Merrick Cockell

Sir Merrick Richard Cockell (born 16 June 1957) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Chairman of the Local Government Association. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 2010.

The son of Peter Colvile Cockell by his marriage to Hildegard Christina Gaskell, he was educated at Pierrepont School, Frensham, then became a trader with F. M. Barshall Ltd. From 1977 to 1982 he served the company overseas in Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and China. In 1982 he founded and became a director of Abingdon Cockell Ltd, an import-export company, remaining with it until 2006. He has served as a director of Localis Research Ltd, a local government think-tank, since 2008 and as its Chairman since 2009.^[1] From 1999 he was also a director of Peter Barshall Ltd.^[2]

In 1986 Cockell was elected as a councillor of the Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council, in which he was Chairman of Education from 1992 to 1995 and Conservative Chief Whip from 1995 to 2000, before becoming Leader of the Council in 2000.^[1] Kensington and Chelsea now has the third-lowest Council Tax in Britain.^[3] There, Cockell has represented the ultra-safe Stanley ward since 1986,^[4] and in 2002 was re-elected with 1063 votes, his nearest opponent gaining only 209.^[5]

In 1990, as a director of the importers Barber Cockell, he was quoted in China Trade Report as saying "Everyone was shocked by events in June last year, but in reality what occurred in Tiananmen Square had little effect on our business even during the troubles."^[6]

Cockell was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Councillors' Association from 2005 to 2008 and has been its Chairman since 2008, as well as holding a seat on the Conservative Party Board since 2008 and serving as a member of the Audit Commission since 2009.^[1] He has been a director of the Chelsea Academy since 2008^[7] and also serves on the Conservative Party's Social Justice Policy Group.^[8]

He was a member of the London Governance Commission from 2004 to 2006 and was Chairman of London Councils from 2006 to 2010.^[1]

Cockell was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, 2010, "for services to local government".^[9]

In 2011 he became Chairman of the Local Government Association, succeeding Baroness Eaton.^[10]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} ‘COCKELL, Sir Merrick (Richard)’, in Who's Who 2011 (London: A. & C. Black, 2011)
2. ^ Peter Barshall Ltd at whorunsit.org, accessed 4 July 2011
3. ^ Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell to be new LGA Chairman at conservativehome.com, accessed 4 July 2011
4. ^ Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell profile at lga.gov.uk, accessed 4 July 2011
5. ^ Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea election results, 2 May 2002 at rbkc.gov.uk, accessed 4 July 2011
6. ^ China Trade Report, vol. 28, Issues 2-12 (Far Eastern Economic Review, 1990), p. 3249
7. ^ The Chelsea Academy at companiesintheuk.co.uk, accessed 4 July 2011
8. ^ Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell at londonsays.org, accessed 4 July 2011
9. ^ Merrick Cockell knighted for services to local government at localgovernmentexecutive.co.uk, accessed 4 July 2011
10. ^ Sir Merrick Cockell's speech to the LGA in full dated 28 June 2011 at lgcplus.com, accessed 4 July 2011

External links

• Merrick Cockell profile at btconnect.com/MerrickCockell

Political offices
Preceded by Margaret Eaton, Baroness Eaton	Chair of the Local Government Association 2011–	Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Cockell, Merrick Richard
Alternative names
Short description	Conservative politician
Date of birth	16 June 1957
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death