schools on a free local authority scholarship from 1951.[6]

Bilderberger

Clarke has been on the Steering Committee of the influential and secretive Bilderberg Group for the past decade. In June 2013 he admitted in the Commons that he may have failed fully to declare his role organising the annual Bilderberg meetings of world leaders, and that he had “forgotten” that the controversial gatherings were paid for from funds raised by the group. According to the Telegraph Clarke:

said he was checking his records to see whether he had informed civil servants of his role, as would be expected to avoid potential suggestions of a conflict of interest. Mr Clarke made the disclosure while answering questions over the “private” meeting of 140 of the world’s most powerful executives, politicians, ministers and advisers, which took place at a hotel near Watford last week.
The minister, who has been a member of the Bilderberg Group steering committee for 10 years, attended the annual event, along with David Cameron, George Osborne, Ed Balls and Lord Mandelson. [7]

Tobacco

Clarke, a former director of British American Tobacco, was one of 104 Tories who voted against the introduction of plain cigarette packaging in March 2015.[8]

Dinner with lobbyists

A seating plan of the Conservative Party's Black and White Ball, in February 2014, was leaked to the Guardian in October 2014. The party, which guests pay between £450 and £1000 for a ticket, seats diners with the minister most relevant to them. Whilst it has not been revealed who Clarke sat with, he is the only tory to have confirmed his attendance at the ball. [9]

Donations

In August 2001, Clarke received £10,000.00 from the late property investor Andrew Rosenfeld and £2,500.00 from the head of Meggitt Nigel Rudd.[10]

Affiliations

All-Party Parliamentary Groups

As at March 2010 Clarke sits on the following All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs): [11]

External Resources

Contact Details

  • Office address: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA[22]
  • Office Email: clarkek@parliament.uk[23]

Notes

  1. They Work for You, They Work For You website, accessed 24 March 2010
  2. Her Majesty’s Government, Number10.gov.uk, accessed 12 May 2010.
  3. Juliette Jowit, Shiv Malik and Haroon Siddique, Cabinet reshuffle: who has moved so far?, guardian.co.uk, 4 September 2012.
  4. Ken Clarke to quit government in Cabinet reshuffle, BBC News, 14 July 2014.
  5. They Work for You, They Work For You website, accessed 24 March 2010
  6. Chris Holt, THIS SCHOOL, WHICH ONCE TAUGHT DH LAWRENCE, HAS ALSO PRODUCED AN EXTRAORDINARY GROUP OF ECONOMIC THINKERS, LED BY OLD BOYS KENNETH CLARKE AND LABOUR'S RISING STAR ED BALLS, Mail on Sunday, 13 December 1998.
  7. Tim Ross, Bilderberg: Ken Clarke 'forgot' he was a trustee of funding group, The Telegraph, 5:07PM BST 10 Jun 2013, see also recording of Clarke on this issue in the Commons in same article
  8. Matt Dathan Plain cigarette packaging: One in four MPs who opposed measures have declared links to tobacco industry Independent, 11 March 2015, accessed 23 March 2015
  9. Simon Goodley, Melanie Newman and Nick Mathiason Tycoons mix with top Tories at fundraising ball in London The Guardian, 12 October 2014, accessed 14 October 2014
  10. Electoral Commission, Donation Search, accessed 2 March 2015
  11. Register of All-Party Groups, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  12. All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  13. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Boxing, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  14. All-Party Parliamentary Group for Debt, Aid & Trade, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  15. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  16. All-Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  17. Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE) UK All-Party Parliamentary Group, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  18. Group on Guantanamo Bay, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  19. All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  20. All-Party Parliamentary Group for Parkinson's Disease, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  21. All-Party Parliamentary Rowing Group, Register of All-Party Groups (As at 24 February 2010), accessed 24 March 2010
  22. find your MP, Parliament website, accessed 24 March 2010
  23. find your MP, Parliament website, accessed 24 March 2010

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