Meet your MP: Peter Gibson (Conservative), Darlington

Some background on Peter Gibson

Peter Gibson was first elected to parliament in 2019. He is a solicitor, and continues to practise on a part-time basis for Darlington-based firm Clarke Willis LLP. (This is entirely proper. He has earned around £800 in two years from this, and it is a practice commonly followed by lawyers and doctors who enter parliament.)

What has he done in the House of Commons?

He has spoken in the House on 120 occasions, and his contributions include around 70 speeches. He has introduced at least one private member’s bill, which related to road safety and the registration of taxi drivers. He has voted 359 times, as it appears always with the government.

He has also submitted 76 written questions. Of these, recurring themes are fireworks nuisance, provision of pitches for Gypsy Travellers, concern over the treatment of the LGBT+ community in Afghanistan and Egypt, information gathering on 2^nd trimester miscarriage, and, most recently, action on fraud in land and property transactions.

Financial interests

With regard to the real estate issues, he is himself the director of a real estate company – Wedgwood Alexander Ltd. A number of individuals and companies who have made donations to him are also involved in real estate – two donations amounting to £5,500 from Essex-based Morgan Crest Ltd, plus a donation of £5,000 from one if its directors, Andrew Dawber; £5,000 from Leeds-based developer Lawrence Neil Tomlinson; £4,000 from T.J. Richardson and Sons Ltd, who are based in Oldbury in the Midlands.

He has also received £3,000 from the ubiquitous IX Wireless Ltd, the wireless internet company that seems to be giving money to any Conservative MP who will take it, and which, we believe, is trying to get involved in the government’s programme for developing wireless internet connection in rural areas.