Early and personal life
Farmer was born in Tonbridge, Kent, 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 and died at the age of 40 years old due to his alcoholism 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 King Alfred's Academy, Wantage Grammar School, as a boarding school, boarder."Farmer, Baron cr. 2014 (Life Peer), of Bishopsgate in the City of London (Michael Stahel Farmer)"Business career
Farmer started working at eighteen. He began as a difference account clerk and messenger in AJ Strauss, a London Metal Exchange member firm at which his father had worked, earning eight pounds a week.Louise Armitstead (March 7, 2010)Political career
Farmer was the Treasurer of the Conservative Party, co-Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 2011-15.Rupert Neate (29 October 2022)Family and prisoner issues
Farmer supported the former leader, David Cameron 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 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 (United Kingdom), Select Committee on Social Mobility, and the Joint Committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill. Farmer is a vocal supporter of welfare and prison reform. He was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), 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,"Brexit
Farmer was an active and vocal supporter of Brexit. 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.Antisemitism and Israel
In August 2024, Farmer wrote a lengthy thread on X, on the subject of antisemitism, and on the Gaza war, 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)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''. 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,"Continuing on, addressing the Gaza war, he wrote:
''Times of India'', August 20, 2024.
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 [is a] rare 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 pogroms 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 Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip, 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,"
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