Nigel Beard

{{Short description|British politician (1936–2017)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use British English|date=February 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | honorific_suffix = | image = Nigel Beard MP.jpg | caption = Beard as an MP | parliament = United Kingdom | constituency_MP = Bexleyheath and Crayford | majority = | term_start = 1 May 1997 | term_end = 11 April 2005 | predecessor = ''Constituency established'' | successor = David Evennett | birth_name = Christopher Nigel Beard | birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1936|10|10}} | birth_place = Leeds,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=pwqVEi09xcqm1BPHJcagqA&scan=1|title=Index entry|accessdate=16 April 2023|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> England | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2017|07|31|1936|10|10}} | death_place = Surrey, England | resting_place = | party = Labour | spouse = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | signature = }} '''Christopher Nigel Beard''' (10 October 1936 – 31 July 2017) was a British Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexleyheath and Crayford in London from 1997 to 2005.

He previously contested several parliamentary constituencies: Woking at the 1979 general election, Portsmouth North at the 1983 general election and Erith and Crayford at the 1992 general election. At the 1997 general election, he was returned as MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford. Before this, he had been senior research manager for ICI and Zeneca. He retained the seat at the 2001 election but lost it in the 2005 election to David Evennett of the Conservative Party.

Beard was a loyal follower of the Labour whip, voting for the Iraq War and other government policies.<ref>{{cite news |author1= |title=Nigel Beard |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/apr/04/mpsuncovered.parliament118 |accessdate=13 August 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=4 April 2005 }}</ref> He also introduced a private member's bill to fix British Summer Time as standard time all year round. He died at the age of 80 in Surrey<ref>{{cite web |title=DOR Q3/2017 in SURREY (759-1I) |id= Entry Number 515943226 |url=https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp#Results |website=GRO Online Indexes |publisher=General Register Office for England and Wales |access-date=16 April 2023 |url-access=registration}}</ref> after a long illness.<ref>{{cite news |last1=May |first1=Luke |title=Nigel Beard, Bexleyheath's first and only Labour MP, has died aged 80 |url=http://www.bexleytimes.co.uk/news/nigel-beard-bexleyheath-s-first-and-only-labour-mp-has-died-aged-80-1-5139673 |accessdate=10 November 2022 |work=Bexley Times |date=8 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201121246/http://www.bexleytimes.co.uk/news/nigel-beard-bexleyheath-s-first-and-only-labour-mp-has-died-aged-80-1-5139673 |archive-date=1 December 2020 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-new | constituency }} {{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford | years = 1997–2005 }} {{s-aft | after = David Evennett }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Nigel}} Category:1936 births Category:2017 deaths Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:UK MPs 1997–2001 Category:UK MPs 2001–2005 Category:People educated at Castleford Academy