Catherine Bennett was right to question the special Eton magic (Just what is the special Eton magic that allows it to turn out epic oafs year after year?, Comment). 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. (LogOut/ This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. A fraction of his family fortune, accumulated during centuries of slavery, could do good today for people . Drax is only the first target, he told me, evidently fired up for this great new crusade. [13], In 2009, Drax faced criticism from political rivals for 'hiding his aristocratic roots' by not using his full quadruple-barrelled name. Yet his passport still bears his quadruple-barrelled name: Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax. Chinese labourers (paid less than the Barbadian minimum wage) construct yuan-funded roads and buildings. For full article, see https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/12/hes-the-mp-with-the-downton-abbey-lifestyle-but-the-shadow-of-slavery-hangs-over-the-gilded-life-of-richard-drax. It has a Reparations Commission, whose chair is Sir Hilary Beckles. This was a crime against humanity and we impose upon him [Mr Drax] and his family a moral responsibility to contribute to the effort to repair the damage.. According to David Denny, a self-proclaimed Barbadian revolutionary, the Tory politician should donate hundreds of millions towards the building of schools, roads, health centres and other community projects. Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax, Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission. [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. See full bio . 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. 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. Here is proof that Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, has a controlling interest in the 621-acre Drax Hall Estate in Barbados. Never miss a moment by signing up to our newsletter here. They had 7 children: John Drax, Richard Draxand 5 other children. 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. 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. In the centre of the park is the Grade I-listed mansion. The Kola Nut in the Atlantic World, The Barbara T. Christian Literary Award for CSA 2023, Kathleen Martnez continues the search for Cleopatra's tomb, Art Exhibition: Tania Marmolejos Alter Egos. [7] He was promoted captain on 10 March 1986. But he is responsible for what he does now. The Barbados taxpayer subsidises the price and set it last year at about Bds$150 per tonne. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. [11] Drax retained his seat in the 2015 general election with an increased majority and the 2017 general election. not a Conservative politician, journalist, landowner and former British Army officer, serving as MP for S.Dorset Bere Regis, England Joined October 2020 1,421 Following 1,395 Followers Tweets & replies Media Pinned Tweet Inside Frogmore Cottage: Plush home Harry and Meghan have been 'evicted' from by King Charles boasts a roomy Charles evicting Harry and Meghan is the act of a King putting his country first: REBECCA ENGLISH reveals A royal princess at Eton? Dont they have a responsibility as well?. Sir Hilary Beckles, a prominent Barbadian historian of slavery, said Drax must acknowledge the wealth brought to the family by slavery. He also owns a 4.5m holiday villa on nearby Sandbanks, which is rented out at up to 6,734 a week in peak season. 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. I think its more of a moral argument, he said, adding that Mr Drax would be well-advised to save his reputation by accepting responsibility, apologising, and volunteering a substantial sum towards opening a slavery awareness museum, or some similar project. In Barbados, production is now subsidised by the government, and heavy rainfall reduced last years yield at Drax Hall to just 7,000 tonnes of raw cane (producing 700 tonnes of sugar). 1462): the second oldest title in the Peerage of Ireland. T71/898 Barbados claim no. Get weekly highlights from Mirror editor Alison Phillips direct to your email. We are a people company first and a tax company second. Powells was a constructive and humane challenge to the entrenched attitudes of psychiatric and nursing professionals. 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. Burke, vol. Will Huttons assertion that we are a country to be plundered by old and new rentiers alike (As Airbnbs shares go through the roof, we need to challenge the Big Tech monopoly, Comment) is amply demonstrated in the tourism sector, not just by Airbnb but by another parasitic behemoth, Tripadvisor, which contributes nothing to the industry but can still rake off up to 20% of an accommodation bookings value in its fee. But it is Richard Drax MPs inheritance in Barbados, amassed over centuries by his ancestors ownership and appalling treatment of African people which drags him into the spotlight. For if blameless distant relatives are held responsible for the slave trade or indeed any other long-ago transgression where might all this stop? Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The answer is that civil servants and ministers had no education to prepare them for the world of negotiating and managing commercial contracts. [28], At least six of his ancestors, including John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge Erle-Drax and the 17th Lord Dunsany, were Members of Parliament for Dorset and Gloucestershire between the 1680s and 1880s. During the 2010 United Kingdom general election campaign period, in which he was running for MP for South Dorset, the Daily Mirror reported that Drax's family had earned their fortune through slavery. They called us Little England, and in a lot of ways we still are.. Contact Richard Drax This section contains web, social and other contact information for Richard Drax. Its not what I stand for and I ignore it., On Friday, Drax said: 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. Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (born 29 January 1958), known as Richard Drax, is a British Conservative politician, journalist, landowner and former British Army officer, serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dorset since 2010. He is a privileged person to have this in his gift.Angela SingerCambridge, It is perhaps to be expected, but nevertheless disappointing, that after generations of his family enjoying so much more than their fair share of the fruits of nature and the labour of others, including slaves, Richard Drax seems unable to rise above himself and take some responsibility, as a few more honourable others have done, for the cost to his fellow humans, past and present, of his inherited property, accumulated wealth and self-serving politics. But to hold a wholly innocent man to account for the evils of his distant ancestors seems utterly preposterous. The "new" Drax killed Lunatik and one of the Blood Brothers. Daily Mirror, 5 May 2010; Dorset Echo, 6 May 2010. [6], Drax was reinstated on the Active List on 10 September 1984, beginning his second and final period of regular service. This is a part of the nations history, from which we must all learn.. He did this after we asked Companies House about his finances. He's the MP with the Downton Abbey lifestyle. Since then, we've grown to have approximately 12,000 offices throughout the United States and around the world. The Drax family also owned slave plantations in Jamaica, which they sold in the mid-1800s. If Richard Drax was in front of me now, I would say: Mr Drax, the people of Barbados and Jamaica are entitled to reparatory justice., Beckles, the chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission and vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, said: Today, when I drive through the Drax Hall land and its environs, I feel a keen sense of being in a massive killing field with unmarked cemeteries. There is precedence for compensating descendants of slaves. Something went wrong, please try again later. In St George Parish, where the 620-acre Drax sugar plantation still employs 13 people and indirectly supports many more there are mixed opinions on the reparations claim. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The Mirror's newsletter brings you the latest news, exciting showbiz and TV stories, sport updates and essential political information. 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? He then gestured towards a disused windmill made from slabs of limestone hewn from a nearby quarry. After being flogged relentlessly for days, his ears were cut off and roasted, and he was forced to eat them. I have enjoyed a bountiful carrot harvest, having duped carrot fly by planting seeds in lavatory roll holders. [18], During the 2019 UK General Election Drax apologised after his Land Rover, with a campaign poster on the vehicle, was photographed parking across two disabled parking spaces outside his campaign headquarters. 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Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. On top of all that, he was named and shamed by HM Revenue and Customs, last year, among 139 employers who paid staff below the minimum wage. Men such as Barbados army veteran Pedro Hall, 72, a cousin of the great West Indian fast-bowler Wes Hall. The Drax Hall Plantation in Barbados was added to the Register of Members Interests on December 11 days after we told the MP we were running a story. [15] In April 2019, in a speech in the House of Commons, Drax said that he "made the wrong call" by supporting the government's Brexit deal and called for the resignation of Theresa May if she failed to take the UK out of the EU by 12 April. .]. We've been true to that purpose since brothers Henry and Richard Bloch founded our company in 1955. Drax rarely comments on his ancestors history of slave owning. It provided a sound education for the superstar singer Rihanna. The MP declined to comment this week. The MP for the nearby corrupt borough of Wareham, Dorset, he appears to have never said anything in the Commons save for asking the Speaker that a window be opened (though this story may be apocryphal). The Estate has been in existence since 1086 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book and . Clive Stafford Smith organised fictional legal proceedings against Richard Drax using 40 pupils aged between 12 and 18, some of whom are from a school within his South Dorset constituency. He served across the world, including Germany, Cyprus, Kenya, Brunei, Hong Kong, the United States, London and three operational tours in Northern Ireland. When he first stood for parliament in 2010, he was asked by the Daily Mirror about his historical responsibility. Richard Drax cannot be responsible for what his ancestors did 400 years ago. Brother of Henry Drax (-1790) and father of Sarah Frances Drax who married Richard Grosvenor (who became Richard Erle Drax Grosvenor [q.v.]). Just what is the special Eton magic that allows it to turn out epic oafs year after year? The estates finances are largely opaque to the public gaze and involve at least six trusts and other disconnected financial entities. ), became owner of Drax Hall. EXCLUSIVE: Richard Drax replaced a decade of accounts for four farming firms revealing hundreds of thousands of pounds of undisclosed business. Richard Anobile, a prolific creator of film books whose friendly collaboration with the anarchic comedian Groucho Marx on a project called "The . They are using the old class thing and that is not what this election is about. Richard Drax has replaced a decade of accounts for four farming firms. This is a part of the nations history, from which we must all learn., The Barbadian historian Beckles, however, told the Observer: It is no answer for Richard Drax to say it has nothing to do with him when he is the owner and the inheritor. Warning chocolate lovers ultra-processed foods might make you depressed, study claims, Can YOU guess the book? In response, Drax replied in the Dorset Echo that: 'I cant be held responsible for something that happened 300 or 400 years ago. In the view of Philip Whitehead, 65, who has managed the plantation for 39 years, however, later generations of the Draxs deserve credit for sticking with sugar, through good times and bad. The Barbadian revolutionary David Denny thinks otherwise. 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. The Draxes also owned a slave plantation in Jamaica which they sold in the 18th century. Drax married his second wife; Eliza, daughter of Commander James Dugdale RN (related to David Cameron) in 1998. he is one of famous Politician with the age 63 years old group. 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. Since his wealth is based on murder, kidnap and theft, the least he can do is return his plantation in Barbados to its rightful owners, the people who live there now. By 1839, the estate was 840 acres. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. His brother William took their methods to Jamaica where the former plantation area is also still known as Drax Hall. So, how much is Richard Drax worth at the age of 64 years old? My parents died in short succession and administration of both estates is ongoing. In 2009, Drax faced criticism from political rivals for 'hiding his aristocratic roots' by not using his full quadruple-barrelled name. Furthermore, he has been publicly criticised for failing to file his company accounts on time and omitting to declare his ownership of the Barbados plantation in the parliamentary Register of Members Interests. It raises many ethical and philosophical questions. He recently paid Bds$59,375 (22,200) in annual land tax. 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. 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. Black African people did that, but Ive never heard anyone say they should be held responsible. This article was amended on 13 December 2020 because an earlier version referred to the Caribbean Reparations Commission (Caricom) To clarify: Caricom is the Caribbean Community, an organisation of fifteen states and dependencies throughout the Caribbean. Erle-Drax's descendant, Richard Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, was elected as Conservative MP for South Dorset in the United Kingdom general election, 2010 using the 'truncated' name Richard Drax. 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. Annihilation. He had relied upon his accountants to file the necessary accounts and, when he was made aware of the unintended omission, instructed them to immediately rectify the position.. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 62 years old? Richard Drax MP was one of the first MPs to call for the criminalisation of trespass. An updated register was published over Christmas, revealing an apparent scramble to declare father-of-four Mr Draxs previously unregistered business interests. The accounts reveal in 2014 it had assets of more than 3.1m, and 3.4m in 2019. Sir James Drax, who hailed from a humble Warwickshire family, had just 300 when he sailed to Barbados with his brother, aged 18. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Medic who doctored his pay and swindled 68,000 from the NHS Nurses are prepared to walk out of A&E and not provide Grinning and bearing it? Beckles told us that historically the Drax family has done more harm and violence to the black people of Barbados than any other family. Yet while other plantations have closed, Mr Drax wished to perpetuate his familys heritage, the manager says. . How fitting! Drax since married Norwegian-born Elsebet Bdtker and has four children in total. His son, also called Richard Erle Drax Grosvenor (q.v. IT and other providers signed up to contracts they knew were drawn up by employees who had no experience or ability to think through the detail. The latest examples of this can be seen in the confusing and expensive mess of managing Covid-19. and on. [8], He relinquished his British Army commission on 9 September 1987, thereby retiring after nine years' service as a Coldstreamer. He was promoted captain on 10 March 1986. I couldnt stand by and watch these white people carry our struggle, he said. Details: Leeds Mercury, 30 June 1887. If he espouses the same cause that so many Tories champion, that it does people good to learn to stand on their own two feet, he would surely welcome the introduction of wealth and land taxes.Brian WoollandSalisbury, Wiltshire, Richard Drax cannot be responsible for what his ancestors did 400 years ago. He is a member of famous Politician with the age 64 years old group. Home U.K. The two firms on his Register of Members Interest declaration were registered as dormant. Nick Cohen is correct about the wholly negative effect that Enoch Powells views on race and the EU have continued to exert on the UK (How did Enoch Powell, a man with no shame, come to haunt our times?, Comment). The South Dorset MP, 63, started replacing entries after our enquiry in January. [. Driving around the island, one sees evidence of this everywhere. They justify this by claiming the psychological, social and economic damage caused by slavery continues today. Others countered that, while the deeds of the Drax dynasty could never be condoned, they had already done much to benefit the community. Six were burnt alive, and 11 beheaded. A captain in the East Kent Militia; raised a troop of the Dorsetshire Yeomanry in 1830 to deal with the Swing Riots; patron of five church livings; appointed sheriff of Dorset, January 1840; a deputy-lieutenant of Dorset in the late 1850s. His grandson Henry concurred. Nurses leader: we dont have enough staff to keep all our patients safe. IV, p. 211. A cousin is the 19th and present Lord Dunsany. Reparations row MP adds plantation to his register of members interests, Letters: A tax on Drax would be a true Tory cause. Pamela Weeks (19312019) and a grandson of Admiral The Hon. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Tending his garden, not far from the plantation, Arthur Thomas, a retired teacher well-versed in the history of slavery, bravely opened an unspoken aspect of the debate. Before he first stood for election, in 2010, David Cameron apparently urged him to de-toff his image, whereupon he declared himself an ordinary man of Dorset. Pamela Weeks (19312019) and a grandson of Admiral The Hon. The plantation was added to the register only after we told the MP we were running a story. Asked about its absence on the Parliamentary Register of Members Interests, Drax said on Friday that he is still acting as executor of his fathers will and 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. Mr Drax worth about 150million could also face a parliamentary probe. Britain outlawed slave trading in 1807, and ownership of slaves was banned in 1833. He was privately educated at Harrow School . From the very early stages of the familys involvement in slavery and the sugar trade, through the career of Sir James Drax in Barbados during the 17th century, the Drax dynasty were able to generate extraordinary wealth through the cultivation of sugar by enslaved Africans.. [1], The Barbados Government is seeking reparations from Drax for his ancestors' involvement in slavery. For attempting to overthrow their plantation owner, in 1692, 42 slaves were castrated at the hands of a woman named Alice Miller, who received ten guineas for her service. Come on, Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, pay up, pay up and redeem your name!Duncan TomsMachynlleth, Powys. Richard Drax is the Conservative MP for South Dorset, and has been an MP continuously since 6 May 2010. 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. Three: we would like to talk to you about how [you should repay these debts]. Drax Hall is an imposing, grey stone residence built for a 17thcentury entrepreneur who revolutionised the Caribbean sugar industry, and in so doing helped make Britain the wealthiest nation on earth. Should individual Danes be forced to compensate the United Kingdom for the rape and pillage of Viking invasions? The Drax family did it longer than any elite family.. 207-11 (entry for John Samuel Wanley Drax-Erle Sawbridge of Charborough). Sugar and Black Death went hand in glove. 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. As author Matthew Parker states in his definitive book The Sugar Barons, by the end of the 17th century virtually every British merchant and investor was implicated in the slave-driven sugar economy. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. The Drax family received 4,293 pounds, 12 shillings and 6 pence more than 500,000 today. Later, the Draxes married into the Erle family that owned Charborough Park and the sugar profits helped to greatly extend the mansion and lands back in England. King Charles IIs brother, James, was president of the Royal African Company, the biggest supplier of slaves, and shares were held by such lauded figures as the philosopher John Locke and diarist Samuel Pepys. How did Enoch Powell, a man with no shame, come to haunt our times? 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". The Draxes had also cemented a place at the heart of the establishment. A visiting priest described watching the punishment meted out to a slave who had stolen a pig to feed his starving family. Since then, we've grown to have approximately 12,000 offices throughout the United States and . Its like making my great-great-great-grandchildren pay for my wrongdoings not that slavery was considered to be wrong back then. The value of the personalty was 10,381. Over 200 years, 30,000 slaves died at this and the other Drax plantations, according to Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chair of CARICOM's Reparations Commission. Drax retained his seat in the 2015 general election with an increased majority and the 2017 general election. Richard Drax MP's 150m personal fortune was extracted on his ancestors' network of Caribbean plantations, where 30,000 slaves lost their lives. A Tory MP whose family made millions through slavery is facing calls for an investigation into his company records. That is for Third World countries. 3784 (Drax Hall). About Richard Erle-Drax-Grosvenor, MP. As one wag quipped, with the sugar industry and West Indies Test cricket team in decline, shes the islands most famous export. At least six of his ancestors, including John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge Erle-Drax and the 17th Lord Dunsany, were Members of Parliament for Dorset and Gloucestershire between the 1680s and 1880s.