Patrick Spencer

Last updated

The Honourable
Patrick Spencer
MP
Patrick Spencer.jpg
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Education University of Leeds (BA)
Georgetown University (MPP)

Patrick Spencer (born 8 May 1988) [2] is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich since 2024. [1] Elected as a Conservative, he had the whip withdrawn in May 2025, after being charged with sexual assault, and now sits as an independent.

Contents

He has worked at the Department for Education and was a senior fellow at the Centre for Social Justice. [3]

Early life and career

Patrick Spencer studied for a BA in politics at the University of Leeds and a master's in public policy at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He began his career in finance and sat on the board of his family's investment business IPGL for seven years. After a short period working in finance, Spencer  joined the Centre for Social Justice in 2016.

In 2019, he was appointed Head of Work and Welfare policy. [4] He also published reports on Universal Basic Income. [5]

In 2020, he became a Senior Policy Adviser on Children and Family Policy at the Department for Education working for six Secretaries of State for Education over the next three years, including Sir Gavin Williamson, [6] Nadhim Zahawi, [7] and Gillian Keegan. [8] He was briefly a Director at the Jobs Foundation. [8]

Volunteer work

He was a mentor with the Social Mobility Foundation [9]  and with the Living Wage Foundation. [10]

Political career

Patrick Spencer joined the Conservative Party while at university. In 2017 he was the Conservative candidate at the General Election for the constituency of West Ham. He won 16.2% of the vote. [11] In June 2024 he was selected as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the seat of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. He won with a majority of 4,290. [12]

Spencer is a member of the Education Select Committee and was appointed PPS [13] to Shadow Education spokesperson Laura Trott MP. He is an officer for the APPG for Babies and Care Experienced People.

Personal life

Spencer is the son of businessman Michael Spencer, who is also a former treasurer of the Conservative Party. [14] Patrick married Anna Spencer in 2019. Anna was a primary school teacher in East London for 10 years before having children and moving to Suffolk. She currently works for Twinkl and a charity called the Parenting Circle. [15] He lives in Woodbridge with his wife Anna and their two sons, Leo and Jasper. [16] [17]

On 13 May 2025, he was charged by the Metropolitan Police with two counts of sexual assault that allegedly took place at London's Groucho Club in August 2023. As a consequence, he had the Conservative Party whip withdrawn. [18] He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 June where he made a plea of not guilty. [19] [20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Central Suffolk and North Ipswich results". BBC News . 4 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "DoB". CPS. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Heywood, Harriet (7 July 2024). "Who are the newly elected MPs for Suffolk?". BBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Raise UK Tier 2 visa salary to £36,700 right-wing think tank". Workpermit.com. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Rawson, Mike (7 August 2018). "Weekly Roundup, 7th August 2018". 7 Circles. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "One seat, two MP hopefuls who 'bought' their candidacies". openDemocracy. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Revealed: The advisers shaping DfE plans for schools | Tes Magazine". www.tes.com. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Third senior advisor announces DfE departure". 16 May 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "Trial date set for suspended Tory MP accused of Groucho club sex assaults". The Independent. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "Sunak's survivors? Our list of new Conservative candidates in winnable seats". Conservative Home. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "UK Parliament election results: Election for the constituency of West Ham on 8 June 2017". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  12. ↑ "UK Parliament election results: Election for the constituency of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich on 4 July 2024". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Education Committee membership appointed - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  14. ↑ Wilson, Harry (17 May 2017). "Blue is the colour, politics is the game in . . . West Ham". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "About The Parenting Circle". Parenting Circle. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "About Me". Patrick Spencer.
  17. ↑ Geater, Paul (5 June 2024). "Final two Tories picked to contest Suffolk seats in election". East Anglian Daily Times . Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  18. ↑ "Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club". Sky News.
  19. ↑ Media, P. A. (13 May 2025). "Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with two counts of sexual assault". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  20. ↑ "Suffolk MP Patrick Spencer MP charged with two sex attacks". BBC News. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
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