Stephen Parkinson, Baron Parkinson of Whitley Bay
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
---|---|
Assumed office 22 October 2019 Life peer | |
Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In office 13 July 2016 – 24 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | Laurence Mann |
Succeeded by | Danny Kruger |
Personal details | |
Born | Stephen Graeme Parkinson 30 June 1983 North Shields, England |
Political party | Conservative |
Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Stephen Parkinson, Baron Parkinson of Whitley Bay (born 30 June 1983)
Lord Parkinson was previously a
Education
Parkinson was born in
Conservative politics - in opposition (2004–10)
After graduating from Cambridge in 2004, Parkinson went to work on the Home Affairs desk at the
In 2006, Parkinson left the Conservative Research Department, to take up a post as Director of Research at the Conservative think-tank, the Centre for Policy Studies.[9] He remained there until late 2007, when he returned to Conservative Central Office, focussing on the party's target seats campaign.[10] He continued working at Central Office until the 2010 general election.
Lobbying career (2010-2012)
After the 2010 election, with the Conservative Party returned to government, Parkinson left Central Office to become a lobbyist with Quiller Consultants, remaining there for two years.[11]
2011 AV referendum campaign
During his time at Quiller, Parkinson also played a key role in the victorious NOtoAV campaign in the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, serving as the Conservative Party's National Organiser in the cross-party campaign.[12]
Government roles (2012-present)
Home Office Special Adviser
In 2012 Parkinson was appointed a
2016 EU Referendum campaign
In October 2015, Parkinson left his role as Special Adviser at the Home Office to become National Organiser of the ground operation for the successful Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[14][15]
Downing Street Special Adviser
In the aftermath of the June 2016 EU Referendum campaign, Theresa May became Prime Minister the following month, whereupon Parkinson rejoined her as a Special Adviser based in Downing Street, with the job title of Political Secretary to the Prime Minister.[16]
Parliamentary candidacies and selections (2010-2017)
First parliamentary candidature, 2010
At the 2010 general election, Parkinson stood as the Conservative candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne North, having been selected the previous year.[17] He came third, polling 7,966 votes (18.1%), although he managed to increase the Conservative vote by a third.
Attempts to stand in 2015, and temporary removal from the candidates' list
Parkinson had declared his interest in standing for a winnable
Selection contest for Saffron Walden, 2017
On 28 April 2017, with Prime Minister Theresa May having called a
Analysing the shortlist, former MP and
In the event, after a last-minute change in the final line-up on the shortlist of three, with Katherine Bennett being replaced by Laura Farris, the Saffron Walden Conservative Association selected Kemi Badenoch for the seat rather than Farris or Parkinson, with Badenoch winning on the first ballot.[25][26]
Parkinson could not stand for election to the House of Commons at the following general election in 2019, having been elevated to the House of Lords just prior to the
House of Lords (2019 to present)
He was nominated for a
Three weeks after being ennobled, Lord Parkinson joined the Gambling Industry Committee.[29][non-primary source needed] In his maiden speech in the Lords in January 2020, he opened by saying that he wished "to remind your Lordships of the large number of people who are concerned about the rapidly growing population and the contribution that net migration makes to that", before stressing "the sensible tradition of steering clear of contentious topics in one’s maiden speech" as a caveat ahead of his then criticising the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.[30][non-primary source needed]
In February 2020 Parkinson joined HM Government as a Lord-in-Waiting. In September 2021 he was promoted Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the
During an interview on
As a government minister, Parkinson has promoted the Online Safety Bill.[34]
Controversies
In March 2017, Channel 4 News reported that, according to a cache of leaked documents and emails, Parkinson was one of the Conservative Party's senior campaigns figures at the heart of the party election spending investigation relating to alleged over-spending during the 2015 general election campaign.[35]
In March 2018, Parkinson's ex-boyfriend Shahmir Sanni stated that he had directed the activities of pro-Brexit pressure group
See also
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Writings
Book
- Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union (Icon Books, London, 2009).
Articles
- "Ten Ways to Help NO2AV in the Next Hundred Days", ConservativeHome, 25 January 2011.
- "No Alternative: the unhappy history of the Alternative Vote", Conservative History Journal, Vol. I, Issue 10 (2011).
- "Tory Olympians: Conservative Parliamentarians and the modern Olympic Games", Conservative History Journal, Vol. II, Issue 1 (2012).
- "The St. Stephen’s Club, 1870-2012", Conservative History Journal, Vol. II, Issue 1 (2012).
- "Sir Geoffrey Butler and the Tory Tradition", Conservative History Journal, Vol. II, Issue 3 (2014).
- "Mavis Tate and the Horrors of Buchenwald", Conservative History Journal, Vol. II, Issue 4 (2015).
- "A flawed first draft of history: Theresa May’s former political secretary on the biography that doesn’t get her right - Anthony Seldon, May at 10", The Critic, December 2019.
References
- ^ "Parkinson of Whitley Bay". Who's Who. Vol. 2022 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830278/Resignation-Peerages-2019.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Former Chairmen of Cambridge University Conservative Association, CUCA website". Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ 'Appendix: List of former Union officers', Stephen Parkinson, Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union (Icon Books, London, 2009)
- ^ Arena of Ambition on Amazon website
- ^ "Stephen Parkinson biography, Quiller Consultants' website, accessed 19 October 2011". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ 'About the author' flap on inside back cover, Stephen Parkinson, Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union (Icon Books, London, 2009)
- ^ "Stephen Parkinson biography, Quiller Consultants' website, accessed 19 October 2011". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ "Stephen Parkinson biography, Quiller Consultants' website, accessed 19 October 2011". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ 'About the author' flap on inside back cover, Stephen Parkinson, Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union (Icon Books, London, 2009)
- ^ "Stephen Parkinson biography, Quiller Consultants' website, accessed 19 October 2011". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ Stephen Parkinson, '10 Ways to Help No2AV in the Next Hundred Days', ConservativeHome, 25 January 2011
- ^ Who's Who in Team Theresa May
- ^ Mark Wallace, 'Does May’s closest adviser joining the Vote Leave campaign signal her intentions?', ConservativeHome, 22 October 2015
- ^ Staff Directory for the designated lead campaign for Leave, published by the Electoral Commission, 2016
- ^ Who's Who in Team Theresa May
- ^ 'Dominic Llewellyn and Stephen Parkinson adopted for Newcastle seats', ConservativeHome, 26 September 2009
- ^ Who's Who in Team Theresa May
- ^ Nicholas Watt, 'Theresa May warned Tory leadership chances at risk from advisers’ infighting', The Guardian, 21 December 2014
- ^ Francis Elliott, 'Cameron approved removal of May’s aides from candidate list', The Times, 20 December 2014
- ^ Mark Wallace, 'Exclusive. Aldershot, Chichester and Chester shortlist details. The man up against Farron. Latest selection news.', Conservative Home, 28 April 2017
- ^ Paul Goodman, 'May’s maids. Watch the Prime Minister’s show-not-tell drive for more women Conservative MPs.', ConservativeHome, 28 April 2017
- ^ Ben Riley-Smith, 'Tory grassroots fury over selection stitch-up as Number 10 allies parachuted into safe seats', Daily Telegraph, 30 April 2017
- ^ David Singleton, 'Tories select special advisers and lobbyists as election candidates', TotalPolitics, 2 May 2017
- ^ Mark Wallace, 'EXCLUSIVE: Kemi Badenoch selected in Saffron Walden', ConservativeHome, 2 May 2017
- ^ Fraser Nelson, 'First, Nigel Lawson. Then Boris. Now Kemi Badenoch moves from The Spectator to politics.', The Spectator, 2 May 2017
- ^ "No. 62795". The London Gazette. 14 October 2019. p. 18368.
- ^ Imogen Spencer Dale, 'New Appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs', Politics Home, 28 October 2019, https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/politics/public-affairs/opinion/dods-people/107528/new-appointments-week-uk-politics-civil
- ^ Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Committee Memberships - Gambling Industry Committee, 29 October 2019-present
- ^ Maiden Speech, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, 8 January 2020
- ^ "Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay".
- ^ Keane, Daniel (31 May 2022). "Minister can't convert imperial measurements despite claim system is "universally understood"". Evening Standard.
- ^ Sky News Breakfast: Fighting 'street by street' in Severodonetsk. Sky News. 31 May 2022. Event occurs at 12:00. Retrieved 20 September 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Ministerial statement on UK's Online Safety Bill seen as steering out of encryption clash". uk.style.yahoo.com. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ 'Election Expenses: New emails show more members of PM’s top team involved', Channel 4 News, 15 March 2017
- ^ "Former Vote Leave activist says Brexit 'tainted' due to alleged election spending violations". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ "Theresa May aide urged to resign after 'outing' gay whistleblower". PinkNews. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "European Council - Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2018.