Chope was elected as an MP at the
1983 general election for
Southampton Itchen where he defeated the
Social Democratic Party (and previously
Labour) MP
Bob Mitchell by 5,290 votes and became the first Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen since the constituency was created in 1950. Chope was appointed as the
parliamentary private secretary to
Peter Brooke, the
Minister of State at the
Treasury in 1986, before being promoted by
Margaret Thatcher to serve in her government as the
parliamentary under-secretary of state at the
Department for the Environment later in the same year, where he was responsible for steering through the
Council Tax legislation, the replacement for the disastrous and derided
Poll tax, which was withdrawn after a massive popular revolt. He was moved under the leadership of
John Major to serve in the same rank at the
Department of Transport from 1990 until he lost his Southampton Itchen seat to
John Denham at the
1992 general election. Following his defeat, Chope took up a consultancy with
Ernst & Young in 1992, but was re-elected at the
1997 general election for the
Christchurch constituency. In 1997, he became a spokesman on the Environment, Transport and the Regions as well as being the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party under
William Hague, but left the
frontbench later that year when he became a member of the
Trade and Industry Select committee. He returned to the frontbench after the
2001 election as a spokesman on the Treasury. In 2002, he moved to Transport, then left frontbench politics after the
2005 general election. He currently serves on the
Panel of Chairs. Chope was chairman of the
Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group. During the
expenses scandal of 2009, it emerged that Chope claimed £136,992 in parliamentary expenses in 2007–8. This included claiming £881 to repair a sofa. On 11 October 2011, Chope questioned the time allotted to a debate on MPs' pensions. Because this debate came before a debate into the
Hillsborough disaster inquiry, it was reported that Chope had threatened to delay the inquiry, leading to widespread criticism of Chope's actions. Chope was criticised following remarks made on 17 January 2013 when he referred to House of Commons dining room staff as "servants" in a speech. Chope was appointed a
Knight Bachelor in the
2018 New Year Honours for political and public service. Following the
2024 general election, Chope was appointed as acting Second Deputy
Chairman of Ways and Means.
Political views On 10 February 2009 Chope co-sponsored an Employment Opportunities Bill to the House of Commons, which would have enabled workers to opt out of the
minimum wage. The bill was objected to and later dropped.
The Guardian reported in 2010 that Chope was sceptical of
climate change and attended a meeting of
climate change sceptics in the
Palace of Westminster in October 2010. Chope helped to lead backbench support for the motion calling for a referendum to leave the European Union. He was heavily involved in the use of
private member's bills to achieve this aim. Chope has consistently supported
Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Prior to the
2016 referendum, he announced his support for Brexit. He has been supportive of
Leave Means Leave, a Eurosceptic pressure group. Chope voted against the
legislation for same-sex marriage in 2013. In 2014 Chope voted against requiring all companies with more than 250 employees to declare the gap in pay between the average male and average female salaries. In June 2013 Chope was one of four MPs who camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on an 'Alternative Queen's Speech' – an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver. 42 policies were listed including
reintroduction of the
death penalty and
conscription, the privatisation of the
BBC, banning the
burka in public places, holding a referendum on same-sex marriage and preparing to leave the
European Union. In July 2017 Chope and
Peter Bone, the Conservative MP for
Wellingborough and Rushden, tabled 73 bills between them, of which 47 were placed by Chope. In order to be at the front of the queue to table the bills, the pair had camped in the Palace of Westminster for three days. Chope's bills included legislation to privatise the BBC and
Channel 4, limit the interest rate chargeable on
student loan debt (and forgive it in certain circumstances), reduce
stamp duty, and decriminalise TV licence-dodging. Because of the number of slots for bills they took, Chope and Bone were criticised, including by
Paul Flynn, for their actions. In October 2022 Chope said that
Rishi Sunak would be unable to unite the Conservative Party as Prime Minister. In March 2023 Chope voted against the
Windsor Framework. Later in the year he attended a conference hosted by the Hungarian prime minister,
Viktor Orban. In 2024 Chope criticised leadership contender
Kemi Badenoch during the
2024 Conservative Party leadership election for having parental responsibilities, stating that
Robert Jenrick brought more energy to the campaign.
Blocking and filibustering of bills Chope is a member of a group of
backbench Conservative MPs who regularly object to
private members bills which, in their view, have not received sufficient scrutiny. These have included a number which were previously believed to have widespread public and parliamentary support. has earned Chope the nickname "Chopper". The
BBC's parliamentary correspondent, Mark D'Arcy, said the group claims to "make a practice of ensuring that what they see as well-meaning but flabby legislation is not lazily plopped on to the statute book by a few MPs on a poorly attended Friday sitting." Chope said that he objects on principle to legislation being introduced to the statute books without debate: "[T]his is something I have fought for in most of my time as an MP and it goes to the very heart of the power balance between the government and Parliament. The government is abusing parliamentary time for its own ends and in a democracy this is not acceptable. The government cannot just bring in what it wants on the nod." It has been suggested that Chope does not object to all such bills, particularly those that align with his own political views and those of his compatriots, with Conservative MP
Zac Goldsmith commenting: "In case anyone is tempted to believe he has a principled objection to private members' bills, please note that once again he did not object to those put forward by his friends." On 12 March 2010, Chope blocked a bill to protect poor countries from
vulture funds, despite his party's support for the bill. In December 2013, Chope objected to the second reading of the
Alan Turing (Statutory Pardon) Bill in the
House of Commons. Because of this, the government decided to act under the
royal prerogative of mercy. On 24 December 2013,
Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a free pardon. In November 2014, Chope blocked a bill that would have
banned the use of wild animals in circus performances, on the basis that a bill on EU membership should have been called before the bill. In the same month, Chope, alongside
Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for
Shipley,
filibustered a bill intended to make
revenge evictions an offence. Defending his filibuster, Chope said that the bill would have weakened landlords' ability to recover possession, deterring them from letting properties. Chope was reported as having been a private landlord himself, but he denied these claims. In October 2015, Chope, Davies and Conservative MP
David Nuttall filibustered a private member's bill that would have placed restrictions on
hospital parking charges for carers. On 15 June 2018, Chope blocked the passage of a private member's bill that would have made
upskirting a specific offence. Chope said that his reason for blocking the passage was in objection to parliamentary procedure rather than to the bill itself: he stated that he would "wholeheartedly" support a government bill that outlawed upskirting. The prime minister,
Theresa May, also expressed her disappointment at the objection. and the bill passed subject to
royal assent in January 2019. In protest at his actions, staff at the House of Commons placed a
bunting of women's underwear outside Chope's office entrance. A similar bunting was also placed outside his constituency office. Protestors also confronted Chope at his constituency surgery. On the same day as the upskirting bill, Chope and Davies forced a delay to the final debate on a bill that would have improved the oversight of the use of force in mental health units. Chope also blocked a bill that would have given extra legal protection to
police dogs and
horses. On 16 July 2018, Chope blocked a motion calling for the House of Commons chamber to be used for a Women MPs of the World Conference on a day in November when MPs were not sitting. The conference was due to the mark the centenary of
women's suffrage in the United Kingdom; the motion had been moved by Conservative MP
Mims Davies and was supported by
Andrea Leadsom, the
Leader of the House of Commons. Defending his actions, Chope stated that the Commons chamber should only be used by elected parliamentarians, with the exception of its annual use by the
UK Youth Parliament. Following Chope's actions, the government resubmitted the motion with the support of several departments. On 23 November 2018, Chope objected to a bill that would have amended the
Children Act 1989 in order to increase the protective power of courts over girls at risk of
female genital mutilation. Defending his actions, Chope said that the bill was an act of "
virtue signalling".
Lord Berkeley of Knighton, who had introduced the bill to the House of Lords, called for Chope to be deselected. However, on 15 March 2019, the bill received its
Royal Assent and became law. In November 2021, Chope objected to a motion from the
Select Committee on Standards that would have passed the report regarding the lobbying rules breached by
Owen Paterson.
The Guardian reported that this was said to have caused fury within the Conservative Parliamentary Party, as it was hoping the vote would draw a line underneath the episode and allow the government to move on from accusations of sleaze, but simply allowed the criticism to continue. His actions led to newspaper comments from MPs, describing both him and his action in unflattering terms. One minister expressed anonymously that "He has been for many year a Jurassic embarrassment – tonight he crossed a line. The man should retire and the executive are livid". ==Personal life==