Paul Edward Winston White, Baron Hanningfield, DL (16 September 1940 – 20 October 2024), was a British politician and farmer.
He was a member of Essex County Council from 1970 and 2011, and served in frontbench roles in the House of Lords after being nominated for a life peerage in 1998.
In the parliamentary expenses scandal, Hanningfield was convicted of false accounting in 2011, sentenced to nine months' imprisonment and expelled from the Conservative Party.
[1][7] In 2001, he co-founded and became the chairman of Localis, a local-government think tank that aimed to "challenge the growing powers of national government and unaccountable quangos".
[6][8] In 1998, White was nominated for a life peerage by Conservative leader William Hague in recognition of his work in local government.
[10] As council leader, he set up a scheme to reopen closed Post Office branches, and announced plans for a "Bank of Essex" in partnership with Santander that would help local firms get finance during the Great Recession.
[17] In February 2010, Hanningfield was charged with false accounting, under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968, in connection with claims for overnight accommodation from parliamentary authorities.
[10] On 27 May, Hanningfield, along with MPs Jim Devine, Elliot Morley and David Chaytor, appeared at Southwark Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.
[25] Hanningfield and Lord Taylor of Warwick, a fellow former Conservative peer, were released from prison on home detention curfew in September 2011, after having served a quarter of their sentences.
[35] In September 2012, Hanningfield was ordered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to repay a further £37,158.50, covering a six-year period of expenses, or face 15 months' imprisonment.
[39] An investigation by the House of Lords commissioner for standards found that he did not undertake parliamentary work on those days and had "failed to act on his personal honour" by wrongly claiming expenses, and a report of the Committee for Privileges and Conduct recommended that he repay the £3,300 wrongly claimed and be suspended from the House of Lords until the end of the Parliament (the maximum sanction available).