Editing Gary Streeter

{{short description|British Conservative politician (born 1955)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Knight Bachelor|Sir]]
| name                = Gary Streeter
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = Official portrait of Sir Gary Streeter MP crop 2 b.jpg
| office2             = [[Lord Chancellor's Department|Parliamentary Secretary to the<br /> Lord Chancellor's Department]]
| primeminister2      = [[John Major]]
| term_start2         = 2 June 1996
| term_end2           = 1 May 1997
| predecessor2        = [[Jonathan Evans (politician)|Jonathan Evans]]
| successor2          = [[Geoff Hoon]]
| office3             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[South West Devon]]
| term_start3         = 1 May 1997
| term_end3           = 30 May 2024
| predecessor3        = Constituency established
| successor3          = [[Rebecca Smith (politician)|Rebecca Smith]]
| majority3           = 
| office4             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Plymouth Sutton]]
| term_start4         = 9 April 1992
| term_end4           = 8 April 1997
| predecessor4        = [[Alan Clark]]
| successor4          = [[Linda Gilroy]]
| office1             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for International Development|Shadow Secretary of State<br />for International Development]]
| term_start1         = 1 June 1998
| term_end1           = 18 September 2001
| leader1             = [[William Hague]]
| predecessor1        = [[Alastair Goodlad]]
| successor1          = [[Caroline Spelman]]
| birth_name          = Gary Nicholas Streeter
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1955|10|2}}
| birth_place         = [[Gosport]], England
| spouse              = {{marriage|Janet Stevens |1978}}
| children            = 2
| profession          = Solicitor
| alma_mater          = [[King's College London]]
| website             = {{URL|garystreeter.co.uk}}
| party               = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] (since 1988)
| otherparty          = [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] (before 1988)
| caption             = Official portrait, 2020
}}

'''Sir Gary Nicholas Streeter''' (born 2 October 1955) is a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician in the United Kingdom. He served as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for over 30 years, representing [[South West Devon]] from its creation in 1997 to 2024, and previously holding its main predecessor seat of [[Plymouth Sutton]], from which the majority its electorate was taken,<ref>{{cite book|last1= Waller|first1= Robert|authorlink=|last2= Criddle|first2=Byron|title=The Almanac of British Politics|edition=8th|year=2007|publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=[[London]]|isbn=978-0-415-37823-9|pages=658}}</ref> between 1992 and 1997. During the [[List of MPs elected in the 2010 United Kingdom general election|Fifty-fifth Parliament]], Streeter had been the longest-serving MP representing a constituency in the county of [[Devon]].

== Early life ==
Streeter attended [[Tiverton Grammar School]], [[Tiverton, Devon]], where he was head boy from 1972 to 1973, then [[King's College London]], where he gained a first-class honours law degree. From 1984 to 1998, he was a solicitor and partner at Foot and Bowden (now called Foot Anstey) in Plymouth, where he specialised in [[companies law|company]] and [[employment law]]. In 1998 Streeter was fined £1,000 by the Law Society for conduct unbecoming a solicitor due to a conflict of interest when dealing with a business merger in 1991 while with Foot Bowden Limited.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/133839.stm|title=UK Shadow cabinet member fined £1,000}}</ref> 

Streeter's initial political experience was as a councillor on [[Plymouth City Council]], where he represented Mount Gould ward from 1986 to 1992. Having been elected to serve as a member of the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP), in January 1988 he defected to the Conservative Party.<ref name="Herald">'MP who followed God's call prays voters have faith in Tories', ''Evening Herald'', 24 November 2004. Retrieved 20 October 2022.</ref> Reflecting on his career in an interview with the Plymouth [[The Herald (Plymouth)|''Evening Herald'']] years later, Streeter attributed his initial party allegiance to the influence of [[David Owen]], then SDP leader and MP for [[Plymouth Devonport]], but explained that by 1988 he had come to "believe strongly in individual responsibility, in the family, the nation, enterprise. I thought to myself 'I am a natural Conservative, what am I doing in the SDP?' So I crossed over."<ref name="Herald"/>

== Parliamentary career ==
Streeter served as a junior minister in the [[Lord Chancellor's Department]] under Prime Minister [[John Major]] from 1996 until the defeat of the [[Second Major ministry|Major Government]] in 1997. After the 1997 election, Streeter was Major's [[Parliamentary private secretary]] when he was [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]].<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20030624203209/http://www.conservatives.com/people/person.cfm?PersonID=4626</ref> He served as [[Shadow Secretary of State for International Development]] in the Shadow Cabinet of [[William Hague]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/key_people/newsid_1179000/1179344.stm |title=Gary Streeter: Development spokesman |first=Chris |last=Hamilton |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=20 March 2001 |access-date=3 October 2015 }}</ref> from 1998 until the new Conservative leader [[Iain Duncan Smith]] returned him to the [[backbenches]] in 2001.

He is currently a member of the [[Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission]] and is the member of the committee responsible for answering oral questions in Parliament on behalf of the [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]]. He assumed the role after Sir [[Peter Viggers]] stepped down during the [[MPs' expenses scandal]]. His own expenses for 2008/09 were £162,719, ranking 158th out of 647 MPs.

In March 2012, Streeter was one of three MPs who signed a letter to the [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]] asking it to reverse its decision to stop the Christian group "Healing on the Streets of Bath" from making explicit claims that prayer can heal.  The letter called for the ASA to provide "indisputable scientific evidence" that faith healing did not work. Another signer, [[Tim Farron]] of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], later wrote that the letter was not "well-worded" and that he should not have signed it "as it was written".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/29/tim-farron-prayer-can-heal-letter-was-a-mistake_n_1387187.html |work=[[Huffington Post UK]] |title=Tim Farron: 'Prayer can heal' letter was a mistake |access-date=30 March 2012 |date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

In 2013, Streeter referred to the "familiar glint in the swivelled eyes of the purists" within his own party in an article attacking the divisions caused by those activists who were calling for a referendum on EU membership.<ref name="swiv">{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Oliver |title=Jeremy Paxman reveals he has heard senior Tories calling activists 'swivel-eyed loons' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-paxman-reveals-he-has-heard-senior-tories-calling-activists-swiveleyed-loons-8625324.html |access-date=7 April 2015 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=21 May 2013 }}</ref> The remark followed allegations that senior members of the government had characterised [[Eurosceptic]] activists as "swivel-eyed loons". Streeter argued that the result of party infighting over the issue would be "a Labour-led government bend[ing] the knee to Brussels".<ref name="swiv" />

Streeter was opposed to [[Brexit]] prior to the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 referendum]].<ref name="thespectatorwhichtorympsbackbrexit">{{cite news|last1=Goodenough|first1=Tom|title=Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?|url=http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/02/which-tory-mps-back-brexit-who-doesnt-and-who-is-still-on-the-fence/|access-date=11 October 2016|work=The Spectator|date=16 February 2016|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502030758/https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/02/which-tory-mps-back-brexit-who-doesnt-and-who-is-still-on-the-fence/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In November 2018, Streeter announced his support for [[Theresa May]]'s Brexit agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Christian-MPs-react-to-Theresa-May-s-Brexit-plans|title=Christian MPs react to Theresa May's Brexit plans|last=Premier|date=15 November 2018|website=Premier|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-12-30}}</ref>

In December 2018, it was announced that Streeter would receive a [[Knight Bachelor|knighthood]] in the [[2019 New Year Honours|2019 New Year Honours List]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=62507 |date=29 December 2018 |page=N2 |supp=y }}</ref> Streeter told the [[Press Association]] that he hoped his honour reflected, in part, his work over the past decade as chairman of the all-party group on Christians in Parliament and supporting new MPs once they had arrived at Westminster.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46700430|title=Redwood knighted for service to politics|date=2018-12-28|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-12-30|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Streeter was a supporter of [[Esther McVey]] during the [[2019 Conservative Party leadership election]] and one of the proposers of her nomination. McVey was eliminated in the first round of voting. In later rounds he backed [[Sajid Javid]], who was appointed [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] by eventual victor [[Boris Johnson]] later that year.<ref name="Tory_Leadership_Endorsements_Streeter">{{cite news |title=Tory leadership latest news: Rivals face MPs for final hustings ahead of second round of votes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/06/17/tory-leadership-latest-news-boris-johnson-does-not-need-nigel/ |access-date=19 June 2019|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=17 June 2019 |last1=Hope |first1=Christopher |last2=Mikhailova |first2=Anna }}</ref>

Streeter was reelected at the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]] with an increased majority. He briefly acted as [[Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means]] at the start of the [[List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 Parliament]]. On 2 February 2022, Streeter announced that he had submitted a letter to the chairman of the [[1922 Committee]], seeking a motion of no confidence in the prime minister, [[Boris Johnson]], stating that "''I cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice of the vast majority of the British Public during lockdown with the attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street''".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boris-johnson-no-confidence-letter-gary-streeter_uk_61faa851e4b02136b6ee7cf9 |title=Tory Grandee Submits Letter Of No Confidence In Boris Johnson |work=[[Huffington Post]] |first=Ned |last=Simons |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/02/02/boris-johnson-downing-street-cabinet-sue-gray-russia/ |title=Boris Johnson latest news: Gary Streeter becomes third Tory MP to submit letter of no confidence today |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |first=Dominic |last=Penna |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref>

Following the [[July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis#Resignation_of_Boris_Johnson|resignation of Boris Johnson in July 2022]], Streeter announced his support for [[Rishi Sunak]] in the subsequent [[July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=House |first=Coffee |title=Who's backing who? Mordaunt takes second {{!}} The Spectator |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/full-list-tory-endorsements-for-next-leader |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.spectator.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> He became the seventh MP to publicly call for the resignation of Prime Minister [[Liz Truss]] on 20 October.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robertson |first1=Kirsten |title=Tory MP Crispin Blunt calls on Liz Truss to resign 'today' |url=https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/20/tory-mp-crispin-blunt-calls-on-liz-truss-to-resign-today-17600141/ |access-date=20 October 2022 |work=Metro |date=20 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

On 25 November 2022, he announced that he would not seek re-election at the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-11-25 |title=Sir Gary Streeter will not stand in next general election |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-63760563 |access-date=2022-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Conservative MPs Dehenna Davison and Sir Gary Streeter to step down at next election |url=https://news.sky.com/story/conservative-mps-dehenna-davison-and-sir-gary-streeter-to-step-down-at-next-election-12755472 |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Streeter married Janet Stevens in 1978 in [[Barnstaple]]; the couple have a son and daughter, live near [[Plympton]] in Devon. He is a committed Christian.<ref>{{cite web |last=Robbins |first=Martin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-lay-scientist/2012/mar/26/1 |title=Hapless MPs defend faith healers |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=26 March 2012 |access-date=4 May 2012 }}</ref>

In the 2015 election, his son Gareth was the Conservative candidate for [[Rother Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Rother Valley]] in South Yorkshire. He polled third, behind incumbent Sir [[Kevin Barron]] and {{Abbreviation|Cllr|Councillor}} Cowles of [[UKIP]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rother Valley (Constituency) 2015 results |url=https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2015-05-07/Results/Location/Constituency/Rother%20Valley/ |website=UK Parliament}}</ref> In 2023, Gareth Streeter was selected [[prospective parliamentary candidate]] for [[Plymouth Sutton and Devonport]] for the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Atkinson |first=William |date=2023-04-24 |title=Streeter selected as parliamentary spokesman for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport |url=https://conservativehome.com/2023/04/24/streeter-selected-as-parliamentary-spokesman-for-plymouth-sutton-and-devonport/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=Conservative Home |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Churm |first=Philip |date=2023-04-26 |title=Tories announce potential candidate taking on Luke Pollard |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouth-tory-party-announce-prospective-8389540 |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=PlymouthLive |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.garystreeter.co.uk}}
{{UK MP links |parliament=mr-gary-streeter/234 |hansard=mr-gary-streeter |hansardcurr=4166 |publicwhip=Gary_Streeter |theywork=gary_streeter/south_west_devon |record=Gary-Streeter/South-West-Devon/636 |bbc=25211.stm |journalisted=gary-streeter-1 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Streeter, Gary}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:20th-century English lawyers]]
[[Category:Alumni of King's College London]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Councillors in Devon]]
[[Category:English solicitors]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Devon]]
[[Category:People from Gosport]]
[[Category:Politicians from Plymouth, Devon]]
[[Category:Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001–2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–2010]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2010–2015]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2015–2017]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2017–2019]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2019–2024]]