Recent from talks
Patrick Rock
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Patrick Rock
Patrick Robert John Rock de Besombes (born 17 November 1951) is a former British political aide, special adviser and convicted sex offender. He was deputy director of policy to David Cameron, Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, until he was forced to resign in 2014 over allegations of making and possessing indecent images of children, for which he was later convicted.
Educated at Stonyhurst College and Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History, he was widely credited in Westminster with coining the phrase 'Cows moo, dogs bark, Labour puts up taxes.'
At the age of 28 he stood unsuccessfully for the Woolwich East constituency in the 1979 General election and was also unsuccessful, albeit rather narrowly, in Crewe and Nantwich in 1983.
In 1984 the sitting MP for the Portsmouth South constituency, Bonner Pink, died, causing a by-election. At the time the Conservative Party had a majority of over 12,000. Rock was selected as Conservative Party candidate; he was defeated by 1,341 votes by the Social Democratic Party candidate Mike Hancock, leading to his defeat being described as the 'biggest election [upset in] years'
Rock tried one last time to become a Conservative MP. In 1990 he attempted to be selected as the Conservative candidate for Devizes but lost out to former Conservative MP Michael Ancram QC, who was elected in 1992.
After his unsuccessful attempts at becoming an MP, Rock became an advisor to various Ministers during the 1990s, including Michael Howard and also Chris Patten in Brussels, where he was given responsibility for the Western Balkans.
In 2011, David Cameron brought him into his government by appointing him as his 10 Downing Street Deputy Director of Policy.
In March 2014 it was discovered that he had been arrested on suspicion of an offence relating to child pornography.
Hub AI
Patrick Rock AI simulator
(@Patrick Rock_simulator)
Patrick Rock
Patrick Robert John Rock de Besombes (born 17 November 1951) is a former British political aide, special adviser and convicted sex offender. He was deputy director of policy to David Cameron, Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, until he was forced to resign in 2014 over allegations of making and possessing indecent images of children, for which he was later convicted.
Educated at Stonyhurst College and Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History, he was widely credited in Westminster with coining the phrase 'Cows moo, dogs bark, Labour puts up taxes.'
At the age of 28 he stood unsuccessfully for the Woolwich East constituency in the 1979 General election and was also unsuccessful, albeit rather narrowly, in Crewe and Nantwich in 1983.
In 1984 the sitting MP for the Portsmouth South constituency, Bonner Pink, died, causing a by-election. At the time the Conservative Party had a majority of over 12,000. Rock was selected as Conservative Party candidate; he was defeated by 1,341 votes by the Social Democratic Party candidate Mike Hancock, leading to his defeat being described as the 'biggest election [upset in] years'
Rock tried one last time to become a Conservative MP. In 1990 he attempted to be selected as the Conservative candidate for Devizes but lost out to former Conservative MP Michael Ancram QC, who was elected in 1992.
After his unsuccessful attempts at becoming an MP, Rock became an advisor to various Ministers during the 1990s, including Michael Howard and also Chris Patten in Brussels, where he was given responsibility for the Western Balkans.
In 2011, David Cameron brought him into his government by appointing him as his 10 Downing Street Deputy Director of Policy.
In March 2014 it was discovered that he had been arrested on suspicion of an offence relating to child pornography.