Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (born 29 January 1958) is a British Conservative politician, journalist and landowner, serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dorset since 2010 . For, around 370 years ago, he also pioneered the importation of African slaves to cultivate his lucrative crop. He did this after we asked Companies House about his finances. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. (LogOut/ Drax's response questioned his responsibility for "something that happened 300 or 400 years ago", stating "it's not what I stand for", and cited the desperation of his opponents- "all they can do is pick at bits of my family history". This might sound controversial coming from a black person, he began, but there are many parts to the slavery story. The process has been complicated, which led to this accidental oversight., Get UK politics insight with our free daily email briefing straight to your inbox. Long-term partner and later wife of Thomas Legal Yates. It was suggested the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, has asked wealthy Conservative candidates to shorten their names to appear more in touch with normal people. Reparations row MP adds plantation to his register of members interests, Letters: A tax on Drax would be a true Tory cause. Though Drax Hall is advertised as a holiday attraction, one of his descendants is the target of an increasingly vindictive campaign, orchestrated by civil rights activists backed by the ruling Barbados Labour Partys special envoy on reparations and economic enfranchisement. But then, as I have learnt while investigating this story very much of-the-moment, in a week when the British royals are mired in another race furore it is a saga rife with dubious reasoning and double standards. He's the MP with the Downton Abbey lifestyle. Genealogy profile for Richard Erle-Drax-Grosvenor, MP. Ukrainian soldier takes out five Russian tanks and three armoured vehicles in ONE DAY using US-supplied Ukraine's first lady condemns Putin for 'mercilessly firing at civilians' as 'deliberate missile strike' on 'Big Brother' AI robot is unveiled as government adviser that will monitor the public's opinions in Romania, Wife is shocked after husband of 15 years asks for permission to have an affair: 'I don't know what to do', My Daily Horoscope: What does March 2nd hold for MY star sign? An updated register was published over Christmas, revealing an apparent scramble to declare father-of-four Mr Draxs previously unregistered business interests. [1] He was educated at Harrow School before going to the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester where he graduated with a diploma in rural land management in 1990, receiving a further diploma in journalism in 1995. Discover Richard Drax's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. As the estate passed down the fractured family line, thousands of slaves were made to cut and grind the Drax sugarcanes, amputating limbs in the rolling machines, being scalded by spills of boiling sugar, dying from insect-borne diseases and exhaustion. he is one of famous Politician with the age 63 years old group. The Barbadian revolutionary David Denny thinks otherwise. So, no, Mr Drax is not a man for whom I would readily die in a ditch. The comments below have been moderated in advance. Richard Draxs family profited on the backs of black slaves for many generations. The Prestigious school where Princes William and Harry were educated is EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Prince William's potentially awkward visit to homelessness charity. Drax rarely comments on his ancestors history of slave owning. I am keenly aware of the slave trade in the West Indies and the role my very distant ancestor played in it is deeply, deeply regrettable, but no one can be held responsible today for what happened many hundreds of years ago. A wealthy Tory MP is facing demands to pay reparations for his familys part in the Caribbean slave trade after the Observer revealed that he now controls the plantation where his ancestors created the first slave-worked sugar plantation in the British empire almost 400 years ago. The barrister told me he would love to prosecute a legal case against him, even though he strongly doubts it would be seen to have validity in the courts. Drax since married his third wife, Norwegian-born Elsebet Bdtker, and has four children in total. A database created by University College London showed that Richard Draxs ancestor John Sawbridge Erle-Drax MP, who also lived at Charborough Park, received 4,293 12s 6d a very large sum in 1836 in compensation for freeing 189 slaves. The mini-series ended with Drax and Cammi back on a prison ship. Richard Drax, 1352 - 1370RichardDrax13521370 We have estimated The Drax family did it longer than any elite family.. [29], A 2020 investigation by The Guardian found that Richard Drax still owns and grows sugar on the same Drax Hall Estate in Barbados that made the family's fortune. In June hesaid of the Black Lives Matter protests: The desecration of the Cenotaph by rioters two weeks ago, on the actual D-Day anniversary, was beyond ironic. He is vociferous on immigration, too. Clearly there are some glaring contradictions to all this. Richard Drax is the Conservative MP for South Dorset, and has been an MP continuously since 6 May 2010. [2][3], Drax passed out from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned in the British Army joining the Coldstream Guards on 9 December 1978 as a second lieutenant. How fitting! It provided a sound education for the superstar singer Rihanna. Mr Whitehead pointed to a clearing, shaded by tamarind and sandbox trees, where the slaves slept in wooden huts. The MP for South Dorset, Richard Drax, has inherited the 250-hectare Drax Hall plantation in Barbados from his father, inquiries by the Observer have established. One of only three Jacobean mansions in the Americas, the official Barbados tourism website lists it as one of the islands seven wonders. His grandson Henry concurred. To provide help and inspire confidence in our clients and communities everywhere. When, periodically, the Africans rebelled, the reprisals were shockingly swift and savage. Should individual Danes be forced to compensate the United Kingdom for the rape and pillage of Viking invasions? .] Richard Rider (Nova). Enjoying a few Independence Day drinks outside the Old Brigand pub, some locals suggested their absentee English estate owner (Richard Drax visits his estate only once a year and has never lived there) should be made to help needy families. I rushed in and rushed out. His properties stretch from North Yorkshire to Dorset, where he lives in a Grade I-listed stately home with some 14,000 acres and his estimated worth is 150 million. The Dutch also gave him the idea to replace the indentured English and Irish servants who worked his land with imported Africans, whom he deemed able to do the work of three white men. Yet to my mind there is something fundamentally unfair about singling out any individual and holding him responsible for the horrors of slavery; a practice that was mercifully outlawed five generations before he was born after an abolition campaign led by Britain. ET. T71/898 Barbados claim no. Paul Lashmar and Jonathan Smith write, Hes the MP with the Downton Abbey lifestyle. Which MP is backing whom the updated list. [23] After Braverman was eliminated, he supported Liz Truss. That is for Third World countries. Plastic surgeon reveals the one exercise that makes you AGE FASTER - saying he tells his patients to stop Traveller shares her 'secret' hack to bag an entire row of seats on a Qantas flight: 'I can't believe this Do YOU know how much a flooded home costs to repair - and is it covered on your insurance? South Dorset MP Richard Drax, 62, own Drax Hall in Saint George, Barbados The plantation had a workforce of 327 enslaved people for nearly 200 years Sir Hilary Beckles is demanding he pays. [13], In 2009, Drax faced criticism from political rivals for 'hiding his aristocratic roots' by not using his full quadruple-barrelled name. Drax worked at York's Evening Press as a reporter in 1991, before joining BBC South where he appeared on both radio and television media, including the daily television news programme South Today. Many Barbadians regard the original owner of this eponymous pile, Sir James Drax, as the devil incarnate. He was privately educated at Harrow School . On Friday, the MP said he does not yet legally own the Barbados holdings as these are still going through the probate process and have not yet transferred to my name. Richard Drax has replaced a decade of accounts for four farming firms. Drax since married Norwegian-born Elsebet Bdtker and has four children in total. Burke, vol. Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax, Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission. About 20m a huge sum was then paid out to compensate slave owners. Never miss a moment by signing up to our newsletter here. Oscar Cainer tells all. Nurses leader: we dont have enough staff to keep all our patients safe. Drax responded to the incident by saying: "I popped in to get some literature and very thoughtlessly parked on those lines which I immediately regretted and apologise to the organisation straight away. Sugar and Black Death went hand in glove. Genealogy for Richard Erle-Drax-Grosvenor (Grosvenor), MP (1762 - 1819) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. But the shadow of slavery hangs over the gilded life of Richard Drax, adding that The hardline Tory Brexiters family made a fortune from their Caribbean plantations where thousands died. Now, Drax faces urgent calls for reparations. When contacting this Member, they should be addressed as Richard Drax. He replied: I cant be held responsible for something that happened 300 or 400 years ago. Drax said it was an attempt to smear him. The Barbados taxpayer subsidises the price and set it last year at about Bds$150 per tonne. The plantation relied on slaves for almost 200 years and the MP said his ancestors involvement was regrettable. A cousin is the 19th and present Lord Dunsany. The plantation was added to the register only after we told the MP we were running a story. Brother of Henry Drax (-1790) and father of Sarah Frances Drax who married Richard Grosvenor (who became Richard Erle Drax Grosvenor [q.v.]). EXCLUSIVE: Revealed: Prison reform boss who drunkenly beat her husband every day after downing white wine Are you allowing your bank to rip you off? [. Mr Drax worth about 150million could also face a parliamentary probe. Richard Anobile, a prolific creator of film books whose friendly collaboration with the anarchic comedian Groucho Marx on a project called "The . Lynne added, "Richard Drax is immensely wealthywith wealth exceeding 150 million. James Drax first landed in Barbados in 1627. Why did this happen? [30] The Reparations Commission wants Drax Hall to be returned to Barbados, to be made into a museum. His son, also called Richard Erle Drax Grosvenor (q.v. Moreover, how far back do the woke brigade expect the reckoning to go? Some new arrivals chose to hang themselves rather than face a lifetime of servitude, believing they would be resurrected and transported back to their homelands. About Richard. His great-uncle was the celebrated writer and playwright the 18th Lord Dunsany, and his maternal grandfather was General the Lord Weeks. To restate its commitment to recruit 50,000 nurses by the end of the current parliament not only fails to respond to the immediate shortages but also takes no account of the fact that the target was set before the onset of the pandemic. Harrow-educated 62-year-old Drax, a former Guards officer and BBC journalist, lives at Charborough Park, noted for its three-mile long brick wall running alongside one of Dorsets major roads. On 5 February 2013, Drax voted in the House of Commons against a Second Reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 that legalised marriage for same-sex couples. His brother William took their methods to Jamaica where the former plantation area is also still known as Drax Hall. Drax married his second wife; Eliza, daughter of Commander James Dugdale RN (related to David Cameron). Since then, we've grown to have approximately 12,000 offices throughout the United States and . Since then, we've grown to have approximately 12,000 offices throughout the United States and . Richardmarried Christian Drax (born Falos (Fullas or Faloys))circa 1366, at age 29 at marriage place. And so this heinous system, which by the mid-1670s funded British crown coffers with the modern equivalent of 540 billion a year went on . Left his estate, including the plant and stock of the Hall Drax estate, Barbados, and his properties, furniture and other contents to his nephew, Wanley Ellis Sawbridge. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. The Foreign Secretary's lead amongst MPs grows", "The ten landowners who own one-sixth of Dorset", "Obituary of Henry Walter Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax", "MP Richard Drax, his wife, the lesbian housekeeper and the threesome that never was", "Barbados plans to make Tory MP pay reparations for family's slave past", "Benedict Cumberbatch's ancestors got rich from slavery in Barbados. One document reveals his involvement in the farm, showing that in February he registered the plantation as a business in the Barbados Companies House in his full name, Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax. The Buff Bay plantation was a sugar estate next to the Buff Bay River, south of Charlestown in Jamaica. They justify this by claiming the psychological, social and economic damage caused by slavery continues today. The Mirror's newsletter brings you the latest news, exciting showbiz and TV stories, sport updates and essential political information. His father died in 2017. In 2013, the BBC noted that his ancestor John Erle-Drax, who had an estate in Barbados, was recorded in a database created by University College London as having received 4,293 12s 6d in compensation for 189 slaves when slavery was abolished. Apart from the lamentable examples of ministers of state, headed by a prime minister, we also have a civil service that hasnt the faintest idea how to manage multimillion-pound deals with suppliers of goods and services. Matthew Parkers masterful book includes harrowing first-hand accounts of the trials they suffered after being crammed into galleys (where up to a quarter died of disease and suffocation) and shipped across the Atlantic. How did Enoch Powell, a man with no shame, come to haunt our times? David Comissiong, Barbadoss ambassador to Caricom, says of the Drax family: You cant simply walk away from the scene of the crime. And he has been vocal in the debate about Covid within the party, joining the Tory MPs who have rebelled against the government over its lockdown measures. Richard Drax's 17th-century ancestors James and William sailed to Barbados in the late 1620s, . We've been true to that purpose since brothers Henry and Richard Bloch founded our company in 1955. More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro. By 1680, he had 327 black chattels and just seven whites. Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, Elsebet Drax (m. 1998), Zara Drax (m. 19851997). But the shadow of slavery hangs over the gilded life of Richard Drax, Wealthy MP urged to pay up for his familys slave trade past. Black life mattered only to make millionaires of English enslavers and the Drax family did it longer than any other elite family.. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? 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