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Rob Roberts (politician)

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Rob Roberts
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Delyn
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byDavid Hanson
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1979-10-15) 15 October 1979 (age 45)
Flintshire, Wales
NationalityBritish
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Conservative (until 2021)
OccupationFormer Politician
ProfessionFormer financial planner
Websitewww.rjroberts.co.uk

Robert Joseph Roberts[1] (born 15 October 1979)[2][3] is a British former politician who was Member of Parliament for Delyn from 2019 to 2024. [4]

Elected as a member of the Conservative Party, Roberts had the whip removed in July 2020, following allegations of sexual misconduct, and served as an independent until 2024.

Roberts stood for the successor constituency of Clwyd East at the 2024 general election as an independent, but failed to win the seat and lost his deposit.

Early life and education

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Roberts grew up in Northop Hall, a large village near the town of Mold, Flintshire. He attended Ysgol Maes Garmon school in Mold and is a fluent Welsh speaker.[5] Prior to being elected to Parliament, Roberts was a financial planner, working in the industry since 2003.[6]

Parliamentary career

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Roberts defeated the incumbent Labour MP David Hanson at the 2019 general election. Since 2 March 2020, Roberts has been a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and the Procedure Committee.[7]

Sexual misconduct allegations

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On 21 July 2020, BBC Wales published text messages attributed to Roberts and sent to a female junior member of parliamentary staff in April 2020. The text messages to the staff member suggested that she "fool around with no strings". Roberts told her he "might be gay but I enjoy … fun times".[8] The text messages continued after the intern reported struggling with her mental health. Roberts apologised for his behaviour.[9]

Roberts was referred to Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) in 2020 over allegations of misconduct that resulted in one of the interns being transferred to a different department.[8][10][11] In April 2021 the Conservative Party announced that Roberts had been "strongly rebuked", but would not lose the whip. Roberts was instructed to undertake safeguarding and social media protection training.[9]

Roberts apologised after another incident when he sought to engage in an improper relationship with a member of his staff. Roberts reportedly asked a male parliamentary member of staff out to dinner, which the man said had made him feel uncomfortable.[9]

On 25 May 2021 the Independent Expert Panel, after considering the report from the ICGS, recommended that Roberts should be suspended from parliament for six weeks after it found he breached Parliament's sexual misconduct policy. He subsequently lost the Conservative whip[12] and had his membership of the Conservative Party suspended.[13] His six-week parliamentary suspension was confirmed on 27 May, and subsequently Jacob Rees-Mogg and Keir Starmer both called for his resignation.[14] Not long afterwards, the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, called for Roberts to resign his seat.[15]

After his parliamentary suspension expired, Roberts returned to the Commons in July 2021, amid criticism from both Labour and Conservative sources.[16] He was readmitted to the Conservative Party as a member in October 2021, but was denied membership of the Parliamentary Party and was required to sit as an independent until the end of his term.[17]

2024 general election

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He contested and lost the 2024 United Kingdom general election as an Independent candidate in the new constituency of Clwyd East, coming last with 599 votes.[18]

Personal life

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Roberts announced via a number of Tweets in May 2020 that he is gay.[19][20] According to The Independent, he has separated from his wife Alexandra[21] and re-married in December 2023.

Electoral history

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General election 2024: Clwyd East[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Becky Gittins 18,484 38.7 N/A
Conservative James Davies 13,862 29 N/A
Reform UK Kirsty Walmsley 7,626 15.9 N/A
Plaid Cymru Paul Penlington 3,733 7.8 N/A
Liberal Democrats Alec Dauncey 1,859 3.9 N/A
Green Lee Lavery 1,659 3.5 N/A
Independent Rob Roberts 599 1.3 N/A
Majority 4,622 9.7 N/A
Turnout 47,822 62.4 N/A
Registered electors 76,150
Labour win (new seat)
General election 2019: Delyn[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rob Roberts 16,756 43.7 +2.6
Labour David Hanson 15,891 41.4 −10.8
Liberal Democrats Andrew Parkhurst 2,346 6.1 +3.5
Brexit Party Nigel Williams 1,971 5.1 +5.1
Plaid Cymru Paul Rowlinson 1,406 3.7 −0.1
Rejected ballots 105
Majority 865 2.3 N/A
Turnout 38,370 70.3 −2.5
Registered electors 54,552
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +6.7%

Of the 105 rejected ballots:

  • 87 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[23]
  • 18 voted for more than one candidate.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ^ Reporter, George Grylls, Political. "Tory MP Rob Roberts won't face recall for harassing intern". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 May 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Delyn parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ^ "About Rob Roberts". www.rjroberts.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Meet The Team". chesterpartnership.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Parliamentary career for Rob Roberts – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Delyn MP Rob Roberts invited intern to 'fool around' with him". BBC News. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Tory MP who asked intern to 'fool around' will not lose party whip". The Guardian. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Delyn MP Rob Roberts "facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour" according to the BBC". Deeside.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Tory MP accused of inviting intern, 21, to 'fool around' with him". Evening Standard. 21 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Conservative MP Rob Roberts told staffer to be 'less alluring'". BBC News. 25 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Rob Roberts MP suspended from Conservative Party". BBC News. 8 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Rob Roberts: Starmer says voters want to 'see the back' of MP over sexual misconduct'". BBC News. 28 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Rob Roberts: Second UK minister calls on MP to resign". BBC News. 3 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Parliament: Sexual harassment MP Rob Roberts returns to the Commons". BBC News. 14 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Conservative party readmits MP who sexually harassed staff member". the Guardian. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Rob Roberts: Former Tory MP to run as independent candidate". BBC News. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Conservative MP Rob Roberts Comes Out". My G Work. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Conservative MP Rob Roberts comes out and calls for more global LGBTQ acceptance". Gay Times. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. ^ Drury, Colin (27 May 2020). "Police called to break up 'lockdown party' at Conservative MP's house". The Independent. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll – UK Parliamentary Election for the Clwyd East Constituency" (PDF). Flintshire County Council. 7 June 2024.
  23. ^ a b c "Search Results" (PDF). flintshire.gov.uk. Flintshire County Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  24. ^ "Delyn parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Delyn
2019–2024 		Constituency abolished
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