23 Facts About Neil Parish

Neil Quentin Gordon Parish was born on 26 May 1956 and is a British farmer and former politician who served as Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022.

Neil Parish attended Brymore School, a local authority-run agricultural boarding school at Cannington near Bridgwater.

Neil Parish was elected to the European Parliament for the South West England region in the 1999 election.

Neil Parish was re-elected in 2004 on the top of the Conservatives' party list.

Neil Parish acted as an election monitor during the 2000 Zimbabwean parliamentary election and criticised the conduct of Robert Mugabe's government.

Neil Parish was banned from re-entering Zimbabwe after voicing his criticism.

Neil Parish was instrumental in setting up the year-long European Parliament's public inquiry into the 2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak, and he was a member of the European Parliament's inquiry into the collapse of Equitable Life.

Neil Parish served as a substitute member of the Committee on Fisheries.

In early 2007, Neil Parish was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Tiverton and Honiton.

Neil Parish did not stand for re-election in the 2009 European Parliament election.

In June 2010, Neil Parish was elected to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Neil Parish was elected by Conservative backbenchers as chairman of the 1922 Committee environment policy committee in July 2010.

From 2010 to 2015, Neil Parish was chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare.

Neil Parish was one of 79 Conservative MPs who, on 24 October 2011, rebelled against a three-line whip by voting for a referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union.

In July 2012, Neil Parish relaunched and was elected the chairman of both the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Beef and Lamb and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pig and Poultry, which ensure that parliamentarians are briefed by industry experts on the latest developments in the industry, including supply chains, exports, sustainability, health and nutrition.

On 22 July 2014, Neil Parish was appointed the parliamentary private secretary to John Hayes, Minister of State for Transport, who acted as a senior advisor to the Prime Minister.

Neil Parish was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.

Neil Parish referred himself to the Commons Select Committee on Standards following the removal of the whip.

Neil Parish subsequently told the BBC that he had watched pornography in the Palace of Westminster on two occasions, first accidentally and then deliberately.

On 30 April 2022, Neil Parish announced his intention to resign as an MP, which triggered the 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election.

Neil Parish said that he had experienced death threats over the incident.

Neil Parish additionally commented that he "was wrong to be watching [pornography]" and that what he did was "very immoral" but not illegal.

In 1981 Neil Parish married Susan Gail, whom he employed as a junior secretary while serving as an MP, later, a teacher.