Darren Jones (politician)

The Right Honourable Darren Jones MP
Official portrait, 2024
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 July 2024

Darren Paul Jones (born 13 November 1986) ^[1] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024, ^[2] having served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from September 2023 to July 2024. ^[3] The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol North West since 2017, he previously chaired the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee from 2020 to 2023.

Early life and education

Darren Jones was born on 13 November 1986 in Bristol, and grew up in Lawrence Weston. He attended Portway Community School in Shirehampton, a state comprehensive, before studying human bioscience at the University of Plymouth, where he was subsequently elected President of the Students' Union. Jones worked in the National Health Service and served on the boards of the University of Plymouth and the Plymouth NHS Trust, and had a weekly newspaper column in the Plymouth Herald . He later read law at the University of the West of England and the University of Law in Bristol before being admitted as a solicitor. ^{[1] [4]}

Career

Legal career

A specialist in technology law, Jones initially worked at Womble Bond Dickinson LLP, before becoming an in-house counsel with BT, advising on data privacy, cyber-security, telecommunications and consumer law. ^[5] In Bristol, he started a mentoring programme seeking to bring young people from his old school into the legal profession. Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, he sat on the board of UK Legal Futures, which brought together leading lawyers to advise politicians and civil servants on legal questions raised by Brexit. ^[6]

Political career

Jones stood as the Labour candidate in Torridge and West Devon at the 2010 general election, coming fourth with 5.3% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox, the Liberal Democrat candidate, and the UKIP candidate. ^{[7] [8] [9]} Jones later sat on the national youth committees of the Co-operative Party and Unite the Union and was elected to Unite's Regional Political Committee in the South West. ^[10]

At the 2015 general election, Jones stood in Bristol North West, coming second with 34.4% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie. ^[11] Following the 2015 election, Jones joined the campaign of Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham as its South West Co-ordinator, and chaired Marvin Rees' successful campaign to become Mayor of Bristol.

In 2016 he joined the Remain campaign in the EU membership referendum and chaired the Young Lawyers' Network, a nationwide group campaigning for a vote to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum. ^[12] Later in 2016, he went to the United States to work for the Clinton campaign in Miami during that year's US Presidential election. ^[13]

Jones is also the chair of Labour Digital, a Labour think tank. ^[14]

Parliamentary career

2017 – 2019 Parliament

At the 2017 general election, Jones was elected the Member of Parliament for Bristol North West, overturning a Conservative majority of 4,944 on a 9.2 percent swing. ^[15] In his maiden speech, Jones noted that he was the first Darren ever elected to Parliament. ^[16] Between 2017 and 2020, Jones was a member of the cross-party Science and Technology Committee and the European Scrutiny Committee. In 2019, then Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson, appointed Jones as the Convenor of the Future Britain Group, which was established following a number of defections from the Labour Party in a bid to prevent further defections. ^[17]

2019 – 2024 Parliament

Jones was re-elected at the 2019 general election, with an increased majority of 5,692 but a decreased vote share of 48.9%. ^[18]

Following Keir Starmer's election as Labour leader in April 2020, Jones was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary jointly to Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy and Shadow Attorney General Charlie Falconer, ^[19] and served until his election as Chair of the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. Jones sits on the National Security Strategy Joint Committee and, following the introduction of the National Security and Investment Act 2021, became responsible as Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee for holding the Government to account for its use of national security powers. ^[20] He has also served on the Liaison Committee, the committee that scrutinises the Prime Minister. As a member of that committee, Jones had frequent notable exchanges with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ^{[21] [22] [23]} including during the final days prior to Johnson announcing his resignation in July 2022 when Jones informed him that his cabinet was waiting for him in No 10 Downing Street to tell him to resign. ^[24]

He has been involved in issues including the withholding of redundancy payments from Astra Zeneca workers, ^[25] the campaign to increase miners' pensions through the Mineworkers Pension Scheme, ^[26] and the British Post Office scandal, ^[27] the right for workers to join a trade union at Amazon ^[28] and the dispute related to changes at Royal Mail. ^{[29] [30]} In 2020, he introduced the UK's first citizens assembly on net zero to Parliament,. ^[31] He has also led Parliamentary inquiries into the decarbonisation of heating, ^[32] electricity ^{[33] [34]} and industry, ^[35] as well as reform of the energy market in the United Kingdom. ^[36]

In 2021, Jones passed the Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021, having been successful in the ballot for a Private Members Bill, giving the forensic science regulator statutory powers to ensure service quality standards from the privatised forensic science companies working with the police. ^{[37] [38]}

In 2019 he co-chaired a Parliamentary inquiry into technology ethics. ^[39] He leads the Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum ^[40] and the Data Poverty ^[41] and Technology and National Security All Party Parliamentary Groups. ^[42] In January 2021, during the Covid pandemic, he introduced a Ten Minute Rule Bill seeking to force internet service providers to offer a social tariff to families in receipt of Universal Credit. ^[43] Jones is the founder and chair of the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies, a global network of legislators interested in emerging technology regulation, and in 2021 was appointed to the Online Safety Bill pre-legislative scrutiny committee. ^{[44] [45]}

In 2022, Jones was appointed as a member of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly ^[46] which was established under the terms of the 2021 Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the UK and the EU and acts as a forum for parliamentarians to exchange views on the implementation and operation of the Agreement. In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he joined the shadow cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. ^[47]

Jones was re-selected as the Labour candidate for Bristol North West in May 2024. ^[48]

Political positions

Politico Europe has described Jones as being on the Labour right, ^[49] and he has described Tony Blair as one of his political heroes. ^[50]

He has been noted as a prominent voice in debates on technology policy in Parliament, ^[51] and has described himself as a techno-optimist. ^[52] He supported Remain in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. ^[12] He has supported electoral reform to a proportional system. ^[53] He has opposed ending UK arms sales to Israel during the Israel–Hamas war, saying that it would not end the war. ^[54]

Personal life

Jones is married to net zero consultant and technology entrepreneur Lucy Symons-Jones, who co-founded the renewable energy company Village Infrastructure. They have three daughters. ^[1] Jones became a vegan in 2014, for reasons related to carbon emissions and agriculture, although he is sometimes vegetarian. ^[55]

Jones was sworn of the Privy Council on 10 July 2024, entitling him to be styled "The Right Honourable" for life. ^[56]

References

1. "Jones, Darren Paul" . Who's Who . Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 13 February 2018.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. "Who's in Keir Starmer's new cabinet?". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
3. "Labour reshuffle live: Angela Rayner gets new role as Keir Starmer reshuffles team". BBC News. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
4. Ashcroft, Esme (9 June 2017). "Who is Darren Jones? All about the Labour candidate who won Bristol North West in the 2017 general election". Bristol Post. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
5. "Our alumni: Darren Jones". The University of Law. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
6. "In-House to in the House". Legal 500. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
7. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll: Torridge and West Devon" (PDF). West Devon Borough Council. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
9. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Devon West & Torridge". BBC News.
10. "PPC Profile: Darren Jones". Labour List. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
11. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. Lawyer2B (27 March 2016). "Young lawyers campaign to keep Britain in Europe". Medium. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
13. Pipe, Ellie (21 December 2017). "A Day with Bristol North West MP Darren Jones". B24/7. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
14. "Labour Digital" . Retrieved 24 March 2022.
15. "Election 2019: Bristol North West". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
16. "Bristol MP Darren Jones hails himself 'first Darren in Parliament'". BBC News. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
17. Zeffman, Henry (12 March 2019). "Tom Watson's rebel group draws a third of Labour MPs". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
18. Millett, Briana; Cameron, Amanda (13 December 2019). "Darren Jones' speech in full as he wins Bristol North West seat". BristolLive. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
19. "New appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs". Politics Home. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
20. "Letter from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to Darren Jones MP". 21 April 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
21. Coronavirus: Prime Minister Boris Johnson | Commons Liaison Committee, 27 May 2020, retrieved 19 January 2023
22. Neame, Katie (6 July 2022). "Labour MPs grill Johnson during appearance in front of liaison committee". LabourList. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
23. 'You're hurting the country': Darren Jones tells PM 'on a human level' he must resign, 6 July 2022, retrieved 19 January 2023
24. Steerpike (6 July 2022). "Boris Johnson's five worst moments at the Liaison Committee". The Spectator. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
25. Ralph, Alex (15 July 2019). "Astrazeneca accused of betrayal over Bristol factory sale to Avara". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
26. "Mineworkers' Pension Scheme: Rejection a 'slap in the face'". BBC News. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
27. Flinders, Karl (19 May 2021). "'Nothing off the table' in statutory Post Office scandal inquiry". Computer Weekly . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
28. @PoliticsJOE_UK (15 November 2022). ""Do you not see there's a problem?"" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2023– via Twitter.
29. "'Why were you given a bonus?'". MSN. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
30. Pratley, Nils (17 January 2023). "Royal Mail boss has a shocker as meeting with MPs doesn't go well". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
31. "Climate Change Assembly UK: The Path To Net Zero". Hansard. 26 November 2020.
32. Phillips, Richard. "Government's approach to low-carbon heat failing to engage public or slash emissions, MPs warn - edie". www.edie.net/. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
33. Mavrokefalidis, Dimitris (23 November 2022). "Drax grilled by MPs over its emission levels". Energy Live News. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
34. "BP declines to reveal how much 'loophole' saved it in windfall tax". the Guardian. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
35. "Liberty Steel: MPs call for investigation into 'red flags'". BBC News . 4 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
36. "MPs call for government to update energy support package after price cap forecasts worsen". Sky News. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
37. Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021. https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2616 Archived 20 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine
38. Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/14/contents/enacted
39. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Data Analytics (21 May 2019). "Trust, Transparency and Tech: Data and Technology Ethics Inquiry Report Launch". Policy Connect. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
40. "About". PICTFOR. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
41. "About". Data Poverty APPG. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
42. "Community". APPG for Technology & National Security. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
43. "Chair of UK Business Committee Pushes Social Tariff for Broadband UPDATE". ISPreview. 27 January 2021 [19 January 2021]. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
44. "About". Institute of AI.
45. Bates, Joshua (26 July 2021). "The Online Safety Bill: Who you need to know and why | DeHavilland". DeHavilland. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
46. UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly - UK Parliament
47. Frank-Keyes, Jessica (4 September 2023). "Darren Jones: Keir Starmer moves rising star to Labour's shadow treasury team". CityAM. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
48. Booth, Martin. "CAMPAIGNING BEGINS ACROSS BRISTOL AREA AS GENERAL ELECTION ANNOUNCED". Bristol 247. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
49. Dickson, Annabelle (5 September 2023). "Tony Blair back in fashion as UK Labour gets election-ready". Politico Europe. Retrieved 29 June 2024. By contrast Pat McFadden, Liz Kendall and Peter Kyle — three high-profile MPs on the right who worked as government aides during the Blair era — were given big promotions. Darren Jones, who is on the same wing of the party, and Hilary Benn, a Cabinet minister under Blair, were also appointed to Starmer's top team.
50. Ballinger, Alex (2 July 2017). "Bristol's newest MP just revealed his political hero, and it's controversial". Bristol Post. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
51. Varghese, Sanjana (3 December 2020). "Change everything: 32 innovators who are building a better future". Wired UK. ISSN   1357-0978 . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
52. Bristow, Tom (16 July 2023). "The battle for UK Labour's tech crown". Politico Europe. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
53. Virin, Daniel (15 May 2023). "The student housing crisis and political perseverance of Boris Johnson: Epigram Interviews Darren Jones, MP". Epigram. Retrieved 29 June 2024. DJ: 'I would quite like to change the voting system and have a more proportional system', the Bristol North West, MP rounds off, expressing his hopes for positive change.
54. Keate, Noah (3 April 2024). "UK urged to stop selling weapons to Israel after killing of aid workers". Politico Europe. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
55. Fox, Killian; Tait-Hyland, Molly (22 April 2018). "The builders, the MP, and the chef: meet the new vegans". The Guardian (interview). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
56. "List of Business – 10 July 2024" (PDF). Privy Council Office. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.

Notes

1. As Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2020 to 2023.

External links

• Official website, archived on 8 June 2017
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Charlotte Leslie	Member of Parliament for Bristol North West 2017–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Laura Trott	Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2024–present	Incumbent