Gareth Johnson

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This article is about the British politician. For the Irish hurler, see Gareth Johnson (hurler).

Gareth Johnson
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts
In office
20 September 2022 – 27 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded bySarah Dines[a]
Succeeded byMike Freer[b]
Whip offices
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
9 February 2022 – 20 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byCraig Whittaker
Succeeded byTBC
Assistant Government Whip
In office
20 September 2021 – 9 February 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Succeeded bySarah Dines
In office
5 November 2018 – 14 January 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byJeremy Quin
Succeeded byAlister Jack
Member of Parliament
for Dartford
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byHoward Stoate
Majority19,160 (35.5%)
Personal details
Born (1969-10-12) 12 October 1969 (age 54)
Bromley, London, England[1]
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Wendy Morris
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2
ResidenceHartley, Kent
Alma materThe College of Law[1]
ProfessionSolicitor
Websitewww.garethjohnsonmp.co.uk

Gareth Alan Johnson (born 12 October 1969)[2][3] is a British politician and former lawyer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts from September to October 2022.[4][5] A member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from February to September 2022 and Assistant Government Whip from 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.[6] Johnson was first elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford, winning the seat from Labour. He has been supportive of Leave Means Leave, a Eurosceptic pressure group. [7]

Early life and career

Johnson was born in Bromley on 12 October 1969, the son of a milkman. He attended Dartford Grammar School.[8] Before entering politics, Johnson worked in the Magistrates Court Service and as a solicitor in Dartford. He served for a time on the Board of Governors of Dartford Grammar School for Girls.

Political career

In local elections Johnson stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Danson ward of the London Borough of Bexley in 1994, before being elected in the Christchurch ward in 1998. He served one term of four years and did not stand for re-election in 2002.[9] He served as Constituency chairman for the Conservative Party in Bexley.[10]

In the 2001 general election Johnson unsuccessfully stood in the Labour-held seat of Lewisham West in London; the Conservative Party suffered a swing of 0.6% against it. He was unsuccessful again when he stood in Dartford at the 2005 general election, but this time achieved a swing in his favour of 0.5%. However, standing again in Dartford at the 2010 general election, Johnson was elected as Member of Parliament (MP), winning the seat from Labour with a 10,628 majority.

In the 2014 reshuffle he became PPS to David Gauke, newly promoted Financial Secretary to the Treasury.[11]

In the 2015 general election, Johnson retained his seat and increased his majority to 12,345.[12] Following the election, he was made PPS to Matt Hancock, Paymaster General of the Cabinet Office.[13]

Johnson is listed as being the chair of the

APPG.[16] Johnson has also previously been a member of both the Child and Youth Crime APPG[17] and the BBC APPG.[18]
In January 2016, Johnson led a Westminster Hall debate on congestion at the Dartford Crossing.[19][20]

Johnson has previously served on the

Science and Technology Select Committee.[21][13] Since the 27 June 2017, he has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.[22]

He was re-elected at the 2017 general election, with an increased majority of 13,186.

He was appointed Assistant Government Whip in November 2018, resigning on 14 January 2019 in disagreement with Prime Minister Theresa May's policy for Britain leaving the European Union.[23]

Johnson was re-elected at the 2019 General Election, with an increased majority of 19,160.

Following this, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

He was appointed Assistant Government Whip in the September 2021 cabinet reshuffle. On 9 February 2022, he was appointed Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, succeeding Craig Whittaker.[24][25]

He endorsed Liz Truss in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[26]

On 20 September 2022, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in the Ministry of Justice by Prime Minister Liz Truss.[4]

He endorsed Boris Johnson in the October 2022 Conservative Party Leadership Election, but he did not end up standing.[27]

On 27 October, he was dismissed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.[6]

In March 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Gareth Johnson as his Trade Envoy to the United Arab Emirates. This is the first time the UK has appointed a Trade Envoy for this country.[28]

Personal life

Johnson lives in the village of Hartley with his wife Wendy[29] and their two children.

Johnson employs his wife as a part-time Parliamentary Assistant on a salary up to £25,000.[30] He was listed in a 2015 article in The Daily Telegraph criticising the practice of MPs employing family members, on the lines that it promotes nepotism.[31] Although MPs who were first elected in 2017 have been banned from employing family members, the restriction is not retrospective – meaning that Johnson's employment of his wife is lawful.[32]

Notes

  1. ^ As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice.
  2. ^ As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services.

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.251404
    .
  2. ^ "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. p. 8736.
  3. ^ "Gareth Johnson MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Gareth Johnson MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Co-Chairmen - Political Advisory Board - Supporters". Leave Means Leave. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. ^ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Diary of a PPC: Gareth Johnson (Dartford)". conservativehome.blogs.com. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Bexley Council Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Former Association Chairman returns as Dartford MP | Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservatives". Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Reshuffle (continued): The full list of every PPS". Conservativehome.com. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Dartford parliamentary constituency – Election 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  13. ^ a b "About Gareth - Gareth Johnson - Member of Parliament". www.garethjohnsondartford.co.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  14. ^ The Committee Office, House of Commons (23 December 2015). "Register Of All-Party Groups" (PDF). UK Parliament.
  15. ^ http://www.parliament.uk/documents/pcfs/all-party-groups/app-register-30-march-2015.pdf p.509
  16. ^ http://www.parliament.uk/documents/pcfs/all-party-groups/app-register-30-march-2015.pdf p.535
  17. ^ http://www.parliament.uk/documents/pcfs/all-party-groups/app-register-30-march-2015.pdf p.215
  18. ^ https://meagenda.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/appg-register-at-july-2010.pdf p.120
  19. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 13 Jan 2016 (pt 0002)". www.publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Parliamentlive.tv". parliamentlive.tv. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Gareth Johnson MP appointed to Science and Technology Select Committee - Gareth Johnson - Member of Parliament". www.garethjohnsondartford.co.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Gareth Johnson MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  23. ^ Sparrow, Andrew; Sabbagh, Dan (14 January 2019). "Brexit: Tory whip Gareth Johnson resigns because he can't support May's deal – Politics live". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Latest civil service & public affairs moves – February 14". Civil Service World. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Government Whip (Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Liz Truss backed as next Tory leader by 11 government whips in latest blow for rival Rishi Sunak". Sky News. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  27. ^ "Tory leadership live: Rishi Sunak passes threshold of 100 supporters as Kemi Badenoch gives her backing – as it happened | Politics | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Prime Minister's Trade Envoys". Gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  29. ^ "House of Commons – The Register of Members' Financial Interests – Part 2: Part 2". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  30. ^ "IPSA". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  31. ^ "One in five MPs employs a family member: the full list revealed". The Daily Telegraph. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  32. ^ "MPs banned from employing spouses after election in expenses crackdown". London Evening Standard. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.

External links

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dartford
2010–present 		Incumbent
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