Sir Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley in West Yorkshire from 2005 to 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
Davies voted against the Conservative Party whip over 250 times in the course of his parliamentary career. He was criticised for filibustering parliamentary bills not supported by the government and "killing off legislation he doesn't like".
Davies has been an advocate for the abolition of tuition fees and is a campaigner for the men's rights movement and is known for campaigns against political correctness and feminism. He played a lead role in securing the first International Men's Day debate in Parliament in 2015, which now takes place annually.
He is also an organiser for the TaxPayers' Alliance. Davies has regularly been criticised by other politicians and prominent public figures for comments he has made on gender equality and women, ethnic minorities, Davies has said that white, male ministers risk being "hoofed out" of the government to make way for women or minority ethnic MPs.
Early life and education
Davies was born in Doncaster; his father is Peter Davies, a former elected Mayor of Doncaster. He was educated at the state-sector boarding school, Old Swinford Hospital School in Stourbridge, before studying at Huddersfield Polytechnic (which became Huddersfield University in his third year), where he was awarded a 2:1 BA Hons degree in history and political studies in 1993.
Following his graduation, Davies worked at supermarket business Asda from September 1993 to May 2005, first as a customer services manager and later as a marketing manager. He has also worked at Marilyn Davies Bookmakers and Mark Jarvis Bookmakers.
Parliamentary career
At the 2001 general election, Davies unsuccessfully contested Colne Valley as the Conservative candidate, where he came second with 30.5% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Kali Mountford.
At the 2005 general election Davies was elected as MP for Shipley, winning the seat with 39% of the vote and a majority of 422. He received donations toward his successful campaign from Bearwood Corporate Services, a company set up by non-domicile Lord Ashcroft to give out donations to marginal seats such as Davies'.
Davies made his maiden speech on 7 June 2005. He recalled Titus Salt and then mentioned the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saltaire. He also announced that he wanted to remain a backbencher and not to be a shadow spokesman or a minister, and that he wanted to feel able to speak for his constituents.
At the 2010 general election, Davies was re-elected as MP for Shipley with an increased vote share of 48.6% and an increased majority of 9,944. He was re-elected onto the executive committee of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs after the general election and became a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. He also became a member of the newly established backbench business committee and a member of the Speaker's Panel, chairing Westminster Hall debates.
In November 2012, Davies wrote to the Metropolitan Police requesting it to open a second investigation into ex-Labour MP Denis MacShane's expenses claims.
At the 2015 general election, Davies was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 50% and a decreased majority of 9,624. He was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 51.3% and a decreased majority of 4,681 votes. At the 2019 general election, Davies was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 50.8% and an increased majority of 6.242 votes.
In 2020, Davies became one of four Vice-Chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing. This group has been subject to criticism by some campaigners on whistleblowing law reform.
Davies is rated as one of the Conservatives' most rebellious MPs.
Davies was defeated in the 2024 general election losing to Labour candidate Anna Dixon.
Filibustering
Davies has been repeatedly criticised for his use of the filibuster to block legislation, particularly when private members' bills under the Ten Minute Rule are debated. This happens on Fridays, when attendance is often poor because MPs have returned to their home constituencies, leaving these debates particularly susceptible to filibustering. The practice can be stopped if 100 MPs attend Parliament, and Davies has noted that if "not even 100 MPs out of 650 showed up" then it indicated a bill "did not have full support".
When asked by a journalist whether his tactics were underhand, Davies said: