BRENTWOOD MP Eric Pickles has been awarded a knighthood for his services to politics.

Sir Eric, who has stood as Conservative MP in the Brentwood and Ongar seat since 1992, has been recognised for his service as an MP and, before that as a Council Leader and councillor in local government in Yorkshire.

Speaking after his award, Sir Eric said: “I am delighted with the honour and look forward to what lies ahead for me.”

Sir Eric was re-elected earlier this month with a huge 58.8 percent of the vote share, with 30,534 votes.

Up until recently, he was a member of cabinet as the communities secretary, but was one of the most high profile casualties of David Cameron’s reshuffle following the Tory win.

In his role as secretary during the coalition government, Sir Eric brought in laws to protect the Green Belt, put local decisions in the hands of local people and introduced Florrie's Law which capped the charges a council can charge a leaseholder.

Sir Eric, who was born and brought up in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in a family whose political links were with Labour.

His great grandfather was one of the founders of the Independent Labour Party. As a teenager,he supported the Communist Party, until the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, when Sir Eric joined the local Conservative party, “as the most extreme form of protest I could think of”.

He became National Chairman of the Young Conservatives in 1980 and was a local councillor on Bradford Council, for which he was Leader from 1988-1990.

Since becoming a MP Sir Eric has held a number of posts involving transport, industry and the environment, but it is Local Government for which he is best known.

Having been Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in July 2007, he was appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party in the build up to the 2010 General Election.