Michael Stahel Farmer, Baron Farmer (born 17 December 1944), nicknamed Mr. Copper, is a British businessman, former Treasurer of the Conservative Party, and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

.Agnieszka de Sousa and Javier Blas (October 28, 2016)
"Hedge Fund Exodus Sets Mr. Copper’s Business On Lonely Road,"
''FA Mag''. He is active in combating family breakdown and its repercussions, supported

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, and is a devout

born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

Early and personal life

Farmer was born in

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. His sister, actress Suzan Farmer, died of cancer in 2017. Michael has described how he and his sister had a violent and chaotic early childhood, characterised by "poverty, neglect and shame." His father, David S. Farmer, a metals trader, was wounded in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and died at the age of 40 years old due to his

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

when Farmer was aged four, and he and his sister narrowly avoided removal from their mother's care due to her own struggle with alcohol. Farmer was educated at Wantage Grammar School, as a boarder."Farmer, Baron cr. 2014 (Life Peer), of Bishopsgate in the City of London (Michael Stahel Farmer)"
in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'', online edition, accessed 17 April 2021 His mother died when he was 25 years old. In 1975, in the City of London, Farmer married Jennifer Potts. They have three children. His son George Farmer, who ran unsuccessfully for the then

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

in the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

and was CEO of conservative social networking app

Parler Parler (pronounced "parlor") is an American alt-tech social networking service associated with conservatives. Launched in August 2018, Parler marketed itself as a free speech-focused and unbiased alternative to mainstream social networks s ...

, married the American political commentator Candace Owens in 2019. Farmer is a

, having become religious when he was 35 years old, and preaches at the 800-year-old St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate, in the City, around the corner from the

London Metal Exchange The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange in London, United Kingdom with the world's largest market in standardised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ...

."Metals Trading: Red Kite buffeted by strong winds,"
''Financial Times''. He became the Christian deputy chair and trustee of the Council of Christians and Jews in 2016. He sponsors the Ark All Saints Academy in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, created with the goal of improving education for disadvantaged children.

Business career

Farmer started working at eighteen. He began as a difference account clerk and messenger in AJ Strauss, a

member firm at which his father had worked, earning eight pounds a week.Louise Armitstead (March 7, 2010)
"Michael Farmer: the man known as Mr Copper is glad to give his brass to the Tories,"
''Telegraph''. He spent most of his career in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, involved in the trading of

base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

s, especially copper. He was a protégé of top metal trader Manfred Kopelman. In 1974 at 30 years of age he was named a managing director of Cerro Metals Ltd. in London, a position he held until 1983."Michael Farmer, Copper and Red Kite,"
''Rich Mind Rich Life''. In 1983 he joined Anglo Chemical, which was part of Philipp Brothers/Salomon Brothers -- now Phibro, the commodities trading unit of Citigroup Inc., as head of its global base metal trading until 1989.Morris Susan (2020)
"Farmer, Baron"
''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2019''. He left it in 1989 to form the Metal & Commodity Company Ltd trading company, a subsidiary of German metal trader Metallgesellschaft AG, which became the world’s largest trader in physical copper and nickel, and he was its CEO from 1989-2000.Magnus Angenfelt
"Michael Farmer UK,"
''Investing by the Books''. In 1999 the company went public as it was floated on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

under the title MG Plc with Farmer as its co-CEO; it was the first metals trader to be listed on the exchange. In 2000 he sold it to trading company

Enron Enron Corporation was an American Energy development, energy, Commodity, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was led by Kenneth Lay and developed in 1985 via a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both re ...

for $448 million, and Enron renamed it Enron Metals (in 2002, Enron sold the firm, which is now called Sempra Metals, and based in London). Farmer then took two years off to study the Bible. In 2005 he was a founding partner of the Red Kite Group of hedge funds, which provides mine finance and futures investment opportunities for funds.Patrick Hosking (January 11, 2012)
"Big shot: Michael Farmer of RedKite,"
''The Times''. In 2013, the firm returned over 50 percent on its metals fund. In 2022 his net worth was estimated at £150 million.

Political career

Farmer was the co-Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 2011-15.Rupert Neate (29 October 2022)
"Finance, property and mining: the money behind Sunak’s £460,000 leadership bid,"
''The Guardian''. From 2012-22, he gave at least £6m to the Conservatives. He is a former Chairman of the Conservative Foundation. On 5 September 2014 Farmer was created a

as Baron Farmer, ''of

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

in the City of London'' and in the

joined the Conservative benches. His maiden speech was about women's homelessness, domestic violence, and social exclusion. He cycles from his office to the House of Lords.Margarette Driscoll (November 16, 2016)
"Mr Copper pipes up in the fight for troubled families; Alcoholic parents scarred the childhood of the metals tycoon Michael Farmer. His maiden Lords speech has struck a blow for other blighted children,"
''The Times''. The frequency of Farmer's speaking appearances, voting record, and tabling of written questions is above average in the

Family and prisoner issues

Farmer supported the former leader,

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 ...

when he accepted the think tank Centre for Social Justice's ''Breakthrough Britain'' report emphasising the wider social repercussions of family breakdown. As a parliamentarian Farmer has spoken about family hubs and other measures to ensure families who need it receive early help; boosting statutory help for children leaving local authority care; improving children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, including by reducing family breakdown and regulating access to pornography; enabling upwards social mobility and better life chances; and addressing the persecution of Christians in North Korea, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. He and Samantha Callan founded the Family Hubs Network in 2019 to support the spread of Family Hubs across the whole of the United Kingdom. Farmer introduced a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

which would make family impact assessments statutory for all changes to government policy and spending and that would ensure the Government keeps track of family stability rates (the number of children who grow up with both their parents). He was a member of the Select Committee on Social Mobility, and the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill. Farmer is a vocal supporter of welfare and prison reform. He was commissioned by the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to carry out a review and make a report of how supporting men in prison to have better family and other relationships can reduce reoffending rates. Following the acceptance of his recommendations, The Farmer Review (2017), the MoJ commissioned a further review and report from Lord Farmer on the importance of relationships for female offenders' rehabilitation, The Farmer Review for Women (2019), which is also being implemented. He continues to work with the MOJ to implement the recommendations of the reviews."BEYOND PENAL POPULISM AND LIBERAL OPTIMISM: A SOCIAL JUSTICE APPROACH,"
The Centre for Social Justice, November 2023.

Brexit

Farmer was an active and vocal supporter of

. In 2017 he donated £300,000 to the Vote Leave campaign, which supported a "Leave" vote in the

2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

Antisemitism and Israel

In August 2024, Farmer wrote a lengthy thread on X, on the subject of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, and on the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, and in response to comments by his daughter-in-law Candace Owens, saying: "In view of public comments from a high-profile member of my family, I want to put my own views on antisemitism and Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza on public record."Ariel Zilber (August 19, 2024)
"Candace Owens’ father-in-law defends Israel after controversial commentator is accused of antisemitism,"
''Yahoo''. Within two days, his post had attracted over one million views.Michael Lofton (August 19, 2024)
"Candace Owens’ Father-In-Law Exposes Truth Behind Her Israel Claims,"
''Analysis, Reason and Theology''. He wrote, as to antisemitism:

As a teenager, growing up in the wake of WW2, I became very aware of the cruelty meted out, before and during that conflict, against Jewish people – because they were Jewish. I found it impossible to comprehend how humans could, intentionally, be as cruel as possible to others. Then, as a young man, I worked with many Jewish people in the city: the boss in one of my first jobs had come to Britain on a ''
Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...
''. I often experienced kindness and thoughtfulness from Jewish friends as well, at a time when I had few close relationships.... To conclude, I should point out that I am the Christian Deputy Chair of the Council for Christians and Jews. This was founded in 1942 as a bulwark against antisemitism, and our monarch has always been its patron."Candace Owens Father-in-law Lord Farmer Reacts to her Antisemitic Comments,"
''Times of India'', August 20, 2024.

Continuing on, addressing the

, he wrote:

A recent letter from international military leaders said that the Israel Defence Forces were acting in a highly accountable way in an extremely complex and difficult environment. We cannot forget that they have been forced to prosecute this war... Israel s arare example of a democracy in the Middle East, a liberal state governed by the rule of law. Of course, it has the right to defend its citizens when murderously attacked on its soil in one of the cruelest and most callous
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
s in history. We cannot forget the large number of innocent hostages that were taken, many have died, and some are still missing. Israel faces an existential threat as Hamas, the terrorist organization, has stated their intention to destroy it.

He noted as well that: "the plight of civilians in Gaza is also utterly appalling, but I see Israel has little option but to fight its enemy where it chooses to hide itself — in tunnels under key infrastructure and behind innocent civilians. We cannot forget that they have been forced to prosecute this war.""Candace Owens’ Descent into Conspiracy and Anti-Semitism: A Family Member Speaks Out,"
''5TownsCentral'', August 19, 2024.

References

External links

* * List of barons in the peerages of Britain and Ireland * List of life peerages (2010–2024) {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Michael 1944 births Living people 20th-century Anglicans 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century Anglicans 21st-century evangelicals British businesspeople British evangelicals British financial businesspeople Businesspeople in metals Christian opposition to antisemitism Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) donors English commodities traders Evangelical Anglicans Life peers created by Elizabeth II People from Tonbridge