David Heathcoat-Amory

About David

David was born in 1949. He is married to Linda and they have 2 children, Jack and Florence. They live in Pilton. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford University (MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics). He won a boxing Blue and was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association.

David is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He was Assistant Director of Finance of the British Technology Group from 1980-83. Previous to that he worked for British Electric Traction Co. Ltd and Price Waterhouse and Co.


David's Experience

David was Parliamentary Candidate for Brent South at the 1979 General Election. He was elected Member of Parliament for Wells at the General Election of June 1983 and re-elected in 1987 and 1992. In July 1988 he became an Assistant Government Whip and July 1989 was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (Senior Whip).

In October 1989, David was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment. In December 1990 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Energy.

From April 1992 until May 1993, he was Deputy Chief Whip (Treasurer to the Royal Household). In May 1993, David was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He was appointed Paymaster General HM Treasury in July 1994. In January 1996 he was made a Privy Counsellor. In July 1996 he resigned from the Government over the issue of Europe.

In May 1997, he was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Wells with a majority of 528 and in June 2001 with a majority of 2,796. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and from September 2000 to September 2001 as Shadow Secretary of State for Trade & Industry.

In January 2002, David was elected as one of the two UK Parliamentary Representatives to the Convention on the Future of Europe, which drafted the European Constitution. In June 2003 CPS published his pamphlet, The European Constitution and what it means for Britain.

In the May 2005 general election he was re-elected as MP for Wells with a majority of 3040.

He has been a member of the European Scrutiny Committee since 2003 and in December 2005 he was appointed to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee


When he finds the time, his hobbies are astronomy, local history, fishing and keeping up with his family.