Luke Hall (politician)
Luke Anthony Hall[1] (born 8 July 1986) is a British Conservative politician and former retail manager who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Thornbury and Yate from 2015[2] until May 2024. He served as Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government from 2020 to 2021, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from February to July 2022 and from 2023 to 2024, and Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education from March to July 2024.
Early life and career
[edit]Luke Hall was born on 8 July 1986 in Westerleigh, Gloucestershire, and grew up in South Gloucestershire. He worked for the supermarket chain Lidl from the age of 18 and became manager of their Yate store, before going on to become Area Manager for Farmfoods.[3]
Hall became an active member of the Conservative Party aged 23 and went on to become Constituency Chairman for the party in South Gloucestershire and Deputy Chairman of the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Conservatives.[4]
Parliamentary career
[edit]Hall was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Thornbury and Yate in December 2013.[5] At the 2015 general election, Hall was elected to Parliament as MP for Thornbury and Yate with 41% of the vote and a majority of 1,495.[6][7]
In May 2016, it emerged that Hall was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 party spending investigation, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses.[8] However, in May 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service said that while there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns, it did not "meet the test" for further action.[9]
Hall was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[10] Since the result was announced, Hall has continued to support the official position of his party and now advocates leaving the European Union.[11]
At the snap 2017 general election, Hall was re-elected as MP for Thornbury and Yate with an increased vote share of 55.3% and an increased majority of 12,071.[6] After the election, he was made a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the ministerial team in the Department for Education.[12]
In July 2019, Hall joined the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.[13]
Hall was again re-elected at the 2019 general election with an increased vote share of 57.8% and an increased majority of 12,369.[14]
In April 2020, he was appointed to focus on rough sleeping and housing.[15] In June 2020, Hall proposed to reduce homelessness during the coronavirus pandemic by calling on local councils to encourage rough sleepers to "move in with family and friends".[16] His portfolio changed to the Minister of State focusing on regional growth and local government at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he replaced Simon Clarke in September 2020.[17]
On 16 September 2021, Hall left the government during the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry and returned to the backbenches.[18]
In February 2022, he was appointed Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party by Johnson.[19] On 7 July 2022, Hall resigned from this position, after over 50 other resignations during the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.[20] In February 2023, he was re-appointed Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party by Rishi Sunak.
In March 2024, he was appointed to replace Robert Halfon as Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education.[21]
Personal life
[edit]Hall lives with his wife in Horton, and in London.[22][23]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Local Government from 2019 to April 2020.
References
[edit]- ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9125.
- ^ "Thornbury & Yate parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Election results Thornbury and Yate: Steve Webb loses to Tory Luke Hall". Western Daily Press. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ "About Luke". Personal website. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "From Lidl to Westminster - former supermarket worker makes a bid for parliament". Gazette. 19 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Thornbury & Yate parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Expenses Exposed". Channel 4 News. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "No charges over 2015 Conservative battle bus cases". BBC News. BBC. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "'You've got the wrong girl!' Bristol MP is 'flabbergasted' at appearing on 'hard Brexit' election hit list". Bristol Post. 26 April 2017.
- ^ "They Work For You". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and John Penrose are vying against each other to become the Treasury select committee chair". Bristol Post. 29 June 2017.
- ^ "Luke Hall MP".
- ^ "Parliamentary general election - 12 December 2019". South Gloucestershire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ Hill, Jessica (16 April 2020). "Clarke officially takes on local government role from Hall". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Encourage rough sleepers to move in with family and friends, government tells councils". insidehousing.co.uk. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "New local government minister: CCN responds". County Councils Network. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Ministerial appointments: September 2021". 16 September 2021.
- ^ https://twitter.com/LukeHall/status/1491095367764836357 [bare URL]
- ^ Mabe, Huw (7 July 2022). "Luke Hall resigns with Boris Johnson set to follow". Gazette. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Luke Hall named education minister after Halfon resignation". Times Higher Education (THE). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Everything you need to know about Luke Hall - Conservative MP for Thornbury and Yate". Bristol Post. 17 May 2017.
- ^ "IPSA record". IPSA. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
External links
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