John Maples

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = John Maples
honorific-suffix = MP


caption =
office = Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
term_start = November 2006
term_end =
predecessor =
successor = Incumbent
constituency_MP2 = Stratford-on-Avon
majority2 = 28,652 (49.2%)
term_start2 = 1 May 1997
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = Alan Howarth
successor2 = Incumbent
constituency_MP3 = Lewisham West
term_start3 = 9 June 1983
term_end3 = 9 April 1992
predecessor3 = Christopher Price
successor3 = Jim Dowd
birth_date = Birth date and age|1943|04|22|df=yes
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
party = Conservative
otherparty =
spouse = Jane Corbin
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Downing College, Cambridge
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website = http://www.johnmaplesmp.com
footnotes =

John Cradock Maples (born 22 April 1943) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.

He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham West from 1983 until he lost the seat at the 1992 general election. He re-entered Parliament as MP for Stratford-upon-Avon in 1997. He has held the seat, one of the safest Conservative seats, in both the 2001 and 2005 general elections.

Early life

He went to the independent Marlborough College, then studied Law at Downing College, Cambridge, receiving an MA in 1964. He then studied at Harvard Business School. He was called to the Bar from the Inner Temple in 1965.

Parliamentary career

Maples was a member of William Hague's shadow cabinet from 1997 to 2000, holding the posts of Shadow Health Secretary (1997- 1998), Shadow Defence Secretary (1998- 1999) and Shadow Foreign Secretary (1999- 2000). In the reshuffle prompted by the return of Michael Portillo to the front bench, he lost his job to Francis Maude and left the shadow cabinet.

He returned to the front bench in a minor reshuffle in November 2006, when David Cameron appointed him Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for candidate selection. He replaced ex-shadow cabinet minister Bernard Jenkin. Because of Mr Cameron's high-profile attempts to have more female and minority candidates selected, which has met with some opposition from local parties, the post is seen as an important one.

He was widely believed to be one of the main "plotters" behind the downfall of former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith. Fact|date=February 2007

Personal life

He married the journalist Jane Corbin in December 1986 in Westminster. They have a son (born May 1989) and daughter (born September 1992).

External links

* [http://www.johnmaplesmp.com John Maples MP] official site
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-3348,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: John Maples MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/john_maples/stratford-on-avon TheyWorkForYou.com - John Maples MP]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/otr/intext/19991214_int_1.html Interview on "On The Record" in December 1999]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/548.stm BBC Politics page]

News items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/466221.stm Speech at 1999 Conservative conference]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/404463.stm Answering questions on BBC News Online in July 1999]

Persondata
NAME= Maples, John Cradock
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=British politician and Member of Parliament
DATE OF BIRTH= 22 April 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=