John Michael Jack, (born 17 September 1946) is a Conservative Party politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and was Member of Parliament for Fylde between 1987 and 2010, serving at various junior ministerial posts during the

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 ...

administration. He was chair of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS).

Early life

Michael Jack was born in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the son of Ralph and Florence Jack. He attended

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational private day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination. For the sixth form admission is based on GCSE results. The school gives means-tested ...

and then Bradford Institute of Technology (now the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

). At the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

, he received a BA in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, and a

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

in Transport Economics. He worked for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

from 1971 to 1975. From 1975 to 1980, he worked at

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

, being PA to Managing Director Lord Rayner from 1975 to 1976, National Chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1976 to 1977, Sales Director at LO Jeffs Ltd (a fresh produce supply company and part of

Northern Foods Northern Foods is a British food manufacturer headquartered in Wakefield, England. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the original FTSE 100 Index. The company is credited, together with Marks & Spencer, ...

) from 1981 to 1987. He has also been a member of the Eastern Area Electricity Consultative Council, and of the Mersey Regional Health Authority.

Parliamentary career

He contested Newcastle Central in February 1974. He was a Minister at the DSS from 1990 to 1992, at the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

from 1992 to 1993, then at

MAFF MAFF(S) may refer to: * MAFF (gene), a transcription factor * Malmö Arab Film Festival, held in Malmö (Sweden), the largest Arabic film festival in Europe * Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom), a former department of UK g ...

from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997, he was

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

appointed him a member of his Shadow Cabinet in 1997 as Shadow Agriculture Minister, but he returned to the back-benches in 1998. He was a member of the

Agriculture Select Committee The Agriculture Select Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was dissolved in 2001 and replaced by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee following the replacement o ...

in the 1997-2001 parliament. He was later Chairman of the

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (EFRA) is a select committee of 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 Ca ...

. Jack was a pro-European, and was member of the

Tory Reform Group The Tory Reform Group (TRG) is a pressure group associated with the British Conservative Party that works to promote "modern, progressive Conservatism ..economic efficiency and social justice" and "a Conservatism that supports equality, dive ...

. He was appointed to the Privy Council in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. On 14 March 2008, Jack announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election. After he left Parliament he served as chairman of the Office of Tax Simplification and he was appointed Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to tax policy.

Personal life

He married Alison Jane Musgrave in 1976, and they have two sons. He retired as Chairman of Topps Tiles Plc in 2015, having served since 1999. In 2018, he was appointed Chair of Governors of the

Royal Agricultural University The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. ...

.
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References

External links

* * *
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Michael Jack MPTheyWorkForYou.com – Michael Jack MPThe Public Whip – Michael Jack MP
voting record
BBC News – Michael Jack MP
profile 4 March 2005

Audio clips

Discussing a £40m fridge ''mountain'' in 2002Discussing Margaret Beckett in 2007

News items

Discussing Gangmasters in 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Michael 1946 births Alumni of the University of Leicester Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Bradford Grammar School UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010