James Clappison serves as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.
13 Facts About James Clappison
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The son of a Yorkshire farmer, Clappison was born in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire and educated at the independent St Peter's School, York, before attending The Queen's College, Oxford where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1978.
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James Clappison contested the safe Labour parliamentary seat of Barnsley East at the 1987 general election where he came second, some 23,511 votes behind Terry Patchett.
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James Clappison contested the Yorkshire South European Parliament seat at the Euro elections of 1989.
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James Clappison was selected to fight the May 1990 Bootle by-election following the death of Allan Roberts.
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James Clappison was defeated by Mike Carr by 23,517 votes.
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James Clappison was rewarded for his efforts by securing the nomination for the safe Conservative seat of Hertsmere, which became vacant on the retirement of Cecil Parkinson.
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James Clappison was safely elected at the 1992 general election with a majority of 18,735.
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James Clappison made his maiden speech on 19 May 1992, during which he spoke of the organised crimes and anti-Semitism against his Jewish constituents.
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James Clappison was promoted to government by John Major in 1995 as the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for the Environment until the defeat of the Major government at the 1997 general election.
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James Clappison served as a member of the Home Affairs Select committee afterwards.
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James Clappison was Shadow Work and Pensions Minister again until the 2010 general election.
13.
In 2014, James Clappison announced that he would be standing down as an MP in 2015.