John Procter (politician)

John Procter
Chair of Royal Armouries
Assumed office
2 November 2019
Preceded byThe Lord Dannatt
Hemant Patel (Interim)
Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber
In office
17 November 2016 – 1 July 2019
Preceded byTimothy Kirkhope
Succeeded byShaffaq Mohammed
Leeds City Councillor
for Wetherby Ward
In office
24 July 1992 – 2018
Preceded byJohn Evans
Succeeded byNorma Harrington
Personal details
Born (1966-11-07) 7 November 1966 (age 57)
Leeds, England[1]
Political partyConservative
SpouseRachael Procter
Children2
Websitehttps://www.johnprocter.co.uk

John Michael Procter (born 7 November 1966) is the current Chair of the Royal Armouries and a former Conservative Member of the European Parliament (MEP). His term as Chair ended on 1 November 2023.[1][2][3]

Political career

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Procter was first elected to Leeds City Council for Wetherby ward in a July 1992 by-election and served until 2018, following his deselection by Conservative Party members in September 2017.[4] He had previously stood for Barwick and Kippax ward in 1990 and 1991.[5]

During his time as a Leeds City Councillor for over 25 years, Procter served as Chief Whip of the council between 2004 and 2010 and Deputy Leader of the council's Conservative Group from 2015 to 2018.

He unsuccessfully contested Barnsley East in the 1992 general election and Pudsey in 2001.

Member of the European Parliament

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Procter was placed third on the Conservative Party's closed list of candidates for the Yorkshire and the Humber constituency in the 2014 European Parliament election. Only the first Conservative candidate, incumbent Timothy Kirkhope, was elected as a Member of the European Parliament following the election.

In November 2017, he was nominated by the Conservatives to replace Kirkhope after his appointment to the House of Lords in 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours. The party chose Procter rather than Alex Story, who had been second on the party's closed list in 2014.[6][7][8][9]

Personal life

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Procter is married to Rachael, a Leeds City Councillor for Harewood ward from 2004 to 2018.[10]

He ran a facilities management company before being appointed as Managing Director of an optical supplier, Dunelm Optical, in 2019.[11][12] Procter was a Board Member of Leeds Grand Theatre between 2007 and 2017, including three years as Chair between 2007 and 2010. Since 2008, Procter has also been a Board Member of the Northern Ballet.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Home - John PROCTER - MEPs - European Parliament". europarl.europa.eu.
  2. ^ "John Procter appointed as Chair of the Royal Armouries". gov.uk. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. 4 November 2019.
  3. ^ "John Procter appointed new Chair of Royal Armouries". royalarmouries.org. Royal Armouries. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  4. ^ Reed, James (3 October 2017). "Yorkshire MEP told he cannot defend council seat". Yorkshire Evening Post.
  5. ^ "Index of Leeds City Council election candidates 1980-2019" (PDF). thoresby.org.uk. Thoresby Society. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Euro seat target for Wetherby councillor Procter". Wetherby News. 15 December 2013.
  7. ^ "John Procter wins battle to be Yorkshire MEP". Yorkshire Post.
  8. ^ "One-time remainer Yorkshire MEP now says he will listen to Brexit pleas", Yorkshire Post, 28 December 2016
  9. ^ Len Tingle, "Yorkshire electorate baffled at how its MEP is replaced", BBC News, 28 November 2016
  10. ^ "Leeds Tory councillor frozen out amid bullying and intimidation claims". yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. Yorkshire Evening Post. 18 September 2017.
  11. ^ "STRATEGIC FACILITIES MANAGEMENT LTD - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  12. ^ "Dunelm Optical appoints former MEP as Managing Director". aop.org.uk. Association of Optometrists. 18 October 2019.
  13. ^ "John Michael PROCTER". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Companies House. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Directors' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011" (PDF). leedsgrandtheatre.com. Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House. Retrieved 27 February 2020.