Brandon Lewis

Not to be confused with Lewis Brandon.

Justine Rappolt

​

(m. 1999)​

The Right Honourable Sir Brandon Lewis CBE
Official portrait, 2022
Secretary of State for Justice Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
In office 6 September 2022 –25 October 2022
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Buckingham King's College London Inns of Court School of Law Inner Temple
Website	brandonlewis.co

Sir Brandon Kenneth Lewis CBE (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. ^[1] He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Yarmouth from 2010 to 2024.

Born in Harold Wood, Lewis attended the independent Forest School. He studied economics at the University of Buckingham, switching to King's College London for his master's degree. He then began a career as a barrister. He was a councillor on Brentwood Borough Council from 1998 to 2009 and served as leader of the council from 2004 to 2009. He was elected as the MP for Great Yarmouth at the 2010 general election.

Lewis served under Prime Minister David Cameron as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2012 to 2014 and Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2014 to 2016. Lewis served under Cameron’s successor, Theresa May, as Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service from 2016 to 2017 and Minister of State for Immigration from 2017 to 2018. He was appointed to May’s Cabinet as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio in the 2018 cabinet reshuffle. After May resigned in 2019, Lewis was appointed Minister of State for Security and Deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In the 2020 cabinet reshuffle, he was promoted by Johnson to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He resigned from this post during the July 2022 government crisis. Following the appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, Lewis was appointed as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He returned to the backbenches the following month after being dismissed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and stood down from parliament at the 2024 general election.

Early life and career

Lewis was born on 20 June 1971 in Harold Wood in London. He was educated at Forest School in Walthamstow. ^[2] He received a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Buckingham, an LLB honours degree in Law from the same institution, and an LLM in commercial law from King's College London. ^{[2] [3]} He was called to the bar by the Inner Temple.

He was a director of Woodlands Schools Limited, a provider of private primary schools based in Hutton, Essex, until September 2012 when he resigned his position. ^[4]

Local government

In May 1998 Lewis was first elected as a representative of the Conservative Party when he became a Borough Councillor for Hutton South on Brentwood Borough Council. ^[5]

He stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative Party candidate for election in the Sherwood constituency in the 2001 general election; he lost to Paddy Tipping, the Labour Party candidate, with 34% of the vote. ^{[5] [6]}

He was re-elected to Brentwood Borough Council 2002 and 2006 with an increased vote share. ^[7] He later became Conservative Group leader in 2002 and leader of the council in 2004, after his party took control of the local authority. He remained in this position until 2009, when he resigned as a councillor in Essex to focus on seeking election as an MP in Norfolk. ^[2]

During his time as leader of the council he co-hosted The Eric and Brandon Show with local MP Eric Pickles on Phoenix FM, a local radio station in Brentwood. ^[8]

Parliamentary career

Early parliamentary career

In 2006, Lewis was selected as Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate in the Great Yarmouth constituency; he was elected at the 2010 general election, defeating sitting Labour MP Tony Wright with a majority of just over 4000 – a swing to the Conservatives of 8.7% in the seat which was number 66 on their list of target seats. ^{[9] [10]} Lewis had stood for Parliament on a "clean expenses pledge", pledging to be "completely open about my expenses". ^[11]

Lewis served on the Work and Pensions Select Committee and the Regulatory Reform Select Committee from his election until 2012. ^[12] He has been a member of a number of all-party parliamentary groups, including time as the chair of the Local Growth group and co-chair of a group discussing coastal erosion. A report by the Local Growth group in September 2012, when it was chaired by Lewis, criticised the Government for an "uncoordinated" approach to its Local Enterprise Partnership policy which, according to Lewis, left "gaps and weaknesses". ^{[13] [14]}

In 2010–2011 Lewis claimed just over £15,000 in accommodation expenses and in 2011–12 and 2012–13 he claimed just under £21,500 for accommodation. ^[15]

In the House of Commons he previously sat on the Work and Pensions Committee and the Regulatory Reform Committee. ^[16]

Lewis has run a variety of campaigns as Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth. Campaigns have included opposing the removal of free bus passes for school children in Belton & Burgh Castle, ^[17] cutting fuel duty, ^[18] protecting Norfolk bus services, ^[19] and improving Great Yarmouth railway station. ^[20]

Early ministerial career

In September 2012 Lewis was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, working under Eric Pickles. In July 2014, Lewis was promoted to Minister of State for Housing and Planning, when the prime minister brought the portfolios of Housing and Planning together for the first time under his premiership. ^[21] He said that there had been a "dramatic swing" in public opinion – with almost half of people now in favour of new housing in their area. ^[22] This related to the new National Planning Policy Framework, the primary framework for town planning in the country, which some argued made it substantially easier for developers to build on greenfield land.

As the local MP, Lewis declined initially to support local campaigners who were fighting against the Conservative run county council's controversial plans for the proposed King's Lynn incinerator. By 2012 he had joined all fellow local MPs in expressing concern with the proposal and, after a change in leadership of the county council, the plans for the incinerator were dropped in 2014. ^{[23] [24] [25]}

Lewis previously sat on the House of Commons Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission. ^[16]

In 2013 Lewis was critical of local councils, including many Conservative run councils, planning council tax rises in 2013 against the wishes of the Government, saying that there was "still massive scope" for councils to cut "waste and inefficiency". ^{[26] [27] [28]} He has also criticised the Local Government Association for producing proposals to give local councils more freedom over their levels of council tax in the future. ^[29]

Labour MPs called upon IPSA to investigate whether Lewis was using taxpayer funds for inappropriate political purposes after it was revealed that he had claimed £37,000 for "research briefing and other parliamentary associated assistance" to a political campaign consultancy. ^{[30] [ needs update ]}

In August 2015, it was reported that Lewis claimed £31,000 of hotel expenses over a two-year period following stays at the Park Plaza hotel near Parliament. Lewis stated that he opted to stay in London rather than travel home to Essex and all the claims complied with parliamentary rules. ^[31]

He supported the United Kingdom remaining a member of the European Union in the 2016 EU membership referendum. ^[32] In July 2016, Lewis was promoted to be the minister of state for the Home Office with a portfolio including Police and Fire services, as well as Europol and Interpol. ^[33]

Following the Grenfell disaster, Lewis was criticised for having rejected calls to increase fire safety regulations in his former role as housing minister. He had argued that legislating to mandate sprinklers in high rise buildings was the wrong approach as water-based sprinklers were inappropriate for electrical fires. ^[34]

Chairman of the Conservative Party

In a January 2018 cabinet reshuffle, Lewis was promoted to Chairman of the Conservative Party, succeeding Patrick McLoughlin. Lewis was also appointed Minister without Portfolio. ^[35]

On 19 July, Government Chief Whip Julian Smith was reported to be resisting calls to resign his position, following allegations that he had instructed five Conservative Party MPs to break "pairing" agreements in an important parliamentary vote the previous day. Lewis was the only one to comply with the instruction. Subsequent reports indicated that Smith had given similar instructions to five MPs, but that Lewis had been the only one willing to break what one commentator described later as "a centuries old 'code of honour'". Before it became known that the affair had involved approaches by Smith to more than one MP, the prime minister Theresa May backed Lewis by stating that "The breaking of the pair was done in error. It wasn't good enough and will not be repeated." ^[36]

In 2019, Lewis voted for May's Brexit withdrawal agreement. ^[37]

In July 2019, Lewis was appointed Minister of State for Security and Deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson. ^[38]

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

In February 2020 he moved to be the secretary of state for Northern Ireland as part of a cabinet reshuffle under Johnson. ^[39]

He robustly defended the Government's support for the Northern Ireland Protocol. Lewis also responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. ^[40]

In September 2020, Lewis provoked controversy when he conceded that a bill designed to amend the United Kingdom's withdrawal agreement with the European Union would "break international law" in a "specific and limited way". ^[41]

On 6 July 2022, Lewis told Johnson he needed to step down from office due to a loss in support, during the July 2022 government crisis. ^[42] Lewis resigned on 7 July, after turning down offers of promotion from Johnson, saying the Government was no longer upholding "honesty, integrity and mutual respect". ^[43]

Between Ministries

Lewis ran Nadhim Zahawi's campaign in the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. ^[44] After Zahawi was eliminated from the contest, Lewis endorsed Liz Truss's leadership bid. ^[43]

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Lewis was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 6 September 2022 after Liz Truss became the prime minister. ^[45]

On 29 September, Lewis negotiated a deal with the Criminal Bar Association to end the 2022 British barristers' industrial action. ^[46] The deal included a 15% increase in legal aid fees to cases in the Crown Court, £3,000,000 of funding for case preparation and £4,000,000 for prerecorded cross-examinations of vulnerable victims and witnesses. ^[47] On 10 October, 57% of barristers voted to end the strike and Crown Court cases began to be heard as normal from 11 October. ^{[48] [49]}

Return to the backbenches

On 25 October 2022, Lewis resigned from the front bench upon the ascension of Rishi Sunak to the Prime Ministership and returned to the backbenches. ^[50] He was succeeded as Justice Secretary by Dominic Raab.

Lewis was criticized in a September 2023 Eastern Daily Express article for charging nearly £10,000 in expenses for social media content produced by external production companies Westminster Digital and Millbank Creative. ^[51]

In October 2023, Lewis was appointed to a part-time role as leader of the Chair's Advisory Council of the international investment firm LetterOne. ^{[52] [53] [54]}

In March 2024, Lewis announced he would not seek re-election at the 2024 general election. ^[55] Lewis took five new part-time jobs paying £410,000 a year while still an MP. ^[56]

Personal life

Lewis married Justine Rappolt in 1999; the couple have two children. ^[2] He completed the London Marathon in 2005 and 2008 and lists triathlon as an interest. ^{[2] [57]} He is a member of the Carlton Club. ^[2]

In 2023, Lewis told GB News that since turning 50 he had lost nearly five stone, which he credited to beating a chocolate addiction. ^{[58] [59]}

Honours

On 29 September 2016, Lewis was sworn in to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, giving him the honorific title "The Right Honourable" for life. ^[60] In the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for political and public service in September 2019. ^[61]

Lewis was knighted on 16 June 2023 in the 2023 Political Honours for public and political service. ^{[62] [63]}

Notes

1. As Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime.
2. As Minister of State for Security.
3. Office vacant between 17 July 2016 and 8 January 2018.
4. Known as Minister of State for Housing and Local Government from 2014 to 2015.

References

1. "UK Prime Minister twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
2. 'LEWIS, Brandon', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 2013-05-28 Archived 6 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine .
3. "The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP". Government UK. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
4. Lewis, Brandon (Great Yarmouth), Register of Members' Financial Interests: Part 1. As of 7 May 2013 Archived 1 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine , www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
5. Brandon Lewis: Electoral history and profile Archived 19 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2013
6. "Vote 2001: Sherwood". BBC News Online . British Broadcasting Corporation. 2001. Archived from the original on 24 December 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
7. "Brentwood Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Plymouth University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
8. Walker, Tim (2 November 2009). "The Couch Surfer: 'If political parties insist on invading pop culture, they won't re-engage anybody'". The Independent . Independent News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
9. Election rivals fight for support in Great Yarmouth Archived 20 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine , BBC Election 2010, 29 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
10. Great Yarmouth Archived 23 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine , BBC Election 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
11. About my Parliamentary expenses Archived 4 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine , Brandon Lewis. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
12. Brandon Lewis Archived 25 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine , www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
13. Impartiality of local enterprise partnerships 'at risk' Archived 21 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Daily Telegraph, 11 September 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
14. 'Unco-ordinated' government is a barrier to business engagement Archived 8 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine , Guardian - Local government network, 13 September 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
15. Brandon Lewis, Conservative, Great Yarmouth CC, Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
16. "Brandon Lewis". Parliament UK. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
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20. "Fix Great Yarmouth Station". Brandon Lewis. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
21. Kelly, Liam (15 July 2014). "Brandon Lewis promoted to housing and planning minister in reshuffle". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
22. Hope, Christopher (25 July 2014). "New planning minister suggests Nimbys have had their day". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
23. "Six Norfolk MPs urge communities secretary Eric Pickles to call in King's Lynn incinerator plan". Eastern Daily Press. 22 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
24. "All nine Norfolk MPs back King's Lynn incinerator call-in". Eastern Daily Press. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
25. "King's Lynn incinerator: Plans for £500m scheme abandoned". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
26. Defiant councils planning tax rises Archived 24 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Daily Telegraph, 14 February 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
27. One in three town halls to defy Eric Pickles and hike council tax in April Archived 24 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine , The Daily Telegraph, 14 February 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
28. Council tax revolt forces up bills Archived 24 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine , The Daily Telegraph, 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
29. Minister attacks councils for pushing for tax hikes Archived 25 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine , The Daily Telegraph, 9 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
30. Fisher, Lucy (10 March 2015). "Row over £37,000 expenses engulfs housing minister". The Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
31. Sinclair, Andrew (24 August 2015). "Housing Minister Brandon Lewis defends £31,000 hotel claims". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
32. "EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand". BBC News. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
33. "The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
34. "Grenfell Tower: Tory minister urged against including sprinklers in fire safety rules as it could discourage house building". Independent . 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
35. "Lewis promoted in reshuffle". 8 January 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
36. Joe Murphy; Nicholas Cecil (19 July 2018). "Tory chief whip Julian Smith urged to quit over pairing deal 'error'". Evening Standard, London. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
37. "How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat". Financial Times. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019.
38. Minister of State for Security and Deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation - GOV.UK, archived from the original on 18 August 2019, retrieved 18 August 2019
39. "Brandon Lewis named new NI Secretary of State". www.rte.ie. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
40. McClafferty, Edna; Simpson, Mark (7 July 2022). "Brandon Lewis: Ex-NI secretary's term will be remembered as 'specific and limited'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
41. "Minister: New bill will 'break international law'". BBC News. 8 September 2020. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
42. "Boris Johnson: Shailesh Vara replaces Brandon Lewis as NI Secretary". BBC News. 7 July 2022. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
43. Hazell, Will (30 July 2022). "Brandon Lewis: Rishi Sunak was too focused on keeping EU happy over Northern Ireland Protocol". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
44. Wheeler, Caroline; Yorke, Harry (30 July 2022). "Tory leadership race: Senior Tories add momentum to Liz Truss bandwagon". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
45. "Liz Truss appoints top team - see who is in and out". Sky news. 6 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
46. "New Justice Secretary agrees deal to get criminal barristers back to work". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
47. "Criminal barristers in England and Wales vote to end strike action". the Guardian. 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
48. "Criminal barristers vote to end strike over pay". BBC News. 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
49. Kirk, Tristan (10 October 2022). "Criminal barristers vote to suspend strike after accepting Government pay offer". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
50. "The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
51. Thompson, George (28 September 2023). "Brandon Lewis criticised for spending on marketing agencies". Eastern Daily Press . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
52. Parker, George (24 October 2023). "Former Tory chair to advise company founded by sanctions-hit Russians". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
53. "Ex-Tory chair Brandon Lewis joins firm with sanctioned oligarch links". BBC News. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
54. "REVEALED: Norfolk MP to earn £250,000 a year for just one day work a week". Eastern Daily Press. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
55. "Great Yarmouth MP Sir Brandon Lewis to stand down at next election". BBC News . 14 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
56. Kersley, Andrew (21 April 2024). "Outgoing Tory MPs take lucrative second jobs and 'swan off on jollies". The Observer. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
57. Brandon Lewis Archived 1 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Biography, politics.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
58. Gibbons, Amy (6 July 2023). "Ex-Cabinet minister beats 'chocolate addiction' to lose almost five stone". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
59. Tunney, Liam (7 July 2023). "Ex-NI Secretary Brandon Lewis beats 'chocolate addiction' to lose almost five stone". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
60. "Privy Council appointments: Oliver Heald, Brandon Lewis and John McDonnell". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
61. "No. 62807". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 October 2019. p. 19278.
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63. "No. 64213". The London Gazette . 30 October 2023. p. 21730.

External links

• Official website
• Great Yarmouth Conservatives
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Political offices
Preceded by Vicky Cook	Leader of Brentwood Borough Council 2004–2009	Succeeded by Louise McKinlay
Preceded by Bob Neill	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2012–2014	Succeeded by Kris Hopkins
Preceded by Kris Hopkins	Minister of State for Housing and Local Government 2014–2015	Succeeded by Himself as Minister of State for Housing and Planning
Preceded by Himself as Minister of State for Housing and Local Government	Minister of State for Housing and Planning 2015–2016	Succeeded by Gavin Barwell
Preceded by Mike Penning as Minister of State for Policing	Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service 2016–2017	Succeeded by Nick Hurd
Preceded by Robert Goodwill	Minister of State for Immigration 2017–2018	Succeeded by Caroline Nokes
Vacant Title last held by Robert Halfon	Minister without Portfolio 2018–2019	Succeeded by James Cleverly
Preceded by Ben Wallace as Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime	Minister of State for Security and Deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation 2019–2020	Succeeded by James Brokenshire as Minister of State for Security
Preceded by Julian Smith	Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2020–2022	Succeeded by Shailesh Vara
Preceded by Dominic Raab	Secretary of State for Justice 2022	Succeeded by Dominic Raab
	Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 2022
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Tony Wright	Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth 2010–2024	Succeeded by Rupert Lowe
Party political offices
Preceded by Sir Patrick McLoughlin	Chairman of the Conservative Party 2018–2019	Succeeded by James Cleverly