About Earnshaw Palmer

Earnshaw Palmer was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on 7th January 1958. He is married to Junerose a teacher. He has two children - Earnette 26 and Fabienne 17.

Education

He attended Bethel Municipal, St George's Cathedral Boys, Tower Hill, Prince of Wales and Sierra Leone Grammar Schools.

In 1986 he came to the UK and studied at Emile Woolfe College of Accountancy and City Banking College. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Career

Earnshaw worked for the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank 1978-1986. He helped set up the Inspections Department in 1981, where he worked for 5 years as an Inspector.

He worked for the African Development Agencies, Waterden Reproductions and as Assistant Finance Officer at the Association of County Councils (ACC) since March 1988 until it was wound up in 1997 to form the Local Government Association (LGA). He transferred his service to the LGA and was employed as Financial Accountant until April 2003 when he was promoted to Client Services and Accounts Manager. He now works in an interim capacity in the NHS.

Campaigner

Earnshaw is a well known campaigner in Thurrock. He led successful campaigns against a monster mobile phone mast and for the preservation of allotments, mores places in local schools, pillar boxes, Saturday skip service, traffic calming and road safety in Chafford Hundred.

He is campaigning for a general hospital to be built in Thurrock. He is currently leading a borough-wide petition signing exercise, which is gaining widespread support. AFter collceting 10,000 signatures, the campaign team accompanied by Lib Dem MP Professor Steve Webb presented to the Prime Minister on 1st Dec 2005. THe campaign is on-going. He is also leading a campaign for a new primary care centre on Chafford Hundred.

Earnshaw is an enthusiastic activist. In 1992, he started campaigning to raise public awareness in the UK about the civil war in Sierra Leone. In response to further deteriorating situation in Sierra Leone, he set up the Movement for Peace in Sierra Leone (a UK based lobbying organisation) in October 1997. He led a campaign for British intervention in the fratricidal war which saw countless and needless loss of lives (estimated at over 50,000) and wanton destruction of property and infrastructure. He lobbied British politicians, world and religious leaders, and the press. Issues that he raised with politicians were debated in Parliament. The intervention of the British Government was seen as a culmination of his prolonged dedication and hard work and combined pressure by other interest groups.

Community Work

Earnshaw is renowned for hard work for his community. He was the Chair of the Streets Forum which evolved to form the Chafford Hundred Community Forum which he chaired for two years. He was instrumental in showcasing the various community organisations in a Youth Fayre event. This became an annual event and has now been converted into a community day with a wider theme. Earnshaw is also the Chairman of the Drake Community Centre Management Committee. He has been a school governor of the Chafford Hundred Campus since 2001.

He is a parent governor for a local secondary school.

Humanitarian work

Earnshaw has made a personal contribution to the post civil war reconstruction in Sierra Leone. He went round schools in the UK collecting furniture and equipment. He has shipped a container load to Freetown to help rehabilitate schools destroyed in Sierra Leone. The consignment was duly distributed to existing as well as destroyed schools in the country. Nine schools were recipients of this donation. Earnshaw has also donated a huge consignment of lab technician gowns (over 700) as well as 80 linen bed sheets to the College of Medicine and Allied Sciences in Sierra Leone. As a consequence, all the students now benefit from having the gowns free of charge during the tenure of their course of study, saving them additional expenses.

Earnshaw is currently working to establish a Computer School in Freetown. He is not in receipt of any funding and has borne these costs himself.

Political Career

Councillor for Chafford Hundred Ward 2002-2004

European Parliamentary Candidate on the East of England list 2004.

Westminster Parliamentary Candidate for Thurrock Constituency in 2005.

Interests

Politics, international affairs, education, travelling, singing, music, sports and writing.