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John Whittingdale
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale OBE (16 October 1959 ) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom .
Early life He was educated at Sandroyd School near Tollard Royal in Wiltshire and Winchester College . He went to University College London where he was President of the UCLU Conservative Society , and gained a BSc in Economics in 1982. From 1982-4, he was Head of the political section of the Conservative research department. Before entering Parliament, Whittingdale was a political researcher to Margaret Thatcher from 1988-92.
Parliamentary career He was first elected in 1992. He was shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary until the reshuffle after the general election in 2005 when he was re-elected Member of Parliament for Maldon and Chelmsford East . In July 2005, he became the Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee . Also in 2005 he was appointed to the Executive of Conservative Way Forward a Thatcherite pressure group within the British Conservative Party . John is also a patron of the Westminster Media Forum, and a frequent contibutor to their events.
Personal life He married Ancilla Murfitt in 1990. She is a nurse at a general practice in Colchester. They have a son Henry(born January 1993) and daughter Alice(born June 1996).
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