Leo Docherty
Leo Docherty Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans | |
---|---|
In office 21 April 2021 – 7 July 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | Johnny Mercer |
Succeeded by | Johnny Mercer |
Assistant Government Whip | |
In office 29 July 2019 – 21 April 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Member of Parliament for Aldershot | |
Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
Preceded by | Sir Gerald Howarth |
Majority | 16,698 (34.8%) |
Personal details | |
Born | War in Afghanistan | 4 October 1976
Leo Docherty (born 4 October 1976) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for the Armed Forces since 26 March 2024.[3] A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldershot since 2017.[4] Prior to being elected as an MP he served in the Scots Guards, before working in publishing and for the Conservative Party. He is the author of Desert of Death (2007).
Docherty served as
Early life and career
Leo Docherty was born in
After leaving the army, he wrote about his first-hand account of the war in Afghanistan in his book Desert of Death, which was published by Faber in 2007. Living in Didcot in Oxfordshire, he created and worked as editor and publisher of Steppe magazine - a now defunct publication that covered the arts, culture, history, landscape and people of Central Asia.[11] He was appointed Director of the Conservative Middle East Council in 2010, a role in which he served until being elected as an MP.
Docherty stood successfully as the Conservative candidate in the Hagbourne ward of
Parliamentary career
Docherty unsuccessfully applied to be the Conservative Party candidate for the Labour Party held Oxford East constituency in 2014.[14] He was instead chosen to contest the safe Labour Party held seat of Caerphilly in the 2015 general election, where he came third.
In 2017, he was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for Aldershot, after the incumbent Conservative MP Gerald Howarth announced he was standing down at the next general election. The Financial Times called his selection "the highest-profile tussle over a candidate choice, [in which] the party leadership rejected a request from activists in Aldershot to be allowed to consider Daniel Hannan, the prominent Eurosceptic MEP, for the safe Tory seat".[15][16] He was duly elected at the 2017 general election.
In the House of Commons he sits on the Defence Committee and Committees on Arms Export Controls (formerly Quadripartite Committee).[17]
He backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.[18] On 29 July 2019, Johnson appointed Docherty as an Assistant Government Whip.
In September 2019, Leo's brother Paddy Docherty wrote an open letter to The Guardian urging him to resign, writing: "Now I am simply appalled that this government, of which you are sadly a part, has become the principal threat to the lives and liberties of the people. Please do the decent thing, and resign."[19]
On 21 April 2021 Docherty succeeded
On 26 March 2024, Docherty replaced James Heappey as Minister of State for the Armed Forces.[23] He was replaced as Minister of State for Europe by Nus Ghani.[24]
Gulf States
In the six months after being elected as an MP, Docherty registered four trips to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, costing over £15,000 and paid for by the Governments of the host countries.
Personal life
He is married to Lucy Docherty and they have two children.[30]
Campaign medals
Iraq Medal | ||
Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan |
|
Notes
Publications
- Desert of Death. A Soldier's Journey from Iraq to Afghanistan, Faber and Faber, London 2007, ISBN
978-0-571-23688-6
References
- ^ "Members' Names Data Platform query". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Leo Docherty MP". gov.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments: 26 March 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Leo Docherty selected as Parliamentary Candidate for Aldershot". Aldershotconservatives.com. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Europe) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Minister for Defence People - GOV.UK".
- ^ "About Leo". Faber. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Leo Docherty MP". Aldershot Conservatives. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ "Register of interests". South Oxfordshire Council. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "South Oxfordshire Council Election Results 1973-2011" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Election results for Wallingford". Oxfordshire County Council. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Former Bicester mayor chosen as Conservative candidate for Oxford East". Oxford Mail. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Tory central command keeps a tight leash on selections". Financial Times. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Exclusive: The third candidate shortlisted in Aldershot is Chris Brannigan". Conservative Home. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Leo Docherty". Parliament UK. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Docherty, Leo [@LeoDochertyUK] (3 July 2019). "It's time to #BackBoris - to deliver Brexit on 31st Oct, unite and inspire our great country and defeat Corbyn @BackBoris" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 July 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Docherty, Paddy (3 September 2019). "An open letter to my brother the Tory MP: resign from this rogue government". The Guardian.
- ^ Mendick, Robert; Fisher, Lucy (20 April 2021). "Johnny Mercer sacked by text message after row over Northern Ireland veterans". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "Minister for Defence People - GOV.UK".
- ^ Eve, Carl (7 July 2022). "Plymouth MP dismissed as minister is now back in the cabinet". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ McDaid, Lucy (26 March 2024). "Outgoing Wells MP James Heappey quits as Armed Forces Minister". ITV News. Political Correspondent, ITV News West Country.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments: 26 March 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Leo Docherty". theyworkforyou.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Britain invokes spy clause to cover up payments to Bahrain". The Times. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Why is the Conservative Party ignoring Palestine?". Middle East Eye. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "The Gulf business tycoons backing the Conservative Middle East Council". Middle East Monitor. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "MPs sign up for £2m of free overseas trips". BBC News. 18 October 2018.
- ^ "About Leo". Personal website. Retrieved 3 October 2018.