The High, the Lows

20 Advertizer Tuesday, January 26, 2016 GOT A STORY? Call our news team on 01691 655321 How did your political career with jobs, and the money to start? Did you always want to provide public services. be an MP? Were you one of Thatcher’s I was born in Whitchurch. devotees? During the election before last, Yes. She totally turned the I put on my website that I had whole country around. The high, the lows never lived more than 15 miles I started in business in the from where I was born, and 1980s and Britain was a someone put ‘Sad man, should complete joke. For instance, I get out more...’ grew up with laughable cars – OWEN PATERSON has had I was a tanner for 20, 25 years remember the Austin Allegro, quite a career in politics. He In his own – we had a family leather with a square steering wheel. has held some high-powered business and tanneries, and I The way they built them, they positions in the government, took the business from 15 per were guaranteed to have 40 Today, exclusively in the and has never been afraid to Advertizer, the North cent export to 95 per cent things wrong with every car. speak his mind. export. I left Cambridge Forty! Shropshire MP talks frankly Now, though, he is about his career – the University in 1978 – I studied To see how we’ve somewhat on the outside history – and worked there transformed things, I drove positions of office he had looking in. held, the day he was through the late 70s, the 80s past Halewood yesterday. They David Cameron likes to be and early 90s. used to produce the joke car of thumped by a constituent, surrounded by like minds. and how he first fell out with I went to the National Ford, the Escort, now are And Mr Paterson, with his Leathersellers College and producing Britain’s most David Cameron. forthright views on Europe, is He spoke about about learned a little about tanning. successful exported car, the most certainly not that. But am I a tanner? Well, I was Land Rover Evoque. It’s Europe in last week’s Tizer, so So what is life like now for a we have stayed away from mainly involved in sales and astonishing the way we’ve Conservative MP used to running the business. turned the country around. that subject today. But he still positions of power? had plenty of topics to That took me all over the In the 1980s there were real He’s not bitter –far from it. world. The industry had gone lessons to be learned from choose from. He’s still outspoken, he still We have also stayed away over a cliff in Europe and we Germany, the States and has firm views on the had to find new markets and Taiwan – it was very marked from party politics. This environment, on fisheries, on about Owen Paterson the MP go rapidly upmarket. which countries were Northern Ireland ... and, yes, That was extraordinarily succeeding and which weren’t. – not about the colour of the he’s particularly forthright rosette he wears at election interesting. about Europe. How did you first get Owen Paterson in his early years as an MP time. What did the business involved in politics? actually do? In the 1987 election I helped We were turning raw hide John Biffen here – he was a From there, I was asked to to reply to your letters, and It was building up to the Iraq dead fish that were very into leather, which was then long-standing MP and I helped join the Institute of there is a bit of networking. war and I went with him and healthy that are now rotting at chopped up for other him for three weeks. In 1992, I Orthopaedics which is their met President Bush – I dealt the bottom of the ocean as products. stood in Wrexham, where I got research organisation. They What was it like as a with Bush’s team, who were pollution. It’s idiotic. No-one So, for example, Rolls-Royce 18,114 votes – and was had been given a big bequest backbencher in the early days? very concerned about the vote else in the world runs such a needs leather for its cars – the thumped in the face, which to put up the Arthritis Centre, in the House of Commons. stupid policy. It’s a disaster. seats and interior. Is that the caused a lot of national and I ended up in charge of I was very busy doing Then Iain was deposed and I kind of customer you would exposure. that. questions. In those days, John emerged from the wreckage But the policy got in the way supply leather to? There were all sorts of Bercow and I used to sit next to and Michael Howard became of your relationship with David Well, actually, we did Who thumped you? A complicated Treasury rules each other and we’d have the leader. Cameron... indirectly supply Rolls-Royce constituent? that meant we couldn’t get competitions – who could ask for a long time. We supplied access to the significant the most questions, the What role did you have then? It was a bit of a sticking point. half-processed leather to other Well, they were shouting ‘We donation – I think it was about shortest question, which I He was head of policy at the people who would finish off are Labour, we are Labour’ £1 million – and we were in won.... I was sent off to be the junior time, and I worked with him the leather for Rolls-Royce and which was a bit of an danger of getting stuck and Shadow Minister for on the Paper – he changed only Jaguar and people like that. We indication of their political losing the whole lot. In the end What was the question? Agriculture and Fisheries. I the political bits, not the ended up dealing with the best allegiances... we drove it through, and we took up the case of bovine TB – technical bits. But when he of the best – people like I had put some flags on my got the Arthritis Centre up on It was ‘Who pays for this?’ I asked more questions on one became a candidate for leader Vuitton, Hermès, those sort of Land Rover – a couple of Red time and pretty much to Betty Boothroyd slapped her subject than any one MP in in 2005, he made it clear he guys. Dragons and Union Jacks – and budget, and it’s still there now. thigh and said ‘Marvellous, I history, which was more than was going to drop the fisheries they had torn them off. It led to love these short questions...’ 600 Parliamentary Questions paper. So how did that tie in with a court case, which I won... And politics? on bovine TB. I went to I had met a couple of politics? It was tough, though, being Michigan and Washington to hundred fishermen at our Labour won in Wrexham, so Well, around the autumn of in opposition? see what they were doing with conference and I had promised My work took me all over the your Westminster dream was 1996 John Biffen rang me and bovine TB and talked to their them I would not vote for any world – I was abroad for about dashed... said this was the call you didn’t I think we had fewer Tory vets. We needed to follow the leadership candidate who did one-third of every year. We want to hear – he was retiring. I MPs than the Labour majority, examples of Australia, New not stand by my fishing paper. were trading in just about I then got involved with two put in – along with 198 other so we were going nowhere and Zealand, the USA, France, We had a ridiculous stand-off every country where free trade big charity projects. There was people – and I was lucky in complete disarray. It fell on Germany and Ireland and with the Cameron team, who was allowed. I ended up as a move to close a number of enough to be selected. the 32 new MPs to do a lot of remove diseased wildlife. In were very keen for me to president of the European cottage hospitals in Shropshire the work. We were always those countries it was wild support them. On the last Tanners’ Confederation. To and I was involved in the Really? 198 others? being asked to speak in water buffalo, possums and night we had some late votes show how much the world has Ellesmere campaign. I debates, put on a Bill white-tailed deer, while here it and I said we needed to resolve changed, I took Japan, remember going to a I think nine of the others Committee – I ended up being was the badger. it. Hungary, Egypt and Argentina conference about Trust became MPs, which is quite on three Select Committees, Here, we are testing and By this time, it was becoming to the World Trade Hospitals in London when Ken interesting. Welsh, Agriculture and Europe. removing diseased cattle but perfectly obvious that David Organisation for breach of free Clarke was the health The election came in May And I was a Whip briefly – it we are not removing diseased Cameron was going to win and trade. Argentina banned the secretary. 1997 and I successfully trashed was interesting in the Whips’ wildlife, so it’s no surprise the that David Davis was going to export of their raw material..

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