Giles Francis Watling (born 18 February 1953)[1] is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton from 2017[4] until 2024.
[1] Watling has worked extensively in British theatre and on television, and is probably best known for his portrayal of the vicar Oswald in Carla Lane's series Bread.
[10] At the 2015 general election, Watling again contested Clacton as the Conservative candidate, coming second behind Douglas Carswell, who won 44.4% of the vote.
[16] Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Watling was among the signatories of a letter to The Daily Telegraph in November 2020 by the Common Sense Group of Conservative parliamentarians, which accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".
[17] Watling lost his seat in the 2024 general election to Reform UK candidate and leader Nigel Farage.