Lee Scott (politician)

Lee Scott (born 6 April 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North until his defeat at the 2015 general election, and an officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel.

Scott was born in the East End of London to a British Jewish family, He was educated at Clarks College in Ilford and the London College of Distributive Trades.

From 1972–82, Scott was a Director of Scott & Fishell. He was a sales executive for Toshiba from 1982–4, for ITT from 1984–6, and for NKR from 1986–8. From 1988–98, he was Campaign Director for the United Jewish Israel Appeal.

He became a professional fundraiser for several charities, and has also volunteered with Victim Support. He was selected as the Conservative candidate for Waveney in the 2001 general election but failed to win the seat. He was a councillor in the London Borough of Redbridge.

In the 2005 general election, Scott gained the Ilford North seat, defeating the Labour MP Linda Perham. He has a special interest in autism and has presented a Private Member's Bill to Parliament dealing with the care of autistic children once they reached adulthood. He was a member of the Select Committee on transport and is on the Select Committee on Health. In 2008, Scott was shortlisted for the ePolitix Disability Champion Award – for championing the cause of autism in the House of Commons.

Scott, Patron of the UK Autism Foundation, was nominated by the charity for his work supporting parents, carers, children and adults with autism and Asperger syndrome across the United Kingdom. He met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and autism campaigner Ivan Corea after he raised the issue of autism in Prime Minister's Questions. On 9 December 2010 he abstained from voting on the Higher Tutition Fees Bill, which meant he had to resign his position as an aide to the Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond MP.

During a Parliamentary debate on antisemitism in 2014 he stated that he had received several death threats because of his religion, including five in the last year.

Scott married Estelle Dombey in 1987 and has three daughters and two sons. He supports Leyton Orient F.C..