Kevin Hollinrake

Kevin Paul Hollinrake (born 28 September 1963)[1] is a British Conservative politician and businessman. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thirsk and Malton since May 2015.[2][3]

Kevin Hollinrake MP
Member of Parliament for Thirsk and Malton
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2015
Preceded by	Anne McIntosh
Majority	25,154 (44.4%)
Personal details
Born	(1963-09-28) 28 September 1963 Easingwold, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Nikky
Children	4
Alma mater	Sheffield Polytechnic
Website	Official website

Early life and education

Kevin Hollinrake was born and brought up in North Yorkshire. He attended Easingwold School and studied physics at Sheffield Polytechnic.[4] He later owned Crayke Castle.[5]

Business

After leaving university, Kevin Hollinrake started working for Prudential. Then he co-founded Hunters estate agency in York in 1992. The agency had grown to over 150 branches across the country by 2015, with Hollinrake holding a 15% stake in the company.[6] Hunters Property was admitted to trading on AIM in July 2015 with a market capitalisation of £16.9m.[7][8] In February 2015, the company issued an IPO (initial public offering) for new investors to raise £2.5 m for capital investment.[9]

In 2009 Hollinrake became a director of Vizzihome from which he resigned as a director in 2013.[10] In 2013 he founded Shoptility Limited where he was the Chairman until commencement of voluntary winding up in October 2017, and the company was dissolved in June 2019.[11] Hollinrake has been a consistent advocate for the small business sector, which he believes deserve a cut in the rate of VAT. He has strongly supported a scheme to widen the A64.[12]

MP since general election, 2015

On arrival in the House of Commons, Hollinrake had already turned down the option to fight four other constituencies before settling on the Conservative safe seat of Thirsk and Malton in the county of North Yorkshire.[13] Hollinrake is a strong supporter of David Cameron's Northern Powerhouse idea, which aims to link the north of England more closely to markets in the south; making it easier to travel, exchange and do business.[14]

In January 2016, Hollinrake was one of 72 MPs who voted down an amendment in Parliament on rental homes being "fit for human habitation" who were themselves landlords who derived an income from a property.[15]

He served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[16]

Hollinrake was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[17] Like the majority of Remain MPs he has voted in favour of adhering to the result of the EU referendum and states that he now supports Brexit, although recently he has voiced opposition to Boris Johnson's policy to complete it "do or die" by ignoring Parliamentary bills designed to keep the UK in the EU.

In 2020 Hollinrake became one of four Vice-Chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing.[18] This group has been subject to criticism by some campaigners on whistleblowing law reform.[19]

Fracking

Hollinrake is one of the few MPs representing a constituency where fracking may take place who enthusiastically supports it. On 2 February 2018, he authored an article in The Yorkshire Post titled: "Why I'm supporting fracking in Yorkshire", in which he argued fracking was too good an opportunity to miss and would help tackle climate change.[20] Critics have argued that shale gas is a fossil fuel and extracting it will make climate change worse, but Hollinrake has argued it provides part of the transition to a low carbon energy mix. In May 2015, Hollinrake said that he would be writing to Amber Rudd, the Secretary of State for Energy, to declare support for "safe and discreet" fracking, as long as sufficient compensation was received locally. In January 2016, Hollinrake stood down as Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Oil and Gas after he received complaints from his constituents about funding received from fracking companies.[21] In his resignation statement he said: "A number of constituents have contacted me to express concerns that my involvement with the [group] is inappropriate, due to the amount of sponsorship it receives from the oil and gas industry."[22]

Personal life

Hollinrake is married to Nikky and has four children,[1] living primarily in London, but with a house in Yorkshire.[23] His four children attended schools in Crayke and Easingwold[24] his claims for rented accommodation in London include uplift for children[25] leading to a total claim for rented accommodation of £27,646.63 for 2016–2017. [26]

References

1. "Hollinrake, Kevin Paul, (born 28 Sept. 1963), MP (C) Thirsk and Malton, since 2015". Who's Who. 2015. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.283958.
2. "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9124.
3. "Thirsk & Malton Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015. BBC News. 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
4. "About Kevin Hollinrake". Kevin Hollinrake. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
5. "Historic home on market for £3.5 million". York Press. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
6. Snowdon, Ros (18 June 2015). "MP's estate agency chain set for £17m Aim debut". The Yorkshire Post.
7. "Admission to trading on AIM". London Stock Exchange. 2 July 2015.
8. http://www.hunters.com/ninetytwo Retrieved 20 September 2015
9. "Hunters announces plans..." Retrieved 20 September 2015.
10. "VIZZIHOME LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
11. "SHOPTILITY LIMITED - Insolvency (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
12. "Upgrading the A64". Retrieved 13 March 2018.
13. Wallace, Mark (25 July 2014). "Kevin Hollinrake selected to fight Thirsk and Malton". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
14. "MP reports Harmony in Yorkshire". Retrieved 20 September 2015.
15. Stone, Jon (13 January 2016). "Tories vote down law requiring landlords make their homes fit for human habitation". The Independent. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
16. Cabinet Office (2019). List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): June 2019 (PDF). UK Government. p. 3.
17. Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
18. "Meet the team". APPG Whistleblowing. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
19. "Home". The Whistler. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
20. Hollinrake, Kevin (2 February 2018). "Why I'm supporting fracking in Yorkshire". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
21. "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Groups as at 30 July 2015 : Unconventional Oil and Gas". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
22. Carrington, Damien (19 January 2016). "Conservative MP resigns from parliamentary shale gas group over industry funding". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
23. https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-hollinrake-mp/13/b96/62
24. "About Kevin Hollinrake". Kevin Hollinrake MP. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
25. "MP Costs". IPSA. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
26. "Find out what your UK MP's been claiming for at MPsExpenses.info". Mesmotronic Limited. Retrieved 18 February 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Anne McIntosh	Member of Parliament for Thirsk and Malton 2015–present	Incumbent