Edward Leigh

Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gainsborough, previously Gainsborough and Horncastle, since 1983. Parliament's longest-serving MP since 2024, Leigh is styled Father of the House and, in July 2024, acted as a Temporary Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

Leigh has a reputation at Westminster for his independence of mind as a "serial rebeller", who is prepared to vote against his own political party if it conflicts with his own principles. He was one of the original Maastricht Rebels and was reportedly sacked for organising Euro-rebels among ministers. In 2003 Leigh opposed military intervention in Iraq; he has since called for those who voted for the Iraq War, and are still seeking to justify their support for it, to be held to account.

He served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 2001 to 2010, investigating government waste and seeking value for money in public expenditure. Leigh stepped down at the end of the parliamentary session in 2010, it being customary for an Opposition MP to hold this post. Leigh was knighted in the Queen's 2013 Birthday Honours for "public and political service" and has also been honoured by the French and Italian governments.

A prominent Roman Catholic politician and former President of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, Leigh has edited and authored four books: ''Right Thinking'' (1988); ''The Nation That Forgot God'' (2008); ''Monastery of the Mind'' (2012); and ''Another Country'' (2025). Provided by Wikipedia