15 Facts About Colin Breed

Colin Edward Breed was a British Liberal Democrat politician.

Colin Breed was the Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall from 1997 until he stood down at the 2010 general election.

Colin Breed was member of the parliamentary party's Treasury team.

Colin Breed was appointed an area manager with the Midland Bank in 1964.

Colin Breed was elected as a councillor to both the Caradon District Council and to the Saltash Town Council in 1982.

Colin Breed was selected to contest the constituency of Cornwall South East at the 1997 general election, when the sitting Conservative MP Robert Hicks was retiring.

The 1997 general election saw losses for the Conservatives across the UK and Colin Breed was comfortably elected as the new Liberal Democrat MP for Cornwall South East with a majority of 6,480.

Colin Breed made his maiden speech on 24 June 1997 on the preservation of plant varieties.

In Parliament, Colin Breed was appointed a Liberal Democrat spokesman on Trade and Industry by Paddy Ashdown in 1997.

When Charles Kennedy was elected as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 1999, Colin Breed was promoted to the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Agriculture minister.

Colin Breed was dropped from the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet following the 2001 general election, but was appointed a spokesman on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, before moving to speak on Defence in 2002.

Colin Breed returned to be a spokesman on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs following the 2005 General Election.

Colin Breed stood down from Parliament in April 2010, aged 62, and did not seek re-election.

Colin Breed was a Methodist lay preacher and voted conservatively on issues such as homosexuality.

Colin Breed married Janet Courtiour in 1968 in Torbay and they had a son and a daughter.