Nigel Evans was born on 10 November 1957 in Swansea. He was educated at Dynevor School, and then went to Swansea University, where he gained a BA in politics in 1979. He was involved in the management of his family's newsagent's and convenience store in Swansea.[3]
Political career
In 1985, Evans was elected as a councillor to the West Glamorgan County Council. In 1990, he became the deputy Conservative group leader, before standing down as a councillor in 1991.
At the 1992 general election, Evans was elected to Parliament as MP for Ribble Valley with 52.4% of the vote and a majority of 6,542.[7][8] He made his maiden speech on 20 May 1992.[9]
Evans was again re-elected at the 2001 general election, with an increased vote share of 51.5% and an increased majority of 11,238.[11] He became a member of the Shadow Cabinet after the election under Iain Duncan Smith as the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales from 2001 to 2003. He had publicly criticised the government for not having a dedicated Secretary of State for Wales in a cabinet post, so when the new Conservative leaderMichael Howard decided to take the role outside of the Shadow Cabinet, Evans chose to return to the backbenches.
He became a member of both the Trade and Industry and the Welsh Affairs Select committees in 2003. In November 2004, Evans was appointed a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, with specific responsibility for overseeing Conservatives Abroad and mobilising the Conservative vote overseas.
At the 2005 general election, Evans was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 51.9% and an increased majority of 14,171.[12]
In November 2009, Evans was ranked as the 570th most expensive MP out of the 646 MPs in the UK Parliament, based on his expenses claims.[13] He was criticised for his £375 a month expense on phone bills, and his purchase of four digital cameras in 18 months.[14] Evans later attracted criticism for saying that he struggled to live on his salary of over £64,000 per year. He responded by saying that the comments were made in jest.[15]
Evans was again re-elected at the 2010 general election, with a decreased vote share of 50.3% and an increased majority of 14,769.[16][17]
Evans is a supporter of the proposal to make 23 June a public holiday in the United Kingdom, to be known as British Independence Day.[22] Following a Parliamentary debate on the topic, the announcement from the UK government in October 2016 to not proceed with the holiday at present, he said it was "a shame the government has made this decision, this is an absolute belter of an idea."[23]
Evans was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 57.8% and a decreased majority of 13,199.[24] At the 2019 general election, he was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 60.3% and an increased majority of 18,439.[25]
On 4 May 2013, Evans was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.[28] His trial began on 10 March 2014.[29] He was acquitted of all charges on 10 April 2014.[30] In 2012, he had supported cuts to legal aid which became part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO); after losing his life savings defending himself in 2014, Evans said in 2018 that the experience had shown him that "It's wrong, completely wrong, to remove people's right to have expert legal representation ... We're definitely talking about justice being denied as a result of LASPO."[31] Hannah Quirk, a criminal law lecturer at King's College London, referred to him as a victim of the so-called 'innocence tax'.[32]
Personal life
On 18 December 2010, following the death of his 86-year-old mother, Evans revealed to The Mail on Sunday that he was gay. He lives in Pendleton, Lancashire, a village in his constituency.[33]
