30 Facts About Bill Wiggin

1.

Bill Wiggin has been the Member of Parliament for North Herefordshire, previously Leominster, since the 2001 general election.

2.

Bill Wiggin attended Eton College, where he was an older contemporary of David Cameron, and later read Economics at the Bangor University, gaining a Bachelor of Arts in 1988.

3.

Bill Wiggin served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the TA, being a platoon commander for Holyhead, Bangor and Caernarfon.

4.

Bill Wiggin was selected as the official Conservative Party candidate for Burnley at the 1997 general election.

5.

Bill Wiggin finished in second place behind Peter Pike of the Labour Party, who defeated him with a majority of 17,062 votes.

6.

Bill Wiggin was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Conservative safe seat of Leominster in April 1999, replacing Peter Temple-Morris, who had defected to the Labour Party.

7.

Bill Wiggin was elected in 2001 with a majority of 10,367 votes over his Liberal Democrat opponent.

8.

Bill Wiggin welcomed the gains, saying that "Never again will Wales be a Conservative-free zone", although he admitted that while the wins were "a good start" he would have liked the Conservatives to have gained more Welsh seats.

9.

Bill Wiggin expressed regret at Howard's decision to stand down as Conservative Leader after the election, adding that he thought Howard had "done a tremendous job" and was "a fantastic example to young Conservative MPs like myself".

10.

Wiggin has voted against a blanket ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants, the 2004 Hunting Bill which outlawed fox hunting, and some sections of the Prevention of Terrorism bills.

11.

Bill Wiggin was re-elected at the 2010 general election for the new constituency of North Herefordshire with a reduced majority, after Parliament had accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which slightly altered his former Leominster constituency to exclude those areas of the former county of Hereford and Worcester which are now in Worcestershire.

12.

In June 2013, Bill Wiggin spoke in debate in favour of the badger cull, saying he supported the Government policy to "combat" bovine tuburculosis.

13.

Bill Wiggin is a member of the European Research Group and signed a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May on 16 February 2018 regarding Brexit negotiations.

14.

Bill Wiggin was knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours for political and public service.

15.

In March 2022, Bill Wiggin questioned Boris Johnson over his immigration record in the liaison committee and called on the prime minister to stop letting refugees 'in rubber boats' into the country ahead of Ukrainians and Qataris.

16.

Bill Wiggin has campaigned for improved flood defences in Herefordshire, and frequently raises the issue in the House of Commons.

17.

In 2014, Bill Wiggin met with Dafydd Evans, Environment Agency Area Manager for the West Midlands, to press for action to enhance local flood defences.

18.

Bill Wiggin has helped to secure disabled access at Leominster Station and in 2012 he held a consultation on the new Rail Franchise at Ledbury Station.

19.

Bill Wiggin has campaigned for better recording of agricultural accidents, namely those involving cattle.

20.

Bill Wiggin renewed his call for more beds at Hereford County Hospital following a visit in September 2014, during which he toured one of the Canadian hutted units.

21.

In December 2014, Bill Wiggin questioned the Prime Minister during PMQs about Hereford County Hospital and sought his support for increasing the hospital's capacity.

22.

In June 2015, Bill Wiggin welcomed the contract awarded to Kier Group to deliver a programme of reconfiguration at Hereford County Hospital for the Wye Valley NHS Trust.

23.

The committee expressed disappointment that Bill Wiggin had not been cooperative with the enquiry as required by the Code of Conduct.

24.

Until 10 October 2017, Bill Wiggin was a non-executive director of Philip T English International Financial Services Ltd in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

25.

Bill Wiggin was appointed non-executive director of Allpay Limited based at Whitestone in Hereford HR1 3SE.

26.

From 21 November 2015, Bill Wiggin was managing director of Emerging Asset Management Ltd, in Hamilton, Bermuda.

27.

Bill Wiggin has accepted donations and donations in kind from a number of sources, including the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and one day of shooting with Cubitt Consulting in 2004.

28.

In 2008, Bill Wiggin accepted an expenses-paid trip to Malaysia, by palm oil conglomerate Sime Darby.

29.

Bill Wiggin is the son of the late Sir Jerry Bill Wiggin, MP for Weston-super-Mare.

30.

Bill Wiggin's interests include motorbikes, DIY, shooting, fishing and Hereford cattle.