as a substitute member of the Committee on Fisheries. During his time as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, it was reported that David Miliband, at the time the secretary of state for environment, food, and rural affairs, had described Neil Parish as a "Rottweiler" for his dogged persistence. In early 2007, Parish was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Tiverton and Honiton. The seat was held by the Conservative Angela Browning who had announced in November 2006 she would not stand again. Parish did not stand for re-election in the 2009 European Parliament election. Member of Parliament Parish was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton on 6 May 2010. The Conservative vote increased by 3.6 per cent, with Parish attracting 27,614 votes – 50.3 per cent of the overall votes cast. He won with a majority of 9,320 votes. In June 2010, Parish was elected to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. The committee is elected by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its associated public bodies including the Environment Agency and Natural England. Parish was elected by Conservative backbenchers as chairman of the 1922 Committee environment policy committee in July 2010. The committee plays a role in policy formation and as a channel of communication between backbenchers and ministers. From 2010 to 2015, Parish was chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare. Parish was one of 79 Conservative MPs who, on 24 October 2011, rebelled against a three-line whip by voting for a referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union. In July 2012, Parish relaunched and was elected the chairman of both the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Beef and Lamb and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pig and Poultry, which ensure that parliamentarians are briefed by industry experts on the latest developments in the industry, including supply chains, exports, sustainability, health and nutrition. On 22 July 2014, Parish was appointed the parliamentary private secretary to John Hayes, Minister of State for Transport, who also acted as a senior advisor to the prime minister. Parish opposes, and voted against the implementation of same-sex marriage, stating that he felt the issue was "for the Church and Christians to decide [upon], not for parliament to legislate." In 2014, Parish voted