Peter Bottomley

Sir Peter Bottomley
Official portrait, 2020
Father of the House of Commons
In office
13 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
SpeakerSir Lindsay Hoyle
Preceded byKenneth Clarke
Succeeded byEdward Leigh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
4 July 1989 – 28 July 1990
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byPeter Viggers
Succeeded byThe Lord Skelmersdale
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office
23 January 1986 – 24 July 1989
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byMichael Spicer
Succeeded byPatrick McLoughlin
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment
In office
11 September 1984 – 23 January 1986
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byJohn Gummer
Succeeded byDavid Trippier
Member of Parliament
for Worthing West
In office
1 May 1997 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byBeccy Cooper
Member of Parliament
for Eltham (1983–1997)
Woolwich West (1975–1983)
In office
26 June 1975 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byWilliam Hamling
Succeeded byClive Efford
Personal details
Born (1944-07-30) 30 July 1944 (age 80)
Newport, Shropshire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
(m. 1967)
Children3
Parents
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
Websitewww.sirpeterbottomley.com

Sir Peter James Bottomley (born 30 July 1944) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1975 until 2024, last representing Worthing West. First elected at a by-election in the former constituency of Woolwich West, he served as its MP until its abolition at the 1983 general election, and then for the Eltham constituency which replaced it, until 1997. He moved to his last constituency at the 1997 general election, which he lost to Labour's Beccy Cooper in the 2024 general election.

Following the 2019 general election, Bottomley became the longest-serving MP and therefore Father of the House until the next general election. He was also the first Father to be unseated rather than retire or die in the position.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "Peter Bottomley". Front Row. 25 April 2013. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.