Patrick Cormack

Sir Patrick Cormack was first elected to Parliament in 1970 and has enjoyed uninterrupted service, first as the Member of Parliament for Cannock, from 1970 to 1974, and since then as the Member for South Staffordshire (formerly called South West Staffordshire), a constituency which incorporates a large portion of his former Cannock seat.

At the General Election in 2005 Sir Patrick’s polling day was delayed for seven weeks because of the death of his Liberal Democrat Opponent. Nevertheless he increased both his share of the vote and his majority, and achieved a swing of 9.1% from Labour, the largest such swing of the whole General Election. Sir Patrick’s current majority, which represents 52.05% of the vote, is 8,847.

Sir Patrick is a former Conservative Party Spokesman on Constitutional Affairs and a former Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, a post he resigned in 2000 in order to contest the Speakership election later that year.

Sir Patrick has served on many House of Commons’ Committees, including the Education and Foreign Affairs Select Committees and many House Committees. He was a member of the House of Commons Commission from 2001 until 2005 and Chairman of the House of Commons Works of Art Committee from 1987 to 2001. Since 1979 he has been Chairman of the All Party Arts and Heritage Group.

In July 2005 Sir Patrick became Chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee.

He edited the House Magazine from 1983 to 2005 and is now Life President of the Magazine and Chairman of the Editorial Board. He writes and broadcasts regularly and is a team captain of BBC’s Parliamentary Questions quiz.

From 1995 to 2005 he served on the General Synod of the Church of England as an elected member.

Visit the website regularly to find news on South Staffordshire and Sir Patrick’s work in the House of Commons.

Committees

Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Sir Patrick was appointed Chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in 2005 and has helped to conduct inquiries resulting in four reports, including ones on Organised Crime in Northern Ireland and Tourism and its Economic Impact and Benefits and is currently working on one on Policing and Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland. For more information please follow the link below: -

Link - http://www.parliament.uk/niacom/

Liaison Committee

Sir Patrick is also a member of the Liaison Committee due to being Chairman of a Select Committee. It is a committee consisting of all 30 chairmen of select committees and is appointed to consider general matters relating to select committees, as well as other issues such as choosing select committee reports for debating in the House. The Committee, since 14th May 2002, hears evidence from the Prime Minister on matters of public policy. For more information please see the link below: -

Link - http://www.parliament.uk/liaisoncom/

Groups

1) All-Party Arts and Heritage Group

Sir Patrick founded the All-Party Arts and Heritage Group in 1974 and has been Chairman since 1979. The aim of the group is to promote interest in the arts and heritage in Westminster. They have regular meetings with speakers from such organisations as The National Trust and The Arts Fund and also gallery visits – for more details please see below.

2) History of Parliament Trust

Sir Patrick has been a member of the Trust since 1979. He was made a trustee in 1983 and then Chairman in 2001.

Link - http://www.histparl.ac.uk/

3) Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber

The campaign, which is chaired by Sir Patrick, was established with three aims in mind: to support the House of Lords in its role as a highly effective second chamber; to provide a balance to the debate on future Lords reform; and to analyse the right options for change. It has over 200 members and currently meets on a regular basis.

Link - http://www.effectivesecondchamber.com/

4) British-Finnish All-Party Group

Sir Patrick was appointed Chairman of the group in 1992. Its aim is to foster relations between Britain and Finland, their parliaments and people.

Link - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/memi47.htm

5) All-Party Parliamentary Bosnia Group

Sir Patrick was Chairman from 1992-97 and was re-appointed in 2001. The aim of the group is to facilitate relations with Bosnia.

Link - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/memi22.htm