Peter Bottomley

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Peter James Bottomley (born 30 July 1944) is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Worthing West.

Peter Bottomley was born in Newport, Shropshire, the son of a diplomat, he received his schooling in Washington, D.C. and then Westminster School before studying economics at Trinity College, Cambridge and then became a lorry driver (hence his membership of the Transport and General Workers Union) before moving on to industrial sales and industrial relations. In 1967 he married Virginia Garnett. She later became an MP, a Cabient Minister and then a life peer. They have a son and two daughters.

Peter Bottomley contested and lost the Woolwich West parliamentary seat for the first time at the February 1974 General Election to William Hamling. Eight months later at the October 1974 General Election he again lost to Hamling. William Hamling died on March 20, 1975, and in the space of 18 months, Bottomley faced the electors of Woolwich West for the third time in the last year of the Harold Wilson government at the June by-election. Peter Bottomley was elected as the Conservative MP for Woolwich West on June 26, 1975 with a majority of 2,382, and held this marginal seat and its successor, Eltham, in Parliament for the next 22 years.

In 1978 he became the President of the Conservative Trade Unionists a position he held for two years. After the 1979 General Election, Peter Bottomley became a trustee with Christian Aid in 1979 until 1984. He was for some years a member of the Conservative Monday Club despite disagreeing with their policies on immigration, race relations, Rhodesia and South Africa.

He became the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Cranley Onslow in 1982. Peter Bottomley's seat of Woolwich West was abolished and Bottomley fought the new seat of Eltham which he won by over 7,500 votes. Following the 1983 General Election, Peter Bottomley became the PPS to the Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Security Norman Fowler.

After nine years on the backbenches, Bottomley finally became a member of Margaret Thatcher's government when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Employment in 1984, moving sideways at the Department of Transport in 1986 to become the Minister of Roads and Traffic. In 1989 he moved sideways again to the Northern Ireland Office. He was dropped by John Major in 1990, when he briefly became PPS to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Patrick Mayhew.

Since 1990 he has been a backbencher, described as a maverick but not a rebel. Peter Bottomley decided not to contest Eltham at the 1997 General Election, but sought nomination elsewhere. Following the retirement of the veteran Conservative MP Terence Higgins, Bottomley contested Worthing West and won comfortably with a majority of over 9,000, he has held the seat comfortably since. In 2002-2003 he was Master of the Worshipful Company of Drapers and has now been a Member of Parliament for over 30 years and has yet to reach retirement age.

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Template:Start box {{succession box 

 | title  = Member of Parliament for Woolwich West
 | years  = 1975–1983
 | before = William Hamling
 | after  = (constituency abolished)

}} {{succession box 

 | title  = Member of Parliament for Eltham
 | years  = 1983–1997
 | before = (new constituency)
 | after  = Clive Efford

}} {{incumbent succession box 

 | title  = Member of Parliament for Worthing West
 | start  = 1997
 | before = (new constituency)

}} Template:End boxsv:Peter Bottomley

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