Editing Christopher Fraser

{{Short description|British politician}}
{{about||the Ontario lawyer and politician|Christopher Finlay Fraser|the Australian businessman|Christopher Neil Fraser}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = 
| name = Christopher Fraser
| honorific-suffix = [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| image = 
| caption =  
| constituency_MP = [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Norfolk]]
| parliament = 
| term_start = 5 May 2005
| term_end = 12 April 2010
| majority = 
| predecessor = [[Gillian Shephard]]
| successor = [[Liz Truss]]
| constituency_MP2 = [[Mid Dorset and North Poole (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Dorset and North Poole]]
| parliament2 = 
| term_start2 = 1 May 1997
| term_end2 = 14 May 2001
| majority2 = 
| predecessor2 = ''new constituency''
| successor2 = [[Annette Brooke]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1962|10|25}}
| birth_place = [[Bushey]], Hertfordshire, England
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| nationality = British
| spouse = Lisa Norman
| party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| relations = 
| children = 
| residence = 
| alma_mater = [[University of Westminster]]
| occupation = 
| profession = 
| religion = 
| signature = 
| website = 
| footnotes = 
}}
'''Christopher James Fraser''', [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (born 25 October 1962) is a former [[Conservative Party (UK)|British Conservative Party]] politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for [[Mid Dorset and North Poole]] from the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]] to [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]] and [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Norfolk]] from [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]] to [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]].

==Early life==
He was born in [[Hertfordshire]] and educated at the [[University of Westminster]], graduating with a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] degree. He worked as chairman of a communications company. He was elected as a councillor to the [[Three Rivers District|Three Rivers District Council]] for four years from 1992.

==Parliamentary career==
Fraser was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]] for the new seat of [[Mid Dorset and North Poole (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Dorset and North Poole]] with a majority of 681. He made his [[maiden speech]] on 4 July 1997.<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970704/debtext/70704-14.htm#70704-14_spnew0 ''Hansard'' 4 July 1997]</ref> He lost his seat at the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]] to the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] [[Annette Brooke]]. Although his percentage of the vote increased, Fraser was edged out by the Liberal Democrats by 384 votes, after a tactical voting campaign urging Dorset residents to cast their votes in the best way to defeat the incumbent Conservatives and saw his defeat, along with that of [[Ian Bruce (politician)|Ian Bruce]] in neighbouring [[South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|South Dorset]]. He returned to [[Palace of Westminster|Westminster]] at the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]] for South West Norfolk following the retirement of the former [[Secretary of State for Education]] [[Gillian Shephard]]. He held the seat with a comfortable majority of 10,086, and managed to achieve a small swing of 0.3 over Labour.

He served as a member of the [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport|culture, media and sport]] [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] from 1997 until he lost his seat. He was appointed as the [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to [[Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde|Lord Strathclyde]], the Shadow [[Leader of the House of Lords]]. Following his re-election in 2005 he was a member of the [[Northern Ireland Office|Northern Ireland]] select committee and was appointed to the Northern Ireland Grand Committee.  He was Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Northern Ireland Group.  He was a member of the UK delegation to the [[Council of Europe]] and the Assembly of the [[Western European Union]] (2005–2007).

In 2009 his [[United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal|expenses claims]] were highlighted in the ''Daily Telegraph''; according to the newspaper, Fraser claimed £1,800 in public money for buying 215 trees and marking out the boundary of his second home in the constituency.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5384295/MPs-expenses-Christopher-Fraser-says-that-claim-for-trees-was-necessary.html ''Daily Telegraph'' MPs' expenses: Christopher Fraser says that claim for trees was necessary 26 May 2009]</ref> The Lynn News reported "In February 2007 Mr Fraser claimed £1,808.28 for new fencing and hedging to provide security for his new constituency home."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/OUR-MPs-SAY-THEY-HAVE.5300363.jp |title=OUR MPS SAY THEY HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE - Latest News - Lynn News |website=www.lynnnews.co.uk |access-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912235032/http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/OUR-MPs-SAY-THEY-HAVE.5300363.jp |archive-date=12 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 28 May 2009 he announced that he would be standing down as an MP at the next general election citing family reasons.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8072666.stm BBC News; MP Fraser poised to leave Commons, 28 May 2009]</ref>

The Telegraph 2010 election website stated that he "stood down on account of his wife's health problems".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk/Norfolk+South+West |title=Norfolk South West: Constituency - Telegraph |access-date=5 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710121338/http://ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk/Norfolk+South+West |archive-date=10 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Fraser was appointed [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for public and political service.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60367 |date=29 December 2012 |page=11 |supp=y }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Fraser married in February 1987 and he has a son and a daughter. He became a [[Freedom of the City#Freedom of the City of London|Freeman]] of the [[City of London]] in 1992. He receives income from land and property in London and Dorset.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-1823,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Christopher Fraser MP]
* [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/christopher_fraser/south_west_norfolk TheyWorkForYou.com – Christopher Fraser MP]
* [http://www.southwestnorfolkconservatives.com South West Norfolk Conservatives]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/431.stm BBC Politics page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213163257/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/431.stm |date=13 February 2009 }}

===News items===
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6382645.stm Fens flooding in February 2007]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-new | constituency }}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = Member of Parliament for [[Mid Dorset and North Poole]]
  | years  = [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]–[[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]]
}}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Annette Brooke]] }}
{{succession box
  | title  = Member of Parliament for [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Norfolk]]
  | years  = [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]]–[[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]]
  | before = [[Gillian Shephard]]
  | after  = [[Liz Truss]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Christopher}}
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–2010]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Councillors in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Westminster]]