Jonathan Sayeed (born 20 March 1948) was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom 1983-1992 and 1997-2005.
Early Life
Jonathan was the son of the late M M Sayeed, chartered electrical engineer, and L S Sayeed.[1] He was educated in Suffolk.[2]
He joined the Royal Navy in 1965, when he was 18. He spent two years at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and then studied at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, Plymouth, for a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.[2]
Career in Business
After leaving the Royal Navy, Jonathan joined Marks and Spencer PLC and has held Directorships in various international companies since 1974:[2]
- Founder director, Wade Emerson & Co Ltd 1974-82.[1]
- Chairman and chief executive, Calmady Insurance Services Ltd 1982-83.[1]
- Chairman, Ranelagh Ltd 1992-96.[1]
- Non-executive director, Love Lane Investments Ltd (Holding Company) 1992-96.[1]
- Chairman, Training Division Corporate Services Group PLC 1996-97.[1]
Private Life
On 18 October 1980 Jonathan married Nicola Anne Power (born 11 November 1956), daughter of Norman and Joy Power.[1][3] Mrs Sayeed prefers to be known as Anne. They have 2 sons:
- Edward (born 13 March 1985).[1][3] Edward spent some time as a research assistant to his father in the House of Commons.[4]
- Richard (born (16 Feb 1988).[1][3]
Whilst he was MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, Jonathan lived in Lord North Street in Westminster, and also had a house in Houghton Conquest.[5]
He is (or was) a member of the Carlton Club. His interests include golf, sailing, tennis, skiing, classical music, reading and architecture. He has written and co-written several books.[2]
Politician
Sayeed was elected Member of Parliament for Bristol East at the 1983 General Election, where he defeated Rt Hon Anthony Wedgwood Benn (formerly Viscount Stansgate). The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, mainly from the Bristol South East constituency. Rt Hon Anthony Wedgwood Benn had been MP for Bristol South East for the previous 32 years. For the Conservatives, this was one of "the three great prizes" of the election, as Anthony Wedgwood Benn was "the man they most love to hate".[6] Nationally, Labour only got 28% of the vote, which was "the lowest proportion of the vote that Labour had won since 1900 when the party was founded."[7]
In the 1987 General Election, Jonathan more than doubled his majority. But in the 1992 General Election he was unable to resist the swing back to Labour in Bristol, and was beaten by Jean Corston (Labour).[2]
He returned as MP for Mid Bedfordshire in the 1997 general election until 2005.
| Jonathan Sayeed's Parliamentary Election Results' | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol East | Mid Bedfordshire | ||||
| 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | |
| Conservative | 19,844 | 21,906 | 19,726 | 24,176 | 22,109 |
| Labour | 18,055 Tony Benn |
17,783 R.R. Thomas |
22,418 Jean Corston |
17,086 Neil Mallett |
14,043 James Valentine |
| Liberal | 10,404 P.E. Tyrer |
10,247 Don Foster |
7,903 John Kiely |
8,823 Tim J. Hill |
9,205 Graham Mabbutt |
| Other | 343 E.H. Andrews NF (UK) |
286 P.M. Kingston Ind NF |
270 I.H.M. Anderson NF |
2,257 Shirley Marler Referendum |
1,281 Chris Laurence UKIP |
| 311 G.A. Dorey Ecology |
174 Marek J. Lorys Natural Law |
||||
| Turnout | 73.9% | 78.7% | 80.3% | 78.9% | 65.9% |
| Result | Won | Won | Lost | Won | Won |
| Source | 1997 Election 1997 & 2001 elections | ||||
Jonathan was PPS to Lord Belstead as Paymaster General 1991-92.[1]
He has served on the Environment, Defence and Broadcasting select committees; has been a member of the Chairman's Panel - chairing Standing Committees and acting as Deputy Speaker in Westminster Hall; was shadow Environment Minister until he resigned in opposition to the second Iraq war.
He secured a Urban Development Corporation for Bristol despite the opposition of the then Environment Secretary, Nicholas Ridley; proposed sweeping changes to the Nuclear non proliferation treaty - some of which were subsequently adopted; was Parlaimentary Private secretary Northern Ireland; was criticised by the Standards and Privileges committee for being 'at the least negligent at the worst careless' in respect of a company in which he once had an interest; has introduced a number of Bills one of which, the Census (Amendment) Act became law.
He was suspended from the House of Commons for two weeks in February 2005 after the Committee on Standards and Privileges found that, by conducting tours around the Palace of Westminster for indirect financial benefit, his conduct "[fell] well below the standards the House expects, and risked damaging its reputation"[8]. He subsequently won a de-selection battle in his local Conservative Association, but on March 14 announced he would not be contesting the May 2005 general election, on grounds of ill health.
"The Conservative whip was suspended from Sayeed from 3rd February to 7th March 2005 after the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges recommended that he be suspended from the service of the House. The Committee found that a company in which he had an interest had appeared to derive financial benefit from his offering tours of Parliament and risked damaging the reputation of Parliament."[9]
"The Committee issued a second report on 17th March 2005 criticising Sayeed for failing to apologise for his conduct as the first report had ordered, for sending out a circular on House of Commons stationery to members of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association asking for their support in his reselection, and misuse of allowances to pay for work on his home. Following this report, the Conservative Party removed the whip from Sayeed permanently."[10]
He retired from Parliament at the General Election of 2005 and currently is Chairman of a Public Affairs company.
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j BBC Vote 2001 Jonathan Sayeed
- ^ a b c d e St Albans & Harpenden News from The Herts Advertiser MP for Mid-Bedfordshire - Jonathan Sayeed
- ^ a b c The Power family] The date of the marriage given in this website is 11 November 1956, which cannot be correct since it was the day Nicola Anne Power was born.
- ^ Register of Interests of Members' Secretaries and Research Assistants
- ^ Nomination Papers for 2001 General Election.
- ^ Guardian, 10 June 1983 Tories hail a massive majority
- ^ p372, Cawood, Ian, Britain in the Twentieth Century, pub Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0415254574
- ^ Standards and Privileges Committee Third Report: On the Conduct of Mr Jonathan Sayeed 2nd February, 2005
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]