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Gareth Bacon

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Gareth Bacon
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 November 2024
LeaderKemi Badenoch
Preceded byHelen Whately
Shadow Minister for London
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 July 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Shadow Minister for Justice
In office
19 July 2024 – 5 November 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing
In office
13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byEdward Argar
Succeeded byNic Dakin
Member of Parliament
for Orpington
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJo Johnson
Majority5,118 (11.1%)
Leader of the Conservative Party
in the London Assembly
In office
October 2015 – 17 December 2019
Preceded byAndrew Boff
Succeeded bySusan Hall
Member of the London Assembly
for Bexley and Bromley
In office
5 May 2016 – 6 May 2021
Preceded byJames Cleverly
Succeeded byPeter Fortune
Member of the London Assembly
as the 7th Additional Member
11th Additional Member (2008–2012)
In office
1 May 2008 – 5 May 2016
Preceded byPeter Hulme-Cross
Succeeded byKemi Badenoch
Councillor for Bexley London Borough Council
In office
8 May 1998 – 15 March 2021
WardSidcup West (1998–2002)
Longlands (2002–2021)
Personal details
Born (1972-04-07) 7 April 1972 (age 52)
British Hong Kong
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
SpouseCheryl Cooley
Alma materUniversity of Kent
WebsiteOfficial website

Gareth Andrew Bacon (born 7 April 1972) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington since 2019.[1] He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing from November 2023 to July 2024.[1][2] He has been Shadow Minister for London since July 2024 and Shadow Transport Secretary since November 2024.[3]

A member of the Conservative Party, he was a member of the London Assembly from 2008 until he stood down in 2021 after his election as an MP.[1][4]

Early life and career

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Bacon was born in Hong Kong in 1972, the son of Robert and Helen Bacon.[1] He studied at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's School in Sidcup, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Politics and Government in 1996. This was followed by a Master of Arts degree in European Studies in 1997. He worked as head of the public sector division of Martin Ward Anderson from 2004 to 2012.[1][5]

Political career

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Bacon joined the Conservative Party in 1987. Prior to his election as the Member of Parliament for Orpington, he had a long career in local government, serving as a London Assembly Member since 2008 and as a local councillor since 1998.

Following his election as a Member of Parliament in 2019, Bacon announced that he would stand down from Bexley Council and the London Assembly ahead of the upcoming local elections.[6] Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the English local elections were postponed for a year.[7]

Member of the London Assembly

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Bacon stood for Greenwich and Lewisham on the Greater London Authority in 2004, but was unsuccessful.[1] In the 2008 London Assembly election, he was elected as the third Conservative London-wide Assembly Member.[8]

In 2012, Bacon, who was ranked second on the Conservative Party top-up list, went on to be re-elected to the London Assembly.[9] In June 2010, Bacon was appointed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to serve on the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority. He became chairman of the authority in 2015, and held this position until the following year, remaining a member of the authority until 2018.[1]

In September 2015, Bacon was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the London Assembly constituency of Bexley and Bromley. At the following election, he was duly elected to the London Assembly with 87,460 votes (46.1%) and a majority of 41,699.[10] He succeeded James Cleverly, who had been elected to Parliament at the 2015 general election. In October 2015, Bacon succeeded Andrew Boff as the Leader of the GLA Conservative Group at City Hall, a position he held until 2019.

In the London Assembly, Bacon was Chairman of the Assembly Budget and Performance Committee (from 2016 onwards), Chairman of the Budget Monitoring Subcommittee and vice-chairman of the Oversight Committee.[11][1]

Bexley Council

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Bacon was a long-standing councillor on Bexley Council, representing Sidcup West from 1998 to 2002, and then Longlands ward, centred on the area of the same name, from 2002 to 2021.[12][13][14][15] He was Deputy Mayor of the borough from 2001 to 2002.[1]

After the Conservatives won control of Bexley Council in 2006, Bacon served as the Cabinet Member for the Environment from 2006 to 2014.[1] In 2012, his portfolio was widened to include the Public Realm.[citation needed]

Bacon was elected Deputy Leader of Bexley Council in 2014, a position he left in January 2015 after his appointment to the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.[1]

Bacon stood down from Bexley Council on 15 March 2021.[16]

Member of Parliament

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On 8 November 2019, Bacon was selected by Orpington Conservatives to be their candidate for the upcoming general election, after incumbent Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, chose not to seek re-election.

On 12 December 2019, Bacon was elected as the Member of Parliament for Orpington. Despite a fall in his numerical vote share, Bacon was elected with the highest Conservative vote share in the seat since 1955, winning the seat with 30,882 votes, a majority of 22,378.

Bacon made his maiden speech in Parliament on 5 February 2020.[17] He became a member of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on 2 March 2020.[18]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Bacon was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph in November 2020 from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[19]

Bacon was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Department for Work and Pensions in September 2021. On 15 March 2022, he was appointed as PPS to the Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, within the Cabinet Office. [citation needed] On 7 July 2022, he was appointed as PPS to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Kit Malthouse. Following the reshuffle after Liz Truss's election as Leader of the Conservative Party, he was appointed as PPS to the new Secretary of State for Justice Brandon Lewis on 26 September 2022.[citation needed]

On 13 November 2023, Bacon was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.[1][2]

Personal life

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In 2004, he married Cheryl Cooley, a fellow Conservative councillor in Bexley. She also works for Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative MP for Saffron Walden. Bacon and his wife have a daughter.[20] He is a former rugby player, a current squash player and a season ticket holder at Manchester United Football Club.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Bacon, Gareth Andrew, (born 7 April 1972), MP (C) Orpington, since 2019; Member (C) Bexley and Bromley, London Assembly, Greater London Authority, since 2016 (London-wide, 2008–16)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u246974. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Ministerial Page, Ministry of Justice". 13 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Who has been appointed to Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  4. ^ Mathewson, Jessie (17 December 2019). "New London MPs will step down from City Hall roles in May". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  5. ^ [BACON, Gareth Andrew]', Who's Who 2009, A & C Black, 2008 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. December 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  6. ^ Leeming, Lachlan (8 January 2020). "Orpington MP Gareth Bacon to step down from Bexley council role ahead of May election". News Shopper. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Coronavirus: English local elections postponed for a year". BBC News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Election 2008 | London Assembly Election 2008". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Vote 2012 - London Assembly Results". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Bexley & Bromley 2016 election results". londonelects.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Gareth Bacon". london.gov.uk. London City Hall. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Longlands Ward". andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Longlands Ward By-election". bexley.gov.uk. London Borough of Bexley. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Councillor details - Councillor Gareth Bacon". democracy.bexley.gov.uk. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. ^ Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (1998). London Borough Council elections 7 May 1998 : including the Greater London Authority referendum results (PDF). Dennis Grenham, London Research Centre. Demographic and Statistical Studies Department. London: London Research Centre. Demographic and Statistical Studies. ISBN 1-85261-276-2. OCLC 40179592.
  16. ^ "Councillor details - Councillor Gareth Bacon". democracy.bexley.gov.uk. 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  17. ^ Bacon, Gareth (5 February 2020). "WATCH Orpington's new MP Gareth Bacon deliver his maiden speech in Parliament". Gareth Bacon. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Parliamentary career for Gareth Bacon - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Britain's heroes". Letter to the Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ^ "Register of interests for Councillor Cheryl Bacon". democracy.bexley.gov.uk. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
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