Luke Graham | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2017 | |
Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire | |
In office 8 June 2017 –6 November 2019 | |
Preceded by | Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh |
Succeeded by | John Nicolson |
Personal details | |
Born | Luke Patrick Graham [1] June 1985 (age 39) [2] Swindon,Wiltshire,England |
Political party | Conservative |
Alma mater | University of Sheffield |
Profession | Accountant |
Luke Patrick Graham (born June 1985) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2017 to 2019. [3] From September 2018,Graham served in the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Cabinet Office. [4] He was later made PPS to the Ministry of Housing,Communities and Local Government. He held both positions concurrently until the end of the Second May Ministry.
Graham was born in Eldene,Swindon,Wiltshire in June 1985 and was educated at the Dorcan Academy,the local comprehensive. He graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BA in Economics and Social Policy in 2006. [5] Graham graduated with 2.1 Dual Honours,before serving as the Finance Officer of Sheffield University Union from 2006-07. [6]
Prior to entering the Commons,he worked for Tesco plc for five and a half years whilst gaining his Chartered Institute for Management Accounting qualification. During his tenure,he worked in the UK,Thailand and China. After Tesco,Graham joined Tough Mudder, [7] a British firm launched in the US. He later accepted a job as a senior manager at Marks and Spencer plc [8] and returned to the UK.
Graham started his own accountancy business,Tech &The Beancounters,in 2016. [7]
Graham first entered Scottish politics in 2014,when he actively campaigned for Better Together,the successful unionist campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Graham was subsequently selected to contest the constituency of Ochil and South Perthshire at the 2015 general election,and finished in third place. [9]
Graham was the Director of Finance of Britain Stronger in Europe,the official Remain campaign in the 2016 EU Membership Referendum.
Graham was reselected to contest the Ochil and South Perthshire seat during the 2017 United Kingdom general election. He defeated the sitting Scottish National Party MP,Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh. [10] Graham successfully overturned Ahmed-Sheikh's 10,168 majority to win by 3,359 votes. [11]
In November 2018 he was the recipient of a £25,000 donation from Lord Sainsbury of Turville,which was donated to the Scottish Conservative Party for Graham's association. [12]
He voted in favour of former Prime Minister Theresa May's deal to leave the European Union. [13]
Graham backed Michael Gove during the Conservative leadership contest. [14]
He was a member of the Public Accounts Committee from September 2017 until October 2018 and subsequently served as a member of the Finance Committee for the House of Commons. [15] [3]
Causes that Graham worked extensively on included renewable energy (particularly geothermal), [16] domestic abuse, [17] and farming. [18]
In March 2019,a staff member working in Graham's constituency office was threatened by two men who allegedly said that "in an independent Scotland all of you will be hanging",banging on windows and shouting at the staffer. [19] Police Scotland stated they would be making inquiries. [19] Later that month,the police issued descriptions of individuals they would like to speak to relating to the incident. [20]
Seeking re-election at the 2019 United Kingdom general election on 12 December 2019,Graham lost his seat to the Scottish National Party's John Nicolson,who was previously the MP for East Dunbartonshire from 2015-17. [21]
Although Graham lost his seat,the Conservative Party won the general election in a landslide. Following his personal defeat,he was appointed to head a "Union unit" in 10 Downing Street,which gave him responsibility for supporting unionism and opposing Scottish independence. [22] Graham was replaced in February 2021 by Oliver Lewis. [22]
Perth and Kinross is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland,and a lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north,Angus,Dundee,and Fife to the east,Clackmannanshire to the south,and Stirling and Argyll and Bute to the west. Perth is the administrative centre.
Sir Graham Stuart Brady is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West from 1997 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he was Chairman of the 1922 Committee from 2010 to 2024,except for a brief period during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament,alongside Liam McArthur,since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cowdenbeath constituency since 2016,having previously been an MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 2011 to 2016.
Nigel Martin Evans is a former British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ribble Valley in Lancashire from the 1992 until 2024. He was Joint Executive Secretary of the 1922 Committee from 2017 to 2019. He served as First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means,one of the Speaker's three deputies,from 2010 to 2013. He was elected as Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means in 2020.
Stirling was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Ochil and South Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Perth and North Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was created in 2005.
Gordon Raymond Banks is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2005 to 2015.
Perth was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. Also,however,it was one of nine constituencies in the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region,which still elects seven additional members,in addition to nine constituency MSPs,to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Robin Caspar Walker is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Worcester from 2010 to 2024. He chaired the House of Commons Education Select Committee from 2022 to 2024. He served as the Minister of State for School Standards from 2021 to 2022 and as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at both the Scotland Office and Northern Ireland Office under Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Conservative Party,he identifies as a one-nation Conservative.
John MacKenzie Nicolson is a Scottish journalist,broadcaster and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician.
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE WS NP is a Scottish politician,serving as chair of the Alba Party since 2021. She was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Conservatives,Labour,and the Scottish National Party (SNP),Ahmed-Sheikh served as the SNP's Trade and Investment spokesperson,Deputy Shadow Leader of the House in the House of Commons,and the SNP's National Women's and Equalities Convener. A solicitor and businessperson,and a former actress,Ahmed-Sheikh founded and formerly chaired the Scottish Asian Women's Association.
Scott Leslie Mann is a former British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Cornwall from 2015 to 2024. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Growth and Rural Affairs from September to October 2022 and a Government Whip. Between 2009 and 2016 he represented the Wadebridge West ward on Cornwall Council.
Christopher Patrick James Green is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 2015 until 2024. He was re-elected in 2017 and 2019,increasing his majority and vote share at both general elections. He 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.
Robert Alexander Courts is a British Conservative politician and barrister who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Witney from 2016 to 2024. He served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from December 2023 to the dissolution of parliament in May 2024. He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport in the Johnson government from 2020 to 2022 and served as Chair of the Defence Select Committee from October to December 2023.
Kirstene Janette Hair is a former Scottish Conservative Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Angus between 2017 and 2019.
Sir Alister William Jack is a Scottish politician who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Scottish Conservatives,he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dumfries and Galloway from 2017 to 2024.
David Michael Doogan is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Angus and Perthshire Glens,previously Angus,since 2019. Doogan has been the SNP's Energy Security and Net Zero Spokesperson since September 2023.
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.
{{cite news}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)