Mike Thornton (politician)
Michael Douglas Thornton[1] (born 1 May 1952)[2] is a British politician and former Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh in Hampshire. He was elected at the Eastleigh by-election held on 28 February 2013, a seat which he lost at the 2015 general election.
Mike Thornton
Peta Thornton
One daughter
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The son of Sir Peter Eustace Thornton, Thornton grew up in Farnham in Surrey and was educated at Charterhouse School, before reading law at Manchester Polytechnic. He has had a range of jobs, including spells in the United States (his mother is from Tennessee). Thornton spent a significant period of time working in financial services.
He has lived in Bishopstoke, a part of Eastleigh borough, since 1994.[3] He has variously been a Bishopstoke parish councillor,[4] an Eastleigh borough councillor[5] and a Hampshire county councillor,[6] for wards within or containing Bishopstoke.
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Parliamentary career[edit]
Following the resignation of the previous Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne, Thornton was chosen as their candidate at the 2013 Eastleigh by-election to replace him. This took place on 28 February 2013 and Thornton was declared the winner in the early hours of 1 March.[7]
In Parliament, Thornton joined the European Scrutiny Committee, the Work and Pensions Committee and the Bill committee for HS2,[8] which he argued "would benefit the country as a whole, not just the cities that link to it".[9]
His defeat at the 2015 general election was unexpected. Although he only defended a small numerical majority of 1,771, the Eastleigh constituency was otherwise a stronghold, with the Liberal Democrats holding almost every seat on the council for many years. During the 2013 by-election it had been reported that whilst the local Liberal Democrats commanded a vast database of supporters on the ground that enabled them to get their vote out, the local Tory organisation in the constituency was practically non-existent. Indeed, at the 2013 by-election, the Conservatives had been beaten into third place by UKIP.
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