Parish, Neil

Neil Parish was first elected as Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton in 2010 being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 24,439.

Mr Parish was suspended from the Conservative whip in April 2022, after reporting himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.  This followed claims by two female MPs that a fellow MP had allegedly watched pornography on their phone in the Commons chamber.  He then announced he was to resign as an MP.

The constituency of Tiverton and Honiton is found in the south east corner of Devon.  A largely rural seat it includes the towns of Tiverton, Axminster, Seaton, Honiton, and Cullomtpon.   The farmland in this seat is criss- crossed with rivers and includes part of the Blackdown Hills.  It is an economically active area where unemployment is half that of the national average. Although the Liberal Democrats used to maintain a base of support in this area, it has dissipated in recent years, and this remains safe Conservative territory.  UKIP came second in this seat in the 2015 General Election.

Neil Parish has been Chair of the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee since 2015.

Parish was formerly a Member of the European Parliament for the South West of England between 1999 and 2009.  He supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Born in 1956, Neil Parish left school at 16 and worked on the family farm in Somerset.  He later managed the farm.  In recent years he has been President for the Mid Devon Show.  He still lives on the family farm.

Neil Parish acted as an election monitor during Zimbabwe’s 2000 Presidential elections.  He was later barred from Zimbabwe by Robert Mugabe.  He supported Michael Gove in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.

Neil Parish is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Cider; and the Wood Panel Industry.

He is married with two grown up children, and is also a grandfather  He employs his wife as a Secretary.

Email: neil.parish.mp@parliament.uk

Personal Website: www.neilparish.co.uk

Twitter: @neil_parish

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Neil-Parish