John Mark Taylor (19 August 1941 – 28 May 2017) was a British solicitor and

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 ...

politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

from 1983 to 2005, when he lost his seat to

Lorely Burt Lorely Jane Burt, Baroness Burt of Solihull (born 10 September 1954), is a British politician, who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Solihull from 2005 to 2015. She received a life peerage in the 2015 Dissolution Honours. She i ...

of the Liberal Democrats by a margin of 279 votes in the 2005 general election. He had previously been a

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 ...

(MEP) and leader of

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1 ...

. He was first elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1983, and served as a junior minister under

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

Early life

He went to the independent

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

and the

College of Law A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

. He was a senior partner in John Taylor & Co. solicitors. He began his career in the Solihull County Borough Council in 1971, then went on to the West Midlands Metropolitan County Council in 1973. He became Leader of the Opposition in 1975, Leader of the Council in 1977 and deputy chairman of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities in 1978.

Parliamentary career

He contested

Dudley East Dudley East was a parliamentary constituency, centred on the town of Dudley in the West Midlands. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system. Th ...

in February and October 1974. Taylor was 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 ...

for Midlands East in 1979, and served as the Conservatives' European Spokesman on the Community Budget from 1979 to 1981. He was deputy chairman of the Conservative Group in the European Parliament from 1981 to 1982. Elected as MP for Solihull in 1983, he held the seat for the subsequent four general elections. He became secretary of the Conservative Back Bench Committee on European Affairs in 1983, member of the Select Committee on the Environment from 1983 to 1987, as well as vice chairman of the Conservative Back Bench Committee on Sport. He served as an assistant government whip from 1988 to 1989, a Lord Commissioner of

Her Majesty's Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, taxa ...

from 1989 to 1990 and Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1995, Taylor was Parliamentary Secretary at the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

's Department, a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...

from 1995 to 1997, and then a delegate Member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and vice-chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Committees on Trade and Industry and Legal Affairs. He served in the Conservative Whips Office from 1997 to 1999, and became a Shadow Minister for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1999. He narrowly lost his Solihull seat to the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

in a surprise result in the May 2005 general election.

Death

Taylor died in

on 28 May 2017 at the age of 75.

References

External links

*
They Work For You

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John 1941 births 2017 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the West Midlands (county) UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 People educated at Bromsgrove School People from Solihull Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984