John Baron (politician)
| John Baron MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Basildon and Billericay Billericay (2001–2010) |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 June 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Teresa Gorman |
| Majority | 12,398 (29.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 June 1959 Redhill, Surrey, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Jesus College, Cambridge |
John Charles Baron (born 21 June 1959) is a British Conservative politician and the Member of Parliament for Basildon and Billericay.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Baron was born in Redhill, Surrey and educated at Queen's College, Taunton, Jesus College, Cambridge and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He joined the British Army in 1984 and was a captain serving with The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Germany. He left the Army in 1987 and became a merchant banker, working as a fund manager then director of Henderson Private Investors Ltd (now Henderson Global Investors) and Rothschild Asset Management.
[edit] Parliamentary career
In 1995 John Baron became the treasurer of the Streatham Conservative Association. In 1997 David Amess decided not to risk standing again in his ultra marginal Conservative seat of Basildon and was successfully selected and subsequently elected for the safer seat of Southend West. Baron won the Conservative nomination to defend Basildon at the 1997 General Election, but Amess's judgement proved accurate and Angela Smith won the seat for Labour comfortably.
In November 1999 Teresa Gorman announced that she stand down at the next general election from her seat in Billericay, the neighbouring constituency to Basildon.[1] Baron was selected to defend Billericay at the 2001 General Election and he held the seat with a majority of more than 5,000, which he doubled at the 2005 General Election. He made his maiden speech on 20 July 2001.[2]
John Baron was a member of Iain Duncan Smith's frontbench team, but resigned in March 2003 in protest at Duncan Smith's support of the Iraq War.[3] He was reappointed by Duncan Smith as a health spokesman just four months later,[4] a position he held until July 2007 when he was moved to the Conservative Whip's Office.
Baron was a strong backer of David Davis in the most recent Conservative leadership election, having also supported him in the 2001 leadership contest won by Iain Duncan Smith.[5] John Baron was the only Tory among just 15 MPs[6] who voted against British participation in the attack on Libya in the Commons on 21 March 2011.
[edit] Personal life
He is married with two daughters.
[edit] References
- ^ The Independent - Gorman to stand down at the next election
- ^ Hansard 20 July 2001 col 538
- ^ CNN Word - Blair wins vote for Iraq war
- ^ The Guardian - War rebels return in Tory reshuffle
- ^ BBC News - The Tory leadership contest - Form Guide: David Davis
- ^ BBC News - The full list of how MPs voted on Libya action
[edit] External links
- John Baron MP official website
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Teresa Gorman |
Member of Parliament for Billericay 2001–present |
Incumbent |
 |
This article about a Conservative Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- Royal Regiment of Fusiliers officers
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
- 1959 births
- Living people
- People educated at Queen's College, Taunton
- UK MPs 2010–
- Politics of Basildon
- Conservative MP (UK), 1950s birth stubs
