Robert Goodwill

Sir Robert Goodwill (born 31 December 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician and farmer serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Scarborough and Whitby since 2005. He was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber. Goodwill served in Theresa May’s government as Minister of State at the Home Office, the Department for Education and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Goodwill is a member of the Cornerstone Group of Conservative MPs. He describes himself as a "staunch Eurosceptic" but supported Remain in the EU referendum.

Early life

Goodwill was born in Terrington, North Riding of Yorkshire, and was privately educated at the Quaker Bootham School in York, and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture in 1979. He has been the managing director o
Mowthorpe (UK) Ltd
since 1995 which offers environmentally friendly burials in the North Yorkshire countryside.

Political career

Goodwill is a member of the Conservative Party, and contested his first constituency - Redcar - at the 1992 general election, where he finished second, 11,577 votes behind the sitting Labour MP Mo Mowlam. He unsuccessfully contested Cleveland and Richmond at the 1994 European election. He again attempted to enter the House of Commons at the 1997 general election when he was selected for the marginally held Conservative seat of North West Leicestershire following the deselection of the sitting MP David Ashby. Goodwill was defeated by Labour's David Taylor by 13,219 votes. In 1998, he contested the Yorkshire South European Parliament by-election, but was again defeated.

He was elected as a Member of the European Parliament at the 1999 European Parliament election for the Yorkshire and the Humber region, serving in Brussels and Strasbourg until the 2004 European Parliament election. He was deputy leader of the Conservative MEPs during his term, and also opposed the Conservative Party's membership of the European People's Party in the European Parliament.

From 1999 to 2004, he was a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, and from 2001 to 2004 was a member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities.

In September 2001, he participated in the European Parliament Observer Mission on the Presidential Election in Belarus. In 2003, Goodwill criticised the Council of the European Union's proposal to ban smoky bacon flavoured crisps, calling it "over the top" and "disproportionate to the possible risks." During the 2004 European Parliament election campaign, ''The Guardian'' classed Goodwill as "pro-war" as a result of his supporting a motion in the European Parliament that said the Iraq War was inevitable and the result of Saddam Hussein's actions.

In the 2005 general election, Goodwill stood in the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby, winning the seat from the Labour incumbent Lawrie Quinn by 1,245 votes. He made his maiden speech