Sir Robert Goodwill has been elected chair of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
He takes the position with immediate effect and will serve to the end of the current parliament.
“I am delighted to have been elected chair of this important committee,” Goodwill said on winning the position. “I hope my experience as a working farmer and as a former agriculture minister will mean I can hit the ground running.”
Goodwill replaces Neil Parish, former MP for Tiverton and Honiton, who stood down at the end of April after he admitted watching pornography twice while in parliament.
Five Tory candidates were nominated for the role of chair, which triggered an election between Sir Geoffrey Clinton-Brown, Sir Robert Goodwill, Dr Neil Hudson, Anthony Mangnall and Derek Thomas.
Goodwill has been MP for Scarborough and Whitby since 2005, before which he served as a Member of the European Parliament. He currently serves on the Environmental Audit Select Committee and Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in addition to his new role.
Goodwill graduated with a degree in agriculture from Newcastle University and still runs the family farm in North Yorkshire.
In a statement before the election took place he said: “I am well placed to lead this committee and hold the government to account, and to produce reports which are relevant to the challenges agriculture, fishing and the environment face.”
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