Howard Flight
|
|
Howard Emerson Flight (born 16 June 1948) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. He was member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs from 1997 to 2005. He held several Shadow posts: Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury 1999-2001, Shadow Paymaster General to 2002, then Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Flight was educated at Brentwood School, Brentwood, Essex, Magdalene College in Cambridge University, and the University of Michigan. From 1970 to 1998 he worked as an investment adviser and director in various banks. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament for Bermondsey in the Februrary and October 1974 general elections.
Flight resigned as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party on March 24 2005 following comments he made about spending plans and how the Conservatives in office could make more cuts than they are promising in the lead up to a probable general election at a Conservative Way Forward meeting that was secretly recorded. Conservative leader Michael Howard then withdrew the party whip, and claimed that this meant that Flight was no longer an approved candidate, so could not fight the Arundel and South Downs seat as the Conservative candidate at the 2005 general election. Flight refused to accept this, maintaining that only his local party branch has the right to deselect him. On March 29 2005, he announced that he had an opinion from a Queen's Counsel, confirming his view. The Arundel and South Downs Conservative branch initially refused to seek a new candidate. Amid speculation, Flight confirmed that he would not stand as an independent, neither would he oppose any decision by the local association to deselect him.
On April 6, he agreed to give up his attempts to continue as a Conservative candidate and his party selected a new candidate. The chosen candidate, Nick Herbert, won the seat at the election.
External links
- Speeches in Parliament & other performance data (http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?pid=10201)
- Flight fight to save career (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4386439.stm)