Bill Wiggin
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Sir William David Wiggin (born 4 June 1966) is a former British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire, previously
Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...
, from
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
to 2024.


Early life and career

Bill Wiggin was born on 4 June 1966 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. He attended
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, where he was an older contemporary of
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, and later read Economics at
Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...
, gaining a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in 1988. He also served in the
Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...
in the Territorial Army, being a platoon commander for Holyhead, Bangor and
Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...
. Following this, Wiggin worked as a Trader in Foreign Exchange Options for UBS from 1991 to 1993, then was an Associate Director of Kleinwort Benson from 1994 to 1998, then as a manager in the Foreign Exchange department of
Commerzbank The Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (shortly known as Commerzbank AG or Commerzbank ) is a European Financial institution, banking institution headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It offers services to private and entrepreneurial c ...
from 1998.


Parliamentary career

Wiggin stood as the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
candidate for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
at the 1997 general election, coming second with 20.2% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Peter Pike. At the 2001 general election, Wiggin was elected to Parliament as MP for
Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...
with 49% of the vote and a majority of 10,367. Initially a backbencher, he became a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee in 2002. During 2003,
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
appointed him to the position of Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales The shadow secretary of state for Wales (or shadow Welsh secretary) is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the secretary of state for Wales and their department, t ...
. Wiggin was re-elected as MP for Leominster at the 2005 general election with an increased vote share of 52.1% and an increased majority of 13,187. During his time Shadow Secretary of State for Wales the Conservatives won three seats in Wales at the 2005 general election, the first time Conservatives had been elected as MPs for Wales since the party had lost all its MPs in Wales at the 1997 election. Wiggin welcomed the gains, saying that "Never again will Wales be a Conservative-free zone", although he admitted that while the wins were "a good start" he would have liked the Conservatives to have gained more Welsh seats. Wiggin also expressed regret at Howard's decision to stand down as Conservative leader after the election, adding that he thought Howard had "done a tremendous job" and was "a fantastic example to young Conservative MPs like myself". Despite Wiggin's previous declaration, Wales has again been left without any Conservative MPs after the 2024 general election. During parish council elections in
Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...
during September 2009, Wiggin complained to the returning officer about the leaflets of a candidate who was standing to protest at Wiggin's parliamentary expenses. The candidate, Jim Miller, was disqualified by the returning officer, who was also the chief executive of the Conservative-run Herefordshire County Council. This left the Conservative candidate unopposed. According to ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', Miller was disqualified over a technicality that the council previously told him had been resolved. The Mayor of Leominster expressed his astonishment at Wiggin's intervention. "I was just stunned that Wiggin contacted the returning officer. It's not totally blatant, but what in god's name is an MP doing poking his nose into a little parish election? I can't understand what he thinks he's up to". Prior to the 2010 general election, Wiggin's constituency of Leominster was abolished, and replaced with North Herefordshire. At the election, Wiggin was elected to Parliament as MP for North Herefordshire with 51.8% of the vote and a majority of 9,887. In June 2013, Wiggin spoke in debate in favour of the badger cull, saying he supported the Government policy to "combat" bovine tuberculosis. In May 2014, Wiggin met with Dafydd Evans, Environment Agency Area Manager for the West Midlands, to press for action to enhance local flood defences. Wiggin renewed his call for more beds at Hereford County Hospital following a visit in September 2014, during which he toured one of the Canadian hutted units. In December 2014, Wiggin questioned the Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
during PMQs about Hereford County Hospital and sought his support for increasing the hospital's capacity. Following Wiggin's question, the Prime Minister informed him that he would send a Minister to look at the Hospital. In February 2015 Health Secretary
Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...
paid a visit. At the 2015 general election, Wiggin was re-elected as MP for North Herefordshire with an increased vote share of 55.8% and an increased majority of 19,996. Following the election, Wiggin was initially set to contest the Chairmanship of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Select Committee against eventual chair Neil Parish. Instead Wiggin was subsequently appointed as Chair of the Committee of Selection. Wiggin was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 62% and an increased majority of 21,602. He is a member of the
European Research Group 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 " ...
and signed a letter to Prime Minister
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
on 16 February 2018 regarding
Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of th ...
. At the 2019 general election, Wiggin was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 63% and an increased majority of 24,856. In January 2020, Wiggin has described the trend away from eating meat as "a disaster for British agriculture." He has also advised MPs "not to be fooled" by arguments against chlorinated chicken. He was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in the 2022 New Year Honours for political and public service. In March 2022, Wiggin questioned Boris Johnson over his immigration record in the liaison committee and called on the prime minister to stop letting refugees ‘in rubber boats’ into the country ahead of Ukrainians and Qataris. Wiggin was one of just two MPs, along with
Christopher Chope Sir Christopher Robert Chope (born 19 May 1947) is a British politician and former barrister who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch in Dorset since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected in ...
, to oppose a Bill which proposed to ban the import of Hunting Trophies to the UK from Africa, calling it a "racist" and "neocolonial" piece of legislation which actually does not protect animals. In March 2024, Wiggin was re-selected as the Conservative candidate for North Herefordshire at the 2024 general election. He lost the election to the Green Party candidate, Dr Ellie Chowns, at 31.5% of the vote to Dr Chowns' 43.2%.


Expenses claims

During the parliamentary expenses scandal the ''Daily Telegraph'' reported that Wiggin had wrongly claimed more than £11,000 mortgage payments on his Herefordshire property. This property had no mortgage and Wiggin who had made 23 declarations that it was his main home said the expenses were claimed in error. The Committee found that Wiggin's mortgage claims were the result of "an unfortunate and unintended muddle" which should have been picked up much more quickly, though no cost to the public purse resulted because Wiggin was entitled to claim for the mortgage payments on his London home. The committee expressed disappointment that Wiggin had not been cooperative with the enquiry as required by the Code of Conduct. His claims for household bills were also investigated following a complaint. Wiggin had routinely claimed £240 a month for household bills and whilst the
Standards and Privileges Committee The Standards and Privileges Committee is a former committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons that existed from 1995 to 2013. The committee was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges. It consisted of 10 Members o ...
confirmed that he could claim up to £250 a month without a receipt, this was to cover costs actually incurred. Wiggin "chose not to" take up the committee's invitation to check his expenses with his bank and service providers and, on balance of probability they found he overclaimed expenses for council tax, telephone and workmen's bills. In October 2010, Wiggin apologised to the House and was ordered to repay £4,009 utility expenses.


Personal life

Wiggin is the son of the late Sir Jerry Wiggin, MP for
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
. He lives in Upton Bishop in South Herefordshire, with his wife Milly. She was previously the girlfriend of David Cameron. They have three children. In addition to acting as a Trustee of the Eveson Charitable Trust, which assigns funding to support medical research and the disadvantaged, Wiggin is patron to several local charities. His interests include motorbikes, DIY, shooting, fishing and Hereford cattle.


Bibliography

* ''A Better Agenda for the Environment'' published by Exposure Publishing, an imprint of Diggory Press


References


External links


Bill Wiggin MP
homepage * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggin, Bill 1966 births Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Living people People educated at Eton College People from Westminster Politics of Herefordshire Royal Welch Fusiliers officers UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Knights Bachelor Bill Military personnel from London 20th-century British Army personnel Alumni of Bangor University