William Nigel Paul Cash, usually known as Bill Cash (born on 10 May 1940, in London), is a English Conservative politician and Member of Parliament for Stone.

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Education

He was educated by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire before going up to Lincoln College, Oxford where he took a BA in History. He qualified as a solicitor in 1967 and since 1979 has practised as a solicitor in his own account (i.e. he is not employed by a law firm or a member of a partnership).^[1] He is a member of the Cash (nametag manufacturers) family. He married Bridget Mary née Lee in 1965, and they have two sons, and a daughter. One of his sons is the controversial journalist William Cash who is married to the Venezuelan socialite and anti-Chávez activist Vanessa Neumann.

He lives at Upton Cresset Hall, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

[edit] Parliament

Cash entered Parliament in 1984, when he was elected as MP for Stafford at a by-election in May following the death of Sir Hugh Fraser. Since the 1997 election he has been MP for Stone, Staffordshire.

He has served on various parliamentary committees: the All-Party Committee on East Africa (1988 -), the All-Party Group for the Jubilee 2000 (1997-2000), but more notably the Select Committee on European Legislation (1985 -), and as chairman of the Conservative Backbench Committee on European Affairs 1989-1991. He is known as a strong eurosceptic and at one point was ringleader of a rebellion over the Maastricht treaty that almost brought down John Major's government. He was described by Ken Clarke as the most euro-sceptic Member of Parliament. In 1993 he founded and is chairman of the euro-sceptic European Foundation which was created during the Maastricht Rebellion, the funding for which he organised. The foundation's European director John Laughland is a prominent supporter of Slobodan Milošević. During 1994-1995 Cash was member of the Tindemans group. He is currently Secretary of the European Reform Forum, and is a Vice-President of the Conservative Small Business Bureau (1986- ),

After he became leader, fellow Maastricht rebel Iain Duncan Smith gave him the post of shadow Attorney General in 2001, and in 2003 was made a spokesman on Constitutional Affairs but he returned to the backbenches later that year after Duncan Smith was ousted as party leader.

[edit] Expenses claims

In the swirl of stories surrounding the 2009 Parliamentary Expenses scandal it was reported on 28 May 2009 that Cash had claimed £15,000 which he paid his daughter, Laetitia Cash, a prospective Conservative candidate, as rent for a Notting Hill flat, when he had a mortgaged flat of his own a few miles away, which his son Sam Cash was staying in rent-free. 'It was only for a year, she was getting married, she wasn't there....my other flat wasn't round the corner, it was in Westminster. It was done through the rules,'^[2] he said on Newsnight.

The following day Cash announced that he had agreed to pay the money back. Cash was rejecting calls for his resignation and said he was hopeful of getting a fair hearing. David Cameron was said to have ordered Cash to co operate or risk having the Conservative whip withdrawn^[3] Cash faced a no-confidence vote by secret ballot by his constituency party, 2 July 2009. He was, however, re-selected with "overwhelming" support. Cash also received a personal letter of support from Conservative leader David Cameron before the meeting thanking Cash for "the tireless contribution you make to the work of Parliament. You have a long record of serving your constituents with commitment and integrity".^[4]

However, some of his constituents remain deeply upset by Cash's actions and have voiced their disapproval in letters to local newspapers and in a Facebook group called 'Oust Bill "Stash the" Cash'.

[edit] References and publications

• Black, A & C, Who's Who, published annually in London.
• Cash, William, Against a Federal Europe - The Battle for Britain, London, 1991.
• Cash, William, Europe: the crunch, London, 1992.

[edit] External links

• Bill Cash MP biography at the site of the Conservative Party
• ePolitix.com - Bill Cash
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Bill Cash MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - William Cash MP
• The Public Whip - William Cash MP voting record
• BBC News profile (30 March 2006)
• billcashmp.co.uk Bill Cash's own website

[edit] References