‘The House of Lords In These Times’
Lord Taylor spoke about the general role and how the House of Lords works from a political point of view, in particular its role in Brexit and its contribution to Parliament in the realm of foreign affairs. He gave an inspiring speech to a packed room calling on all in UK and the Commonwealth to seize the time - the opportunities are enormous.
Biographical profile: John Taylor comes from Holbeach where his family own a bulb growing and farming business. Taylors Bulbs, who are currently celebrating their centenary, are the country’s largest suppliers of bulbs to the garden retail trade. He has been active in the affairs of the Horticultural Industry and was Chairman of Springfields Gardens at Spalding. He was also founder Chairman 1988-2006 of the community run Holbeach Hospital Trust.
He has been active in the Conservative Party since 1964 and he chaired the Party Conference in 1997. In 2000 he became the senior member of the voluntary Party and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party for 3 years. He was appointed a Life Peer in May 2006 and from November 2006 he served as an Opposition Whip and Spokesman on Defra and Energy and other matters.
In May 2010 John was appointed a Government Whip in the House of Lords. He was also the Spokesman for the Cabinet Office. He was voted Peer of the Year in 2011. On 16th September 2011 John was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Defra and on 6th September 2012 became Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office. From 2014 until July 2019 John has been the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords and Captain of the Gentlemen at Arms.
