Editing David Curry

{{short description|British Conservative Party politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{other people||David Currie (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|name             = David Curry
|office           = Chairman of the [[Standards and Privileges Committee]]
|term_start       = 20 October
|term_end         = 19 November 2009
|predecessor      = [[Sir George Young]]
|successor        = [[Sir Malcolm Rifkind]]
|office1          = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government|Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs]]
|leader1          = [[Michael Howard]]
|term_start1      = 11 November 2003
|term_end1        = 15 March 2004
|predecessor1     = [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]] {{small|(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)}}
|successor1       = [[Caroline Spelman]]
|office2          = Chairman of the [[Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee]]
|term_start2      = 16 July 2001
|term_end2        = 12 November 2003
|predecessor2     = Position established 
|successor2       = [[Michael Jack]]
|office3          = Chairman of the [[Agriculture Select Committee]]
|term_start3      = 15 February 2000
|term_end3        = 11 May 2001
|predecessor3     = [[Peter Luff]]
|successor3       = Position abolished
|office4          = [[Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
|leader4          = [[William Hague]]
|term_start4      = 11 June 1997
|term_end4        = 3 November 1997
|predecessor4     = [[Douglas Hogg]]
|successor4       = [[Michael Jack]]
|office5          = [[Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution|Minister of State for Local Government]]
|leader5          = [[John Major]]
|term_start5      = 27 May 1993
|term_end5        = 2 May 1997
|predecessor5     = [[John Redwood]]
|successor5       = [[Hilary Armstrong]]
|office6          = [[Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs|Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
|leader6          = John Major
|term_start6      = 14 April 1992
|term_end6        = 27 May 1993
|predecessor6     = [[Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington|Jean Barker]]
|successor6       = Michael Jack
|office7          = [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries|Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
|leader7          = [[Margaret Thatcher]]<br>John Major
|term_start7      = 26 July 1989
|term_end7        = 14 April 1992
|predecessor7     = [[Richard Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum|Richard Ryder]]
|successor7       = [[Frederick Curzon, 7th Earl Howe|Frederick Curzon]]
|office8          = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Skipton and Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Skipton and Ripon]]
|term_start8      = 11 June 1987
|term_end8        = 12 April 2010
|predecessor8     = [[John Watson (Skipton MP)|John Watson]]
|successor8       = [[Julian Smith (politician)|Julian Smith]]
|office9          = [[Member of the European Parliament]]<br>for [[Essex North East (European Parliament constituency)|Essex North East]]
|term_start9      = 7 June 1979
|term_end9        = 15 June 1989
|predecessor9     = Position established
|successor9       = [[Anne McIntosh]]
|birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1944|6|13|df=y}}
|birth_place      = [[Burton-on-Trent]], England
|death_date       = 
|death_place      = 
|party            = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|spouse           = Anne Helene Maud Roullet
|alma_mater       = [[Corpus Christi College, Oxford]]<br />[[Harvard Kennedy School]]
}}
'''David Maurice Curry''' (born 13 June 1944) is a British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician. He was the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Skipton and Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Skipton and Ripon]] from [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]] to [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]].

==Early life==
Curry, the son of teachers, was educated at the [[Ripon Grammar School]] where he was [[head boy]] in 1962, and then at [[Corpus Christi College, Oxford]] where he received a bachelor's degree in modern history in 1966. He also attended the [[Harvard Kennedy School]] at [[Harvard University]] as a [[Kennedy Scholar]]. He began his career as a [[journalist|reporter]] on the [[The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne newspaper)|Newcastle Journal]] in 1966. In 1970, he became the world trade editor at the ''[[Financial Times]]'' where he remained until he was elected to the [[European Parliament]]. In 1977, he founded the Paris Conservative Association.

==Political career==
Curry contested the safe [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] seat of [[Morpeth (UK Parliament constituency)|Morpeth]] at the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 general election]], but was beaten by the sitting Labour MP [[George Grant (UK politician)|George Grant]] by 13,034 votes. The two met again at the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974 general election]], when Grant won by 14,687 votes.

Curry was elected a [[Member of the European Parliament]] in 1979 for [[Essex North East (European Parliament constituency)|Essex North East]].  He served until 1989.

Curry was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] for the safe Conservative seat of Skipton and Ripon at the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]] on the retirement of the sitting Conservative MP [[John Watson (Skipton MP)|John Watson]].  Curry won the seat with a majority of 17,174 and held the seat safely until he retired from Parliament in 2010.

Following his election Curry became a member of the [[Agriculture Select Committee]] until he was promoted to the government of [[Margaret Thatcher]] in 1989 as [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.  He was promoted within the same department to [[Minister of State]] after the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]] by [[John Major]].  Two year later he moved sideways to the [[Secretary of State for the Environment|Department for the Environment]] where he remained until the Major government fell at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]]. He became a [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Member of the Privy Council]] in 1996.

In opposition Curry became the [[Shadow Cabinet|Shadow]] Agriculture Secretary, but resigned from the [[Shadow Cabinet]] in December 1997 in protest at the policy of ruling out Britain joining the [[Euro|single European currency]] for the next ten years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Chris |last2=Stevenson |first2=John |title=The Longman companion to Britain since 1945 |date=2000 |publisher=Longman |location=Harlow |isbn=978-0-582-35674-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/longmancompanion0000cook/page/76 76] |edition=2 |chapter=4: Party Politics |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/longmancompanion0000cook/page/76 }}</ref> In 1998, he became the chairman of the Agriculture Select Committee and, after the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]], its successor the [[Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] Select Committee until 2003 when he promoted again to the Shadow Cabinet by [[Michael Howard]] as Shadow [[Office of the Deputy Prime Minister|Local and Devolved Government Secretary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conservatives.com/people/person.cfm?PersonID=4645|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603203038/http://www.conservatives.com/people/person.cfm?PersonID=4645|archivedate=3 June 2004|title=Conservative Party - Rt Hon David Curry MP|date=3 June 2004|website=conservatives.com|accessdate=20 May 2025}}</ref>  He resigned again in 2004, this time citing 'family reasons'<ref>{{cite news|title=Curry quits the Tory front bench|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3513962.stm|date=15 March 2004|work=BBC News|access-date=4 December 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040526153244/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3513962.stm|archive-date=26 May 2004|url-status=live}}</ref> and was replaced by [[Caroline Spelman]]. He was a member of the Public Accounts Select Committee from 2004.

On 5 February 2009, Curry announced that he would not stand at the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 election]].<ref>{{cite news  | title = MP to stand down at next election  | publisher = [[BBC News]]  | date = 5 February 2009  | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/7871811.stm  | accessdate = 5 February 2009  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160130155426/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/7871811.stm  | archive-date = 30 January 2016  | url-status = live  }}</ref>

On 19 November 2009, Curry stood down from his position as chairman of the [[Committee on Standards and Privileges|Parliamentary Committee on Standards and Privileges]] after claims by ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' regarding his [[expenses]] and reportedly referred himself to the [[Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority]] for investigation.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6609018/MPs-expenses-David-Curry-quits-as-standards-chief-over-new-Telegraph-disclosures.html | title=MPs' expenses: David Curry quits as standards chief over new Telegraph disclosures | accessdate=19 November 2009 | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | first1=Rosa | last1=Prince | first2=Robert | last2=Winnett | first3=Holly | last3=Watt | date=19 November 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122135314/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6609018/MPs-expenses-David-Curry-quits-as-standards-chief-over-new-Telegraph-disclosures.html | archive-date=22 November 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2013, Curry was appointed editor-in-chief of ''[[The Parliamentary Review]]''.

==Publications==
*''The Food War: US-EU Food Politics'' by David Curry, 1982, EDG
*''The Conservative Tradition in Europe'' Edited by David Curry, 1998, Mainstream
*''Lobbying Government: A practical Guide for the Housing Industry and Lobby'' by David Curry, 1999, Chartered Institute of Housing, {{ISBN|1-900396-48-3}}
*''The Sorcerers Apprentice: Government and Globalisation'' by David Curry, 2000, Local Government Association, {{ISBN|1-84049-161-2}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051227011525/http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/David+Curry ePolitix.com - David Curry MP]}}
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-1234,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: David Curry MP]
* [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_curry/skipton_and_ripon TheyWorkForYou.com - David Curry MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=David_Curry&mpc=Skipton+%26amp%3B+Ripon The Public Whip - David Curry MP] voting record
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/520.stm BBC News - David Curry MP] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623063508/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/520.stm |date=23 June 2006 }} profile 30 March 2006
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-david-curry | David Curry }}

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, David}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MEPs]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:MEPs for England 1979–1984]]
[[Category:MEPs for England 1984–1989]]
[[Category:People educated at Ripon Grammar School]]
[[Category:People from Burton upon Trent]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001–2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–2010]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]