Уильям Дэвид Виггин: британдық консервативті саяхатшының өмірбаяны

British Conservative politician

Sir William David Wiggin (born 4 June 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician, and a former Shadow Minister for Agriculture & Fisheries. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire, previously Leominster, since the 2001 general election.

Wiggin was born in London in 1966. He attended Eton College, where he was an older contemporary of David Cameron, and later read Economics at the Bangor University, gaining a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in 1988. He also served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the TA, being a platoon commander for Holyhead, Bangor and Caernarfon. Following this, Wiggin worked as a Trader in Foreign Exchange Options for UBS from 1991 to 1993, then was an Associate Director of Kleinwort Benson from 1994 to 1998, then as a manager in the Foreign Exchange department of Commerzbank from 1998.

Wiggin was selected as the official Conservative Party candidate for Burnley at the 1997 general election. He finished in second place behind Peter Pike of the Labour Party, who defeated him with a majority of 17,062 votes. He was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Conservative safe seat of Leominster in April 1999, replacing Peter Temple Morris, who had defected to the Labour Party. He was elected in 2001 with a majority of 10,367 votes over his Liberal Democrat opponent. Initially a backbencher, he became a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee in 2002. During 2003, Michael Howard appointed him to the position of Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. During his time Shadow Secretary of State for Wales the Conservatives won three seats in Wales at the 2005 general election, the first time Conservatives had been elected as MPs for Wales since the party had lost all its MPs in Wales at the 1997 election. Wiggin welcomed the gains, saying that "Never again will Wales be a Conservative free zone", although he admitted that while the wins were "a good start" he would have liked the Conservatives to have gained more Welsh seats. Wiggin also expressed regret at Howard's decision to stand down as Conservative Leader after the election, adding that he thought Howard had "done a tremendous job" and was "a fantastic example to young Conservative MPs like myself". The Mayor of Leominster expressed his astonishment at Wiggin's intervention. "I was just stunned that Wiggin contacted the returning officer," "It's not totally blatant, but what in god's name is an MP doing poking his nose into a little parish election? I can't understand what he thinks he's up to." In May 2015, Wiggin was re elected once again increasing his vote share by 3.9% and more than doubling his majority from 9,887 to 19,996 votes. Following the election, Wiggin was initially set to contest the Chairmanship of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Select Committee against eventual chair Neil Parish MP. Instead Wiggin was subsequently appointed as Chair of the Committee of Selection. As Chair of this Select Committee, Wiggin will also sit on the Liaison Committee which takes evidence from the Prime Minister and did so on four occasions during the 2014/15 Parliamentary session. He is a member of the European Research Group and signed a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May on 16 February 2018 regarding Brexit negotiations. Wiggin has described the trend away from eating meat as "a disaster for British agriculture." He has also advised MPs "not to be fooled" by arguments against chlorinated chicken. In December 2019, Wiggin held his Conservative seat of North Herefordshire with 63% of the vote and a majority of 24,856. He was knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours for political and public service. In March 2022, Wiggin questioned Boris Johnson over his immigration record in the liaison committee and called on the prime minister to stop letting refugees ‘in rubber boats’ into the country ahead of Ukrainians and Qataris.

Within his constituency, Wiggin successfully campaigned for improved broadband to rural areas, and helped to secure funding for a new swimming pool. In 2007, he took Environment Secretary Hilary Benn on a tour including some of the areas affected by the summer 2007 floods, and in 2009 he took representatives from the Environment Agency on a series of visits to some of the villages and towns worst affected. In 2014, Wiggin met with Dafydd Evans, Environment Agency Area Manager for the West Midlands, to press for action to enhance local flood defences. One of Wiggin's longest standing campaigns has been the improvement of rail services in North Herefordshire. He has helped to secure disabled access at Leominster Station and in 2012 he held a consultation on the new Rail Franchise at Ledbury Station. He regularly petitions the Government for improved services in North Herefordshire and in 2014 he contributed to the Great Western Franchise consultation with his constituents' views.

Wiggin has also campaigned for better recording of agricultural accidents, namely those involving cattle. In April 2014, he presented a 10 Minute Rule Bill in Parliament to require the Health and Safety Executive to record certain details of such accidents and to report these details annually. Following Wiggin's meeting with Rick Brunt, Head of Agriculture at the HSE, Minister Mike Penning MP announced that the HSE would start to collect and publish the data. This included TB testing, presence of a dog, breed of cattle and the proper circumstances and ages of cattle, details of those injured; whether a right of way was involved, whether the person was trespassing, and any other relevant and useful information.

Wiggin renewed his call for more beds at Hereford County Hospital following a visit in September 2014, during which he toured one of the Canadian hutted units. In December 2014, Wiggin questioned the Prime Minister during PMQs about Hereford County Hospital and sought his support for increasing the hospital's capacity. Following Wiggin's PMQ, the Prime Minister informed Wiggin he would send a Minister to look at the Hospital and in February 2015 Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt paid a visit. In June 2015, Wiggin welcomed the contract awarded to Kier Group to deliver a programme of reconfiguration at Hereford County Hospital for the Wye Valley NHS Trust. The planned work includes increasing capacity at the hospital and replacing the 75 year old 'Canadian Huts' currently used as inpatient wards and relocating both the endoscopy and day surgery facilities.

During the parliamentary expenses scandal the Daily Telegraph reported that Wiggin had wrongly claimed more than £11,000 mortgage payments on his Herefordshire property. This property had no mortgage and Wiggin who had made 23 declarations that it was his main home said the expenses were claimed in error. Wiggin had routinely claimed £240 a month for household bills and whilst the Standards and Privileges Committee confirmed that he could claim up to £250 a month without a receipt, this was to cover costs actually incurred. Wiggin "chose not to" take up the committee's invitation to check his expenses with his bank and service providers and, on balance of probability they found he overclaimed expenses for council tax, telephone and workmen's bills.

Until 10 October 2017, Wiggin was a non executive director of Philip T English International Financial Services Ltd in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The position came with remuneration of £5,000 a year with him spending approximately 60 hours a year on the job. From 21 November 2015, Wiggin was managing director of Emerging Asset Management Ltd, in Hamilton, Bermuda. From 1 September 2016, he was director of two fund platforms in the Cayman Islands, and two in Bermuda. In 2008, Wiggin accepted an expenses paid trip to Malaysia, by palm oil conglomerate Sime Darby.

Wiggin is the son of the late Sir Jerry Wiggin, MP for Weston super Mare. Wiggin lives in Upton Bishop in South Herefordshire, with his wife Milly. She was previously the girlfriend of David Cameron.