Patrick Nicholls

2025-09-11T19:43:14Z

2A00:23C6:1ECB:A501:FCCA:2875:C9AA:F25:

{{Short description|British politician (born 1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = Patrick Nicholls
|honorific-suffix =
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|constituency_MP = [[Teignbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Teignbridge]]
|parliament =
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|term_start = 9 June 1983
|term_end = 14 May 2001
|predecessor = [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Constituency Established]]
|successor = [[Richard Younger-Ross]]
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|11|14|df=yes}}
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|nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
|party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
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'''Patrick Charles Martyn Nicholls''' (born 14 November 1948) is a British solicitor and politician who served as a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Teignbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Teignbridge]] between 1983 and 2001.

A solicitor by profession and formerly an East Devon District Councillor, Nicholls was first elected to the House of Commons in 1983 at the age of 34, winning a comfortable majority over the nationally known [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] candidate, [[John Alderson (police officer)|John Alderson]], who had resigned as Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall specifically to contest the seat.

Within a year of entering the House of Commons, Nicholls was made a [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to the [[Home Office Minister]] [[David Mellor]], and subsequently to the [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]] [[John Selwyn Gummer]]. He was also made a Steward of The British Boxing Board of Control.

After the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 General Election]], Nicholls entered the government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment. Still not yet 40, he was given a key role in piloting the second tranche of Conservative Trades Union reforms through Standing Committee. He was appointed to the [[Westminster Foundation for Democracy]] at its inception in 1992 and served on The North Atlantic Assembly and the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs.

In 1994, he was made a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and in 1997 was appointed the Shadow Fisheries Minister by the then [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]], [[William Hague]]. A leading Eurosceptic, Nicholls was credited with having single-handedly turned Conservative Party policy around in favour of leaving the [[EU Common Fisheries Policy]].

After losing his seat in [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]], Nicholls became Chairman of The Young Britons Foundation, a research think-tank established in July 2003 to "help train tomorrow's centre-right leaders and activists today". Currently, Nicholls is a freelance political journalist and lectures on British and American politics in Europe and America as well as the UK.

Nicholls is married with three children. His wife, Bridget, is also a solicitor.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== ''Writings'' ==

* Too Soon A Passing: a life of DCM Nicholls . Bellarion Books 2023. ISBN 9781527280120
*

*{{rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-new | constituency }}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Teignbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Teignbridge]]
| years = [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]] – [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]]
}}
{{S-aft| after = [[Richard Younger-Ross]] }}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Patrick}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]

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Patrick Nicholls