Stewart Jackson

For the Scottish Yachtsman, see Stuart Jackson (Yachtsman).

Stewart Jackson MP
Member of Parliament for Peterborough
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Helen Clark
Majority	4,861 (10.8%)
Personal details
Born	January 31, 1965 (1965-01-31) Woolwich, London, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Sarah O'Grady
Alma mater	Royal Holloway, University of London; Thames Valley University
Website	Official website

Stewart James Jackson (born 31 January 1965) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough.

Early life

Jackson was born in Woolwich and brought up in South East London. He attended the London Nautical School in Lambeth, and Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, Kent. He studied at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he was awarded a BA (Hons) degree in Economics & Public Administration in 1988. He also earned an MA in Human Resource Management from Thames Valley University in 2001, and is a Graduate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Before joining Business Link, Jackson worked for Lloyds Bank for nine years, and ran his own branch as a Branch Manager in London's West End, as well as being a small business manager. He was a Board Member and Trustee of the London City YMCA for five years.

Prior to being elected, Jackson was a Business Services Manager with Business Link in London.

Political career

Jackson served on Ealing Borough Council in West London from 1990 to 1998, during which time he was Conservative Party spokesman on planning and housing, on which he served until his election to the House of Commons for Peterborough. Jackson is widely regarded by colleagues^{[citation needed]} of all parties to be an expert on local government, particularly on issues surrounding planning, urban regeneration and urban renewal. He is Vice President of the Local Government Association. He also sits on the Board of Management of the local government think tank the New Local Government Network.

Jackson unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Brent South at the 1997 general election. He was then selected as the Conservative candidate for the Peterborough seat in October 2000, and fought the 2001 general election, where he reduced the Labour Party's majority in the constituency from 7323 votes to 2854 votes, but lost to the incumbent Labour MP Helen Brinton. Jackson was re-adopted as the Conservative candidate for Peterborough in August 2002, and defeated Brinton at the 2005 general election to become the MP. He was re-elected at the 2010 general election.

In the House of Commons, Jackson was a member of the Regulatory Reform Select Committee and from 11 December 2006, the Health Select Committee leaving it in July 2007 when he became an Opposition Whip. He was Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pakistan from 2007–2010. In January 2008, he became Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, with responsibility for the fire service, flooding, housing renewal areas and the Thames Gateway. He was unanimously readopted as the Conservative candidate for the Peterborough constituency by the Executive Council of the Peterborough Conservative Association in July 2007.

In the General Election held on 6 May 2010, Stewart Jackson increased his majority to 4,861 votes over the Labour candidate, Ed Murphy and was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in June 2010, a position he resigned from on 24 October 2011, after he voted against a three-line whip on an EU referendum.

Parliamentary expenses

In May 2009, Jackson's Parliamentary expenses were scrutinised in the expenses scandal. Articles in the Daily Telegraph reported that Jackson had claimed more than £66,000 in three financial years for housing costs in his constituency: on 11 May 2009 the newspaper reported that he had claimed £11,000 in professional, legal and mortgage fees on buying a new constituency home. However, Jackson explained that there were legitimate 'one-off costs' relating to the purchasing of a home base in the constituency after his election as an MP, and until the house was purchased, he, his wife and infant daughter were renting one bedroomed accommodation in the constituency. On 12 May 2009, both BBC Newsnight, and a second article published by The Daily Telegraph reported that Jackson had claimed £55,000 on housing costs for the constituency house, bringing the total sum to over £66,000. When asked about how MPs should be housed in their constituencies, Jackson was quoted in the Daily Telegraph as saying that any ban on the second home allowance would be "draconian and unfair". David Cameron, leader of Jackson’s Conservative Party, declared himself appalled at the raft of revelations made by the Telegraph relating to claims submitted by his parliamentary party colleagues, and stated that disciplinary action could be taken against those who had acted illegally or outside of the rules. However, no action was taken against Jackson by either his party or Parliamentary authorities, who deemed his expense claims to be legal and within the rules.

Twitter controversy

In August 2010 Jackson came under scrutiny for his conduct on Twitter, when he responded to newly published data on Sexually Transmitted Infections.

The BBC and The Guardian commented on the controversy his series of tweets caused and Jackson later told the Peterborough Evening Telegraph that his tweets were "directed only at people who had sent him abusive messages".

Personal life

In July 1999, Jackson married Sarah O'Grady, a journalist with the Daily Express, at the College Chapel at Royal Holloway in Egham, Surrey. As a result, Jackson has regularly been interviewed for stories that have appeared in the Daily Express, or has written articles for the paper himself, normally commenting on immigration issues. The couple have one daughter (born 2005), and split their time between living in London and Peterborough.

External links

• Stewart Jackson MP official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Stewart Jackson MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Stewart Jackson MP

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Helen Clark	Member of Parliament for Peterborough 2005–present	Incumbent