Andrew Murrison
Andrew William Murrison PC (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, naval officer and politician. After serving as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Westbury from 2001 to 2010, at the 2010 general election he was elected for the new seat of South West Wiltshire covering much of the same area, including the towns of Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury.
Surgeon Commander The Right Honourable Andrew Murrison | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Murrison in 2019 | |
| Minister of State for International Development and the Middle East | |
| In office 9 May 2019 – 13 February 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Alistair Burt |
| Succeeded by | James Cleverly |
| Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee | |
| In office 12 July 2017 – 9 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Laurence Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Simon Hoare |
| Minister of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 14 July 2014 – 12 May 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Andrew Robathan |
| Succeeded by | Ben Wallace |
| Minister for International Security Strategy | |
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Gerald Howarth |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament for South West Wiltshire Westbury (2001–2010) | |
| Assumed office 7 June 2001 | |
| Preceded by | David Faber |
| Majority | 21,630 (39.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 April 1961 Colchester, Essex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Jenny Murrison |
| Children | 5 daughters |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Hughes Hall, Cambridge |
| Profession | Physician |
| Awards | Iraq Medal (2004) Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) |
| Website | andrewmurrison.co.uk |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  |
| Branch/service |   |
| Years of service | 1989 – Present |
| Rank | Surgeon Commander |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
On 12 July 2017, Murrison was elected chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.[1]
On 9 May 2019, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department for International Development and Minister for the Middle East at the Foreign Office, a post he held until the reshuffle of February 2020.
Early life
The son of William Gordon Murrison RD and Marion Murrison, Murrison was born in Colchester and grew up in Harwich, Essex, where he attended the local Harwich High School (now Harwich and Dovercourt High School),[2][3] and the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.[4]
Medical and naval career
With the benefit of a Royal Navy scholarship, Murrison qualified as a doctor from the University of Bristol's medical school in 1984. He holds the degrees of MD, MB ChB.[2][4]
Until 2000, he served in the Royal Navy as a medical officer based at Fareham and retired with the rank of Surgeon-Commander.[2][4] During his Naval career he served as an Honorary Research Registrar at Southampton General Hospital and spent one year as a postgraduate student at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, obtaining a Diploma in Public Health.[2] From 2000, he worked as a general practitioner locum in Wiltshire and as a Consultant at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
In 2003, as a naval reserve officer, he was recalled to serve in Iraq for a six-month tour of duty.[2]
In September and October 2008, he took part in Exercise Apollo, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, to refresh his skills, including dealing with combat casualties.[5]
Political career
Before entering full-time politics, Murrison was a member of the Bow Group, an assistant to Sir Peter Lloyd (the MP for his home constituency of Fareham), and then from 1999 to 2000 an assistant to Lord Freeman, whose role at Conservative Central Office was screening potential parliamentary candidates.[4]
In September 2000, Murrison was selected as the prospective Conservative candidate for the West Wiltshire constituency of Westbury and in June 2001 he was elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency. He was then appointed to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee and was also a member of the Standing Committee on the NHS Reform Bill.
In the 2001 Conservative leadership election, Murrison supported Michael Portillo.[4]
In November 2003, Murrison was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Health, while also taking an active interest in defence policy.
In 2004, in a free vote, he voted against the bill to ban foxhunting and hare coursing which became the Hunting Act 2004.[6]
He was returned to parliament at the General Election in May 2005, and was appointed as shadow defence minister.[7]
In 2005, he spoke in parliament against European military union, saying "The threat that the proposed Euro force might pose to one of the most successful post-war organisations, NATO, and to our symbiotic relationship with the United States, has surely not been adequately explored".[7]
In Commons divisions in 2007 on a number of House of Lords reform options, Murrison voted for options 7 and 8, proposing a 100% elected House of Lords, including the removal of all remaining hereditary peers, and against options 4 and 5, which proposed a partly elected and partly appointed upper chamber.[6]
In the debate on a Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill in May 2008, he supported amendments to the bill aimed at reducing the maximum gestational age for an abortion from twenty-four to twenty weeks, commenting: "The shock of the abortion list twenty-five years ago is still clear in my mind. Since then, societal attitudes have changed, in part because of improved imaging of the unborn child. I'm sure the law needs updating and twenty weeks appears to strike the right balance".[5]
He is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Clinical Leadership and Management, and is a member of the "Cardiac Risk in the Young All Party Parliamentary Group".[8]
Murrison's Westbury constituency was abolished at the end of the parliament of 2005 to 2010, but he was the Conservative party candidate for the new South West Wiltshire constituency, which includes most of his former constituency, and was elected on 6 May 2010.
Appointments since 2010
- After re-election to Parliament – appointed as PPS to the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley owing to his experience as a physician.
- November 2011 – appointed as the Prime Minister's special representative for First World War centenary commemorations.[9]
- September 2012 – as part of the Prime Minister's first major cabinet reshuffle, appointed as Minister for International Security Strategy in the Ministry of Defence.[10]
- July 2014 – appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office.[11]
- January 2016 – appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Tunisia and Morocco.[12]
Family
Murrison is married to Jennifer (Jenny) Munden, a physiotherapist. They have five daughters and live near Mere in Wiltshire.[2][3]
Honours
| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| Iraq Medal | |
| Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
|
| Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |
|
| Volunteer Reserves Service Medal | |
- In 2019, he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council as part of his appointment to the May ministry. This gave him the Honorific Title "The Right Honourable" for life.
Publications
- Andrew Murrison (31 October 2011). Tommy This an' Tommy That: The military covenant. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84954-255-5.
- Andrew Murrison (19 April 2017). Redemption. Endeavour Press. ISBN 978-1-52131-825-6.
References
- "Northern Ireland Affairs Committee – Dr Andrew Murrison elected as Chair". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- andrewmurrison.co.uk biography Archived 24 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- MURRISON, Dr Andrew William at ukwhoswho.com (subscription site)
- Robert Waller & Byron Criddle, The Almanac of British Politics, Routledge, 2002, p. 852 at books.google.com
- andrewmurrison.co.uk events Archived 15 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- howtheyvoted (Andrew Murrison)
- "Andrew Murrison: Electoral history and profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- c-r-y.org.uk Andrew Murrison MP Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- "Afternoon press briefing from 2 November 2011: Special representative for WWI commemorations". number10.gov.uk. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for International Security Strategy - GOV.UK".
- "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office". www.gov.uk. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- "Trade Envoys". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
External links
- Dr Andrew Murrison MP official site
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile at the Conservative Party website
- Biography at ePolitix.com for Andrew Murrison MP
- Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Andrew Murrison MP
- BBC News – Dr Andrew Murrison profile, 10 February 2005
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Faber |
Member of Parliament for Westbury 2001–2010 |
Constituency renamed |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for South West Wiltshire 2010–present |
Incumbent |