Giles Watling: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|British actor and former MP for Clactonpolitician (born 1953)}}

On 10 September 2014 Watling was shortlisted in the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]]' Clacton open primary at Clacton to select the party's candidate for the [[2014 Clacton by-election|Clacton by-election]] and was adopted following a public meeting on 11 September 2014.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29146011|title=Two Conservative councillors to fight Clacton primary|publisher=BBC News|date=10 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=James Dwan |url=http://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/11463392.BREAKING__Tory__open_primary__candidates_for_Clacton_by_election_are_Frinton_actor_Giles_Watling_and_Colchester_councillor_Sue_Lissimore/?ref=var_0 |title=TORY 'open primary' candidates for Clacton by-election are Frinton actor Giles Watling and Colchester councillor Sue Lissimore |work=Clacton & Frinton Gazette |date=10 September 2014 |access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2014/09/two-candidates-shortlisted-for-the-clacton-by-election.html |title=Two candidates shortlisted for the Clacton by-election |publisher=Conservativehome.com |date=10 September 2014 |access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> At the by-election, Watling came second with 24.6% of the vote behind the incumbent [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP) MP [[Douglas Carswell]], who previously served as a Conservative but left that party and joined UKIP earlier in 2014.<ref name="eadt">{{cite news |last1=Lodge |first1=Will |date=16 September 2014 |title=Clacton: Carswell strolls to victory for UKIP at Clacton by-election |url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/clacton_douglas_carswell_strolls_to_victory_for_ukip_at_clacton_by_election_1_3801404 |access-date=12 October 2014 |work=[[East Anglian Daily Times]]}}</ref>

At the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]], Watling again contested [[Clacton (UK Parliament constituency)|Clacton]] as the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] candidate, coming second behind Douglas Carswell, who won 44.4% of the vote .<ref name="electoralcalculus2015">{{cite web |title=Election Data 2015 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017112223/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=[[Electoral Calculus]]}}</ref><ref name=bbcconstituency>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000642 |title=Clacton: Parliamentary constituency |author=<!--Not stated--> |year=2019 |publisher=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114184757/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000642 |url-status=live |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=14 January 2021}}</ref>

Watling was elected to Parliament as MP for Clacton at the snap [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], at which Carswell chose to retire, with 61.2% of the vote and a majority of 15,828.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement of Persons Nominated – Clacton Constituency |url=http://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/council/elections%20%26%20voting/parliamentaryJune2017/Statement%20of%20Persons%20Nominated%20080617.pdf |access-date=12 May 2017 |website=Tendring District Council}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=21 April 2017 |title=Knife death mother in MP election bid for Clacton |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-39672433 |publisher=BBC News |via=bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2 May 2017 |title=Norfolk North and Penistone & Stocksbridge choose their candidates. Latest selection news. – Conservative Home |url=http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2017/05/exclusive-farris-completes-saffron-walden-shortlist-trouble-in-wales-latest-selections-news.html}}</ref> He was returned as MP for Clacton at the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]] with an increased vote share of 72.3% and an increased majority of 24,702.<ref name="bbcconstituency3">{{cite news |title=Clacton Parliamentary constituency |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000642 |access-date=18 November 2019 |publisher=BBC News }}</ref>

Following an interim report on the connections between [[colonialism]] and properties now in the care of the [[National Trust]], including links with [[Atlantic slave trade|historic slavery]], Watling was among the signatories of a letter to ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' in November 2020 by the [[Common Sense Group]] of Conservative parliamentarians, which accused the ''National Trust'' of being "coloured by [[cultural Marxist]] dogma, colloquially known as the '[[Woke#Woke2019–present: as a pejorative term|woke]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-07-29|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Woke#Woke as a pejorative term|reason= The anchor (Woke as a pejorative term) [[Special:Diff/1125710259|has been deleted]].}} agenda{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite letter |recipient=''The Daily Telegraph'' |subject=Britain's heroes |language=English |date=9 November 2020 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/11/09/letterswill-police-break-armistice-day-ceremonies-wednesday/ |access-date=20 May 2022 }}</ref>

Married to Vanda Brinkworth in 1979,<ref name=whoswho/> the younger brother of the actress [[Deborah Watling]] and younger half-brother of actress [[Dilys Watling]], Watling is a member of the [[Garrick Club]], an exclusive [[gentlemen's club]] which in 2024 opened its doors to women,<ref name=whoswho/> [[Frinton-on-Sea|Frinton]] [[Cricket Club]], [[Walton-on-the-Naze|Walton and Frinton]] [[yachtYacht clubClub]] and [[Frinton]] [[War Memorial|War Memorial]] [[Club (organization)|Club]].<ref name=whoswho/>