Local Lib Dems welcome 'rising star' Ed Davey to Ashford

12.48.35pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 2nd Apr 2006

Ashford Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that Liberal Democrat Trade and Industry Secretary Edward (Ed) Davey will be the main guest speaker at their annual dinner on Friday October 20th.

Following the announcement George Koowaree, Ashford's Lib Dems Kent County Councillor said "it's a tremendous coup for us that Ed, a shadow cabinet minister, will be visiting us. It shows that, as a party, we are emerging as a credible alternative to the sitting Tory MP and the Tory local authority."

More about Ed....

Born in Annesley-Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire where he was educated Nottingham High School (as was other MPs - Kenneth Clarke, Geoff Hoon and Ed Balls to name but three), Davey was head boy in 1984. He furthered his education at Jesus College, Oxford where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1988. Whilst at Oxford, he was also elected to the JCR presidency of Jesus College. He finished his education at Birkbeck College, London where he received a master's degree (MSc) in economics. As a teenager he worked in a pork pie factory and at Boots. In 1989 he became a researcher to Alan Beith, until 1993 when he took up the position of management consultant with Omega Partners until his election to Westminster.

Edward Davey was elected to the House of Commons at his first attempt at the 1997 General Election where he defeated the sitting Conservative MP for the former Surbiton Richard Tracey with a majority of just 56 votes and has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on June 6, 1997, in which he gave his support for the setting up of the Greater London Assembly, but against the idea of a directly elected Mayor of London, he also talked about the effects governmental cuts was having on the education delivery in the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames.[1] In parliament he was given a job immediately by Paddy Ashdown and became the party's spokesman on Treasury Affairs, adding the post of Whip in 1998, and a third job to hold as the spokesman on London from 2000. He entered the Charles Kennedy Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet following the 2001 General Election (at which he increased this to 15,676 over a former Conservative MP David Shaw), and became the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury until 2002 when he became the Liberal Democrat Shadow at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He was appointed Liberal Democrat Shadow Education and Skills Secretary in 2005 before becoming Liberal Democrats Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary in March 2006.

Edward Davey was responsible for introducing the Liberal Democrat policy of penny on income tax to pay for education in 1997. Davey was one of the contributors to the Orange Book (2004). When he was relatively young his parents both died and he was brought up by his grandmother.

Before becoming an MP, in 1995, he won a Royal Humane Society bravery award and commendation from the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police for rescuing a woman who had fallen onto the train line in the face of on oncoming train at Clapham Junction station. He speaks French, Spanish and German.

(Information supplied by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)