James Cartlidge | |
---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | |
Assumed office 8 July 2024 | |
Leader | Rishi Sunak Kemi Badenoch |
Preceded by | John Healey |
Minister of State for Defence Procurement | |
In office 21 April 2023 –5 July 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
Preceded by | Alex Chalk |
Succeeded by | Maria Eagle |
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury | |
In office 28 October 2022 –21 April 2023 | |
Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
Preceded by | Felicity Buchan |
Succeeded by | Gareth Davies |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice | |
In office 17 September 2021 –7 July 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | Alex Chalk |
Succeeded by | Sarah Dines |
Member of Parliament for South Suffolk | |
Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Tim Yeo |
Majority | 3,047 (6.3%) |
Personal details | |
Born | London,England | 30 April 1974
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Emily née Howarth |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Manchester (BSc) |
Website | Official website |
James Roger Cartlidge (born 30 April 1974) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been Shadow Secretary of State for Defence since 2024.
He was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Defence by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in July 2024; [1] when Kemi Badenoch succeeded Sunak as Leader of the Opposition in November 2024 she reappointed Cartlidge to the brief. He previously served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement from 2023 to 2024,Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 2022 to 2023,as well as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice from 2021 to 2022.
Born on 30 April 1974 in London,Cartlidge was educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, [2] which was a comprehensive when he attended but is now an all-boys grammar school in Chipping Barnet,north west London. Cartlidge then went up to the University of Manchester where he read Economics,graduating BSc. [2]
After university,Cartlidge ran an SME,having founded Share to Buy Ltd, [3] a shared ownership property portal and host of the London Home Show,a major event for first-time buyers. [4]
At the 2005 general election,Cartlidge contested Lewisham Deptford as the Conservative candidate where he came third with 12.4% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Joan Ruddock and the Liberal Democrat candidate Columba Blango. [5]
Cartlidge was elected to Parliament at the 2015 general election as MP for South Suffolk with 53.1% of the vote and a majority of 17,545. [6]
In July 2015,in one of his first actions in Parliament,Cartlidge brought a barrel of local beer from his constituency into the House of Commons to drink with his new parliamentary colleagues. [7]
Also in July 2015,Cartlidge took a train journey from Sudbury to Marks Tey with Rail Executives from Abellio Greater Anglia,Network Rail and officials from the Department for Transport to highlight issues affecting those travelling by train to his constituency. [8]
In November 2015,he held a South Suffolk Food Day in the Commons [9] featuring businesses such as Jimmy's Farm,Suffolk Food Hall [10] and Gifford's Hall Vineyard. [11] Cartlidge has worked to improve mobile phone signal in his constituency,launching in February 2016 a campaign in Boxford for greater efforts to provide mobile telephone coverage in 'not-spots'. [12]
Cartlidge was elected to serve on the Public Accounts Commission in November 2015 and the Work and Pensions Committee in October 2016. [13]
He was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum. [14]
At the snap 2017 general election,Cartlidge was returned as MP for South Suffolk with an increased vote share of 60.5% and an increased majority of 17,749. [15]
In January 2018 he was appointed as PPS to Health Secretary,Jeremy Hunt,and remained his PPS when Hunt was promoted Foreign Secretary. [16] [17]
In July 2019 Cartlidge was one of 73 MPs to vote against equal marriage in Northern Ireland. [18] He has publicly expressed his strong support for equal marriage but voted against imposing this law in Northern Ireland 'in absentia'. [19]
Cartlidge was again re-elected at the 2019 general election with an increased vote share of 62.2% and an increased majority of 22,897. [20]
In October 2020,Cartlidge wrote in the East Anglian Daily Times that COVID-19 exacerbated the need for part-time season rail tickets. [21]
On 17 September 2021,Cartlidge was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and an Assistant Government Whip in the Cabinet reshuffle. [22] During his time in office,he introduced the Statutory Instrument which raised magistrates' sentencing powers in England and Wales from 6 to 12 months. [23] Cartlidge also delivered the Government's initial response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review,which resulted in most criminal legal aid fees being increased by 15%. [24]
On 7 July 2022,Cartlidge resigned from HMG in the wake of widespread criticism of Boris Johnson's mishandling of the Chris Pincher scandal,which precipitated a large number of ministerial resignations. [25]
Cartlidge served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 28 October 2022 to 21 April 2023. On his last day in office,he oversaw clauses of the Finance Bill introducing a new lower rate of alcohol duty specifically for draught beer and cider. [26]
He replaced Alex Chalk as Minister of State for Defence Procurement in April 2023,following a mini-reshuffle. [27]
On 22 February 2024,Cartlidge launched the Defence Drone Strategy,committing the Ministry of Defence to its first comprehensive capability plan for uncrewed systems. [28] On 28 February 2024,in a Commons Oral Statement he set out plans to overhaul defence acquisition,introducing a new Integrated Procurement Model. [29]
At the 2024 general election,Cartlidge was again re-elected,but with a decreased vote share of 33% and a decreased majority of 3,047. [30]
Following the Conservative Party's defeat at the general election,and the subsequent formation of the Starmer ministry,Cartlidge was appointed Shadow Defence Secretary in Rishi Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet. He retained this post upon Kemi Badenoch's election as Conservative Party Leader.
Cartlidge is married to Emily Howarth,with whom he has four children. His father-in-law is former Conservative MP,Sir Gerald Howarth,who represented Cannock and Burntwood from 1983 to 1992 and then Aldershot from 1997 to 2017. [31]
Cartlidge performed a drum solo on Times Radio in September 2020,as part of Times' presenter Matt Chorley's coverage of MPs' hobbies and pastimes. [32]
The day after the death of Queen Elizabeth II,in the parliamentary debate of Friday 9 September 2022 in ‘Tribute to Her late Majesty the Queen’,Cartlidge confessed to having spilt a bottle of red wine on one of The Queen's carpets at the Buckingham Palace Staff Christmas Party where he was working as a kitchen porter in the early 1990s,musing lightheartedly:"I pledge my loyalty to His Majesty,and I hope that he is merciful and resists the temptation to put an invoice for cleaning costs in the post"! [33]
Sir Alan Campbell is a British politician who has served as Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tynemouth since 1997.
Sir Wayne David is a Welsh politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Caerphilly from 2001 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he was Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party from 1994 to 1998. As a Member of the European Parliament,he represented South Wales from 1989 to 1994 and South Wales Central from 1994 to 1999.
Suffolk Coastal is a parliamentary constituency in the county of Suffolk,England,which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter,a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP).
Damian Patrick George Hinds is a British Conservative Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Hampshire since 2010. He previously served as Secretary of State for Education under Theresa May from 2018 to 2019;he has also held junior ministerial positions under four Prime Ministers.
Dame Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin,is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Worcestershire since 2010 and Shadow Minister for Development since July 2024. She was Minister of State for Africa and International Development between January 2018 and July 2019. In 2022,Baldwin was elected Chair of the Treasury Select Committee.
Sir Alec Edward Shelbrooke is a British Conservative Party politician who has been Member of Parliament for Wetherby and Easingwold since 2024 and for Elmet and Rothwell between 2010 and 2024. He previously served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement in the Truss ministry from September to October 2022.
Gareth Alan Johnson is a British politician and former lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Conservative party,he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts from September to October 2022 in the Truss ministry. Johnson previously served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from February to September 2022 and Assistant Government Whip from 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.
John Philip Glen is a British politician and former management consultant who has served as Shadow Paymaster General since July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salisbury in Wiltshire since 2010. Glen previously served in the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2022 to 2023,and as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2023 to 2024.
Johanna Peta Churchill is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury St Edmunds from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,she served as Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions from November 2023 until July 2024. She previously served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 2022 to 2023. In that role,she took part in the 2023 Coronation and the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.
Major James Stephen Heappey is a British politician and former soldier who served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 2020 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wells in Somerset from 2015 to 2024.
Miriam Jane Alice Davies,known as Mims Davies,is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Grinstead and Uckfield since 2024. She previously served as MP for Eastleigh from 2015 to 2019 and MP for Mid Sussex from 2019 to 2024. Davies has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales since November 2024,and Shadow Minister for Women since July 2024. She previously served in various ministerial positions between 2018 and 2024.
Kevin Paul Hollinrake is a British Conservative Party politician and businessman who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thirsk and Malton since 2015. He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up,Housing and Communities since November 2024. He served as Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade from July to November 2024. He previously served as Minister of State for Enterprise,Markets and Small Business from 2022 to 2024.
Gerald Jones is a Welsh Labour Party politician,serving as Assistant Government Whip who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare,previously Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney since 2015. He was Shadow Minister for Scotland from 2023-2024 and previously served as a Shadow Wales Office minister.
Alun Craig Williams is a British politician who was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from October 2022 until June 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff North from 2015 to 2017,when he was defeated for reelection by the Labour Party's Anna McMorrin. In 2019,Williams was elected as the MP for Montgomeryshire,but lost the seat in the 2024 general election.
Kevin John Foster is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Torbay from 2015 to 2024. He served as Minister of State for Transport from September 2022 until October 2022. Foster served under Home Secretary Priti Patel as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safe and Legal Migration from 2019 until September 2022.
Sir Jeremy Mark Quin is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Horsham from 2015–2024. He served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement from February 2020 to September 2022 before briefly serving as Minister of State for Crime,Policing and Fire during which time he oversaw security arrangements for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.
Mark Peter Fletcher is a British politician who was the member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover from 2019 to 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
Thomas Patrick Hunt is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ipswich from 2019 to 2024.
Rachel Louise Hopkins is a British Labour politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South and South Bedfordshire,formerly Luton South,since 2019.
Paul John Holmes is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hamble Valley since 2024. He was the Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2019 to 2024. He has been Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs since July 2024.