London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Bob Blackman is elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow East. He is a Conservative Party member and is currently the Joint Executive Secretary of the backbench 1922 Committee. Between 2004 and 2008, he became a member of the London Assembly (MLA) for Brent and Harrow. If you want more information regarding his net worth and political career read below:
Bio & Early Life
Robert John Blackman (born 26 April 1956). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Liverpool University. At Liverpool University, he was president of the student union. On graduation, he joined Burroughs Machines (later Unisys) as a sales representative. He worked in various sales and management positions for BT and was a tutor at their training school in Milton Keynes. Soon after, he started working as a regulatory compliance manager for BT until he was elected to Parliament.
Career In Politics
In 1986, Blackman ran as the Conservative candidate in the Tokyngton ward of Brent London Borough Council but was unsuccessful. However, four years later he stood in Preston ward and gained a seat he would keep until 2010. Blackman took leadership of the Conservative group on Brent council in 1990 and was elected council leader in 1991.
Unfortunately, a few years later his party lost the power of the council. The year 2006, marked the start of a coalition between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. During time Blackman served as deputy leader until 2010 when he chose not to stand again.
A Conservative parliamentary candidate for Brent South in 1992, Bedford in 1997, and Brent North in 2005, he was unsuccessful. He stood as the Conservative Party candidate for the London Assembly constituency of Brent and Harrow at the 2000 elections. However, he lost to Labour candidate Toby Harris. The 2004 assembly elections saw Blackman defeat Harris and become the whip of the Conservative group in the London Assembly. In 2008, he lost his seat to Labour candidate Navin Shah by 1,649 votes.
Member Of Parliament
He won the Harrow East seat in 2010 from Labour’s Tony McNulty and was re-elected in 2015 and 2017. As a member of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, he was elected as secretary of the 1922 Committee. In this position, he was serving together with Nigel Evans until 8 January 2020. However, when Evans became the second deputy chairman of Ways and Means things became different.
In Parliament, Blackman serves on the Procedure Committee, the Backbench Business Committee, and the Housing, Communities, and Local Government Committee. In the 2016 referendum, Blackman voted for Brexit. He subsequently joined the European Research Group, a Eurosceptic group within Parliament.
In addition to being a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel group, he was a member of several delegations. It included Operation Defensive Shield when he attended an Israeli military briefing on the Iron Dome defense system.
According to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) compliance officer, Blackman submitted 732 inaccurate mileage claims in 2015. IPSA reports that he claimed up to 10 miles for a two-mile journey. Interestingly, making him the highest mileage MP, claiming almost twice as much mileage as the 10 next highest.
Criticism
In 2017, Blackman was widely criticized for giving a platform to Tapan Ghosh, a well-known anti-Islam extremist from India. It was for an event on the House of Commons grounds. Furthermore, he shared posts by far-right activist Tommy Robinson and was an active member of several anti-Muslim Facebook groups.
These actions led the Muslim Council of Britain to demand a full investigation into allegations of Islamophobia within the Conservative Party. He was among a group of MPs who pressed for several measures to encourage people to quit smoking. This campaign was designed to prevent young people from doing so.
According to Blackman, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should revise Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, calling it an “anomaly.” He also said that Kashmiri Pandits should be guaranteed the right to return after being subject to ethnic cleansing.
Azerbaijan All-Party Parliamentary Group
Bob Blackman serves as the chair of the Azerbaijan All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). His five-day visit to the country, paid for by The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) came under fire in an article. The National reported in 2022 that several of his trips to Azerbaijan had been covered either by parliament or the embassy. During these visits, Blackman was provided briefings from Azerbaijani government figures, such as Javanshir Feyziyev. However, he had to face an investigation by the National Crime agency.
Along with a court order to seize £5.6m of illicitly obtained funds from those associated with him. Open Democracy further revealed in February 2022 that Blackman had tabled four pro-regime motions in the House of Commons. He wrote letters to two foreign secretaries pushing for them to form closer ties with Azerbaijan whilst condemning its adversary Armenia
Campaigns
Blackman called for the adoption of plain packaging legislation for cigarettes. He even supported Cameron’s plan for energy companies to simplify their bills. After serving as its secretary for several years, he was elected chair of the All Party Political Group on Smoking and Health.
In 2012, when the Conservative Party initiated a consultation on legalizing same-sex marriages, Blackman suggested that David Cameron should revive Section 28. He opposed seeing teachers being compelled to maintain same-sex relationships to be the equivalent of heterosexual ones.
However, in December 2012 David Cameron announced his endorsement of same-sex marriage. Consequently, on 7 December 2012, Blackman told the BBC News Channel that Cameron’s support for religious same-sex unions was wrong “on principle”. Moreover, the marriage had to remain “between one man and one woman”.
Read More: What the new week in UK Parliament looks like with the new cabinet
Personal Life & Net Worth
Bob Blackman got married to Nicola Jennings in 1988. He employed his wife as a part-time office manager. His total net worth of Bob happens to be around $5 million. Due to his good financial situation, he likes to follow a luxurious lifestyle.