Marcus Fysh
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports
In office
20 September 2022 – 27 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byAndrew Griffith
Succeeded byAndrew Bowie
Member of Parliament
for Yeovil
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byDavid Laws
Majority16,181 (27.3%)
Personal details
Born (1970-11-08) 8 November 1970
Australia
Political partyConservative
SpouseJenny
Children2
EducationWinchester College, Hampshire
(Independent boarding school)
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Oxford

Marcus John Hudson Fysh[1] (born 8 November 1970) is a British politician and former investment manager who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil in 2015.[2] A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports from September 2022 until 27 October 2022.[3] Fysh was a supporter of Leave Means Leave, a pro-Brexit lobby group;[4] he campaigned to leave the European Union (EU) in the 2016 referendum. He is a regular contributor to The Telegraph as well as writing a weekly column in the Western Gazette.[5][6]

Early life and career

Fysh was born on 8 November 1970 in Australia. His family moved to the UK when he was three. He was educated at Winchester College, a boarding independent school for boys in Winchester, Hampshire. He went on to study literature at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.[7] Prior to his election he ran companies in the agriculture and healthcare sectors, after working for Mercury Asset Management specialising in investment in businesses in the Asia Pacific region.[8][9][10]

Fysh was elected for the Conservative Party as a district councillor for South Somerset in 2011, representing Yeovil South ward, which he served on for one four-year term.[11][12] In 2013, he was elected to represent the Coker ward of Somerset County Council; following his election as an MP he did not stand at the following local election in 2017.[13]

Parliamentary career

Marcus Fysh was elected as Member of Parliament for the Yeovil constituency on 7 May 2015.[14][15] He was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2017 general election and then increased his majority further in 2019.[16]

Before becoming a Minister, Fysh chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group on Education.[17] He has been a member of All-party parliamentary groups for the Armed Forces, for Housing, for Education, for Social Care, for County Councils, and for Women Against State Pension Inequality.[18][19]

In the House of Commons he sat on the European Scrutiny Committee[20] and has been a member of the International Trade Select Committee and the Public Administration and Public Affairs Committee.

In March 2019, Fysh was one of 21 MPs who voted against LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education in English schools, citing concerns about the teaching of gender fluidity confusing very young children.[21][22]

In June 2020, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that Fysh should have registered his unremunerated company directorships as interests. The Committee noted: "We do not believe that Mr Fysh has acted in bad faith. He exercised his right as a Member of the House to express disagreement with the Commissioner's interpretation of the rules and bring the matter before the Committee."[23] It added that he should "make an apology on the floor of the House for both the non-registrations and non-declarations by means of a personal statement." Fysh was also told to apologise to the commissioner and registrar in writing.[24] Fysh then issued the two apologies.[25]

In October 2021 Fysh officially opened the construction site for upgrades to the A303, having campaigned on the issue for years.[26][27][28]

Fysh has objected to COVID-19 vaccine passports in the UK. In December 2021, he said on BBC Radio 5 Live that the passes would be "segregating society based on an unacceptable thing", adding: "We are not a 'papers please' society. This is not Nazi Germany."

In September 2023, Fysh was ordered to apologise to Parliament, after being found to have broken the MPs' code of conduct; this related to statements he gave concerning an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards into the All Party Parliamentary Group for Education (which Fysh chairs) whilst the investigation was ongoing.[29]

Personal life

Fysh lives in London and at Naish Priory in the village of East Coker.[30][31] In 2011, Fysh opposed plans by the local council to build additional houses in the area.[32][33][34]

References

  1. ↑ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11785.
  2. ↑ "Election 2015: Lib Dems lose Yeovil seat to Tories". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "Co-Chairmen – Political Advisory Board – Supporters". Leave Means Leave. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Marcus Fysh".
  6. ↑ "News: Marcus Fysh MP".
  7. ↑ Winchester College, A Register 2014, p. 740
  8. ↑ "Marcus Fysh". Conservative Party. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Election Yeovil result: Conservative Marcus Fysh wins the seat over Lib Dem David Laws". Western Daily Press. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Carr, Tim (2015). The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015: Profiles of the New MPs and Analysis of the 2015 General Election Results. Biteback. ISBN 9781849549240.
  11. ↑ "South Somerset Council Election Results 1973–2011" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Cllr Marcus Fysh". South Somerset Council. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Conservatives claim another seat on Somerset County Council". Somerset County Gazette. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Yeovil parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Yeovil parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News.
  17. ↑ "About the APPG". educationappg.org.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Marcus Fysh MP, Yeovil". They Work For You. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "COLUMN: Priority should be strong defence, MP Marcus Fysh". Yeovil Express. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  20. ↑ "European Scrutiny Committee". committees.parliament.uk.
  21. ↑ "In My View - 4th April 2019". marcusfysh.org.uk.
  22. ↑ "MPs vote for LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education from primary school". inews. 28 March 2019.
  23. ↑ "Mr Marcus Fysh - Committee on Standards - House of Commons".
  24. ↑ "Tory MP Marcus Fysh ordered to apologise after 'patronising' conduct". BBC News. 18 June 2020.
  25. ↑ Read, Jonathon (22 June 2020). "Tory MP issues an apology to the House of Commons over breach of rules". The New European. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  26. ↑ "Somerset: Work under way to dual section of A303". BBC News. 2 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "Marcus commits to dualling of the A303". Marcus Fysh MP.
  28. ↑ "Marcus Fysh - A303 and A358 - dual them". Chard & Ilminster News.
  29. ↑ "Marcus Fysh MP told to apologise after breaching code of conduct". BBC News. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  30. ↑ "IPSA". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Cllr Marcus Fysh". Somerset Conservatives. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  32. ↑ "Hands Off Our Land: the fight to protect TS Eliot's village". The Daily Telegraph. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  33. ↑ Gillespie, James (5 February 2012). "Developers get bonus to build on TS Eliot site". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  34. ↑ "Poet's corner: The battle for TS Eliot's village". The Independent. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
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