David Anthony Gerald Sumberg (born 2 June 1941) is a British politician, and former

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for the

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

region for the Conservative Party. He was first elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

in 1999 and stood down in 2009. Before this he was the Member of Parliament for Bury South, north of Manchester, from 1983 to 1997 when he lost in the Labour landslide to Ivan Lewis.

Political life

Prior to his election to Westminster, he stood unsuccessfully for Manchester Wythenshawe in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, being beaten by Labour's

Alf Morris Alfred Morris, Baron Morris of Manchester, (23 March 1928 – 12 August 2012) was a British Labour Co-operative politician and disability rights campaigner. Political career Morris served as Member of Parliament for Manchester Wythenshawe ...

. He had also been a

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

lor for Brooklands ward in Wythenshawe. As an MP he acted as the Parliamentary Private Secretary for the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, Sir Patrick Mayhew.'UK's laziest MEP' made two speeches in 4 years
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 2008-06-10 Retrieved 2014-11-21. He seconded the Loyal Humble Address of Ian Gow MP in November 1989; a privilege that was traditionally afforded only once to an MP. He held on to his seat in 1992 with a majority of 788 votes over Labour's

Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015. One of 101 female ...

, making Bury South one of the most marginal in the country. He has been criticised by members of other political parties and the national media for his low attendance and political inactivity in the European Parliament. He tabled only five questions and has not written any of the reports or tabled any resolutions to the one committee he sat on. When he stepped down from the European Parliament, he explained that as an MEP, he was "not a signed up member" of the "European Project" and did not support a more centralised

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, "unlike most of my MEP colleagues". He paid his wife £54,000 per year from the staff allowance and claimed £40,000 per year in office expenses; he used the North West England Conservative Campaigns Centre as a forwarding address to his house in north London, where he claimed the expenses.

Personal life

He is married to Carolyn and has two children. In the 1970s he was a partner in a firm of Manchester lawyers Maurice Rubin & Co.

References

External links

*
Profile on European Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumberg, David 1941 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Manchester Politicians from Stoke-on-Trent UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1999–2004 MEPs for England 2004–2009 Jewish British politicians Politicians from Staffordshire Alumni of the University of Manchester