Michael Latham

Sir Michael Anthony Latham was a British Conservative Member of Parliament.

Political career

Latham was elected to the Churchill Ward on Westminster [City Council] in 1968 [Westminster City Council election|1968]. He did not stand at the subsequent election in 1971 Westminster [City Council election|1971], but became the Conservative MP for Melton in February 1974 [United Kingdom general election|February 1974]. In 1983, following boundary changes, Latham was elected to represent Melton (UK Parliament constituency)|Rutland and Melton], before standing down in 1992.

In 1994, he wrote the influential joint government and industry report on the UK construction industry, 'Constructing the Team'. In it he advocated partnerships within the fragmented and highly contentious construction industry. He made recommendations as to how conflict could be minimised within the industry. Such was the nature and extent of these recommendations that Mr Justice Jackson later described the report as "the whirlwind which hit the construction industry".
In 1997, he was elected an honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
After standing down from parliament he has held numerous positions in the construction industry including chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board, chairman of ConstructionSkills, chairman, then deputy chairman of Willmott Dixon Limited, chairman of Collaborative Working Centre Limited and deputy chairman of BIW Technologies.
Latham was knighted in the 1993 New Year Honours for political service. He was also an FRSA, City and [Guilds of London Institute#Fellowship, FCGI - level 8|FCGI], Hon. RICS, Hon. FRIBA, Hon. FCIOB and Hon. FICE.