Gavin Barwell
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
---|---|
Assumed office 7 October 2019 Life Peerage | |
Member of Parliament for Croydon Central | |
In office 6 May 2010 – 3 May 2017 | |
Preceded by | Andrew Pelling |
Succeeded by | Sarah Jones |
Personal details | |
Born | Cuckfield, England | 23 January 1972
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Karen McKenzie |
Children | 3 sons |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Gavin Laurence Barwell, Baron Barwell
Barwell worked for the
He served as Minister of State for Housing and Planning in the First May ministry.
Barwell was sworn into the
Early life and career
Gavin Laurence Barwell was born in January 1972 in
Party worker and councillor (1993–2010)
After graduating, Barwell was employed by the
He worked at the
He worked with Deputy Party Chairman
In May 1998, Barwell was elected to
Parliamentary career (2010–2017)
Backbencher
Barwell was chosen as the
Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill (2012–13)
On 14 June 2012, Barwell announced that, having come fourth in the
The Bill was introduced in June 2012 and passed its
Lillian's Law
Lillian's Law is a law-reform campaign named after Lillian Groves, a 14-year-old constituent of Barwell's who was killed outside her home in New Addington by a driver under the influence of drugs.[13] He was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment, reduced to four months by entering a plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity.[14]
Barwell successfully lobbied the Prime Minister, David Cameron to introduce legislation to make driving under the influence of drugs a similar offence to driving under the influence of alcohol.[13][15][16] Cameron met the Groves family and legislation was included in the 2012 Queen's Speech. The legislation created a new offence under the Crime and Courts Act 2013.[17]
PPS and junior minister
Barwell was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Greg Clark, Minister for Cities and Decentralisation. In September 2012, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education.[18] On 7 October 2013 the Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Barwell to the position of Assistant Government Whip.[16] On 15 July 2014, Cameron promoted Barwell to the position of Government Whip, Lord Commissioner.[19]
At the 2015 election, Barwell retained his seat with a majority of just 165.[20] Barwell's book, How to Win a Marginal Seat: My Year Fighting for my Political Life, was published in March 2016.[21][22] At the 2017 general election held just 15 months later, Barwell lost his marginal seat.
He was
Deletion of material from Wikipedia
In December 2014, the local paper The Croydon Advertiser called on Barwell to "stop launching campaigns" and "persistent attempts at headline-grabbing" saying "Gavin, we get it, there's an election on."[24]
The page on Wikipedia was one of a number edited ahead of the 2015 general election by computers inside parliament; an act which The Daily Telegraph said "appears to be a deliberate attempt to hide embarrassing information from the electorate".[25]
Allegations of electoral fraud
In May 2016, a member of the public complained to the
Barwell denied the claims, saying he followed 'proper process' when filing the election expenses.[26] Barwell was found in a separate investigation to be in breach of the Code of Conduct by Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.[28] However, the Police investigation concluded in October 2016 that there was no case to answer.[citation needed]
Fire safety at Grenfell
In the run up to the Grenfell disaster, Barwell was contacted seven times by the Fire Safety and Rescue All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), chaired by David Amess MP.[29] Their warnings of the potentially deadly consequences of Class 0 fire rated materials had gone largely unanswered, with the last letter being sent 26 days ahead of the tower fire.[30] At a similar time, a letter of concern about the use of these materials in residential buildings, particularly blocks of flats, was issued by the London Fire Brigade Commissioner, which had also gone unanswered.[31] In June 2021, Barwell was invited to give evidence at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry along with 4 other MPs.[32]
2017 defeat
In the snap general election of 2017, Barwell lost his seat to Labour's Sarah Jones[20] by 5,652 votes.[33] When he lost his seat he was awarded a "loss of office" (redundancy) grant of £8,802 in line with his age and length of parliamentary service. He returned the full amount to IPSA upon his appointment as Downing Street chief of staff.[34] In December 2018 it was announced that he would not be the Conservative candidate in the next election in Croydon Central.[35]
Downing Street Chief of staff (2017–2019)
On 10 June 2017, Theresa May appointed Barwell Downing Street Chief of Staff. Following the Grenfell Tower fire of 14 June 2017, he was criticised by The Independent for adding to delays in publishing a report into fire safety which followed the 2009 Lakanal House fire.[36] The day following the fire, he walked past journalists but refused to answer any questions.[37]
Following the departure of Theresa May as Prime Minister in July 2019, Barwell stepped down as Chief of Staff and was replaced by
In November 2020 Atlantic Books acquired the rights to Barwell's book, Chief of Staff: My Time as the Prime Minister's Right-Hand Man, that was published in September 2021.[39]
House of Lords
Barwell was nominated for a life peerage in Theresa May's Resignation Honours List in September 2019.[40][41] He was created Baron Barwell, of Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon, on 7 October 2019.[42]
Personal life
Barwell married Karen McKenzie in 2001. His wife, a speech and language therapist, previously worked at Applegarth School in New Addington. The couple have three sons.[2] He had cancer as a child.[43]
Honours
- He was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 14 June 2017 at Buckingham Palace.[44] This gave him the honorific title "The Right Honourable" and after Ennoblement the post nominal letters"PC" for life.
References
- ^ "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. p. 8736.
- ^ a b c d e f ‘BARWELL, Gavin Laurence’ Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013; online edition (subscription required)
- ^ "Is This Man Trying To Undermine Sadiq Khan?". Londonist. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Top 50 New MPs Archived 4 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Total Politics
- ^ Election 2010 – Croydon Central Archived 24 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 7 May 2010; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ Bill-by-bill: Guide to MPs' private members' bills Archived 6 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 25 June 2012; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ a b Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill 2012–13 Archived 3 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, UK Parliament, 28 February 2013; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ a b Deborah Orr Good to hear MPs talking about their mental health issues Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Guardian, 16 June 2012; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ a b c 'Discriminatory' ban on MPs with mental health issues to be axed Archived 7 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 14 September 2012; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ a b c Bill stages — Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill 2012–13 Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, UK Parliament; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ Clause 37 – drugs and driving Archived 12 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine TheyWorkForYou, 7 February 2013
- ^ Parliamentary Business, House of Lords, 28 February 2013 Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine UK Parliament
- ^ a b Davies, Gareth (13 April 2012). "Major step forward for a new drug-driving law". Croydon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "Lillian's family want names for drug-test petition". Croydon Advertiser. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "MP Barwell: 'Meeting David Cameron was a big step forward for campaign'". Croydon Advertiser. 2 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ a b Davies, Gareth (11 October 2013). "Gavin Barwell appointed whip in government reshuffle". Croydon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ Davies, Gareth (19 June 2013). "MP inspired by Lillian's Law proposes further drug-driving reforms". Croydon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell nets new job with Michael Gove Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Croydon Advertiser, 12 September 2012; Retrieved 28 December 2012
- ^ Gavin Barwell Archived 21 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, GOV.UK; Retrieved 21 August 2014
- ^ a b c Election latest: Defeated MP Gavin Barwell appointed Theresa May's new chief of staff Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Independent, 10 June 2017
- ^ "9781785900471". Lookup by ISBN. Retrieved 11 June 2017.[dead link]
- ^ Keith Simpson MP (22 April 2016). "Book review: How To Win A Marginal Seat". Total Politics. Dods Group. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Jane Dudman (19 July 2016). "A quick guide to new housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ "Tory MP is told to stop pestering his constituents". The Independent. 21 December 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ Riley-Smith, Ben (26 May 2015). "Expenses and sex scandal deleted from MPs' Wikipedia pages by computers inside Parliament". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ a b Davies, Gareth. "Croydon MP Gavin Barwell 'confident' in election expenses despite police complaint". Croydon Advertiser. Local World. Retrieved 16 May 2016.[dead link]
- ^ "The MP for creative accountancy?". Private Eye. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016 – via Internet Archive.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Gavin Barwell MP | Draft Report" (PDF). UK Parliament. 9 July 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "Fire Brigades Union statement on the death of Sir David Amess MP". Fire Brigades Union. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Special investigation – The lost lessons of Lakanal: how politicians missed the chance to stop Grenfell". Inside Housing. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Grenfell inquiry: fire chief warned ministers of high-rise faults before fire". The Guardian. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ insidecroydon (3 June 2021). "Barwell and four ex-ministers summoned to Grenfell inquiry". Inside Croydon. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Croydon Central parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ "Loss of Office Payments" (Excel). Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
£8,802 (Returned full amount to IPSA)
- ^ "Conservatives select parliamentary candidate for Croydon Central". Sutton & Croydon Guardian. Newsquest (London & Essex). 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Watts, Joe. "Gavin Barwell: Theresa May's new chief of staff faces questions over delayed tower block fire safety review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ Horton, Helena; Swinford, Steven (16 June 2017). "Gavin Barwell, Theresa May's new chief of staff, refuses to answer questions over role in fire safety review". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ Peter Walker (24 July 2019). "Dominic Cummings of Vote Leave named key Johnson adviser". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Atlantic to publish Chief of Staff, Gavin Barwell's account of his time as Theresa May's right hand man". Northbank Talent Management. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Boycott 'doesn't give a toss' about knighthood criticism". BBC News. 10 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ Rowena Mason; Rajeev Syal (10 September 2019). "Theresa May accused of cronyism over resignation honours list". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 62794". The London Gazette. 11 October 2019. p. 18260.
- ^ Gimson, Andrew (14 May 2015). "Interview: Gavin Barwell – the ultimate Tory proof of how incumbency can be made to work". ConservativeHome. Michael Ashcroft. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ Tilbrook, Richard (14 June 2017). "ORDERS APPROVED AND BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE QUEEN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 14TH JUNE 2017" (PDF). The Privy Council Office. Retrieved 1 October 2022.