Mr Pickles, who has been MP for Brentwood and Ongar since 1992, served as the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2010 to 2015. He was moved on from DCLG in the reshuffle that followed the Conservative Party’s election win this month (see letsrecycle.com story).
The government has announced that the former minister is to take up a new role as ‘anti-corruption tsar’ over the course of the next Parliament.
Prior to entering Parliament, Mr Pickles had a long career in local government: he was elected to Bradford council in 1979 and was leader of the council from 1988 to 1990.
Announcing the knighthood in a statement today, the Prime Minister’s office said: “The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Knighthood be conferred upon the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP.”
As Communities Secretary Mr Pickles gained notoriety amongst local authority officers for his impassioned support of weekly waste collections, and launched a £250 million fund in a bid to encourage councils to keep or re-instate collections on a weekly basis.
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