The Lord Goodman of Wycombe | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
Assumed office 11 March 2024 Life peerage | |
Member of Parliament for Wycombe | |
In office 7 June 2001 –12 April 2010 | |
Preceded by | Ray Whitney |
Succeeded by | Steve Baker |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Alexander Cyril Goodman 17 November 1959 London,England |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Fiona Mary Ann Gill |
Residence | High Wycombe |
Alma mater | University of York |
Occupation | Politician and Journalist |
Paul Alexander Cyril Goodman,Baron Goodman of Wycombe (born 17 November 1959),is an English journalist and Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wycombe from 2001 to 2010,during which time he was a Shadow Minister shadowing the Department for Communities and Local Government. In 2024,Goodman was elevated to the House of Lords by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. [1]
From 2013 to 2024 Goodman served as editor of the centre-right political blog ConservativeHome. [2] His work on the blog earned him a reputation for wielding significant influence over the conservative party,the New Statesman calling him the "authoritative commentator or Tory politics" and the 28th most powerful right-wing figure in Britain. [3]
Paul Goodman was born the son of Jewish parents in London,and converted to Roman Catholicism in his mid-twenties. [4] He was raised in East Sheen,and was privately educated at the Cranleigh School,Surrey before attending the University of York where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1981. He was Chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students between 1983 and 1984,and was a member of the National Union of Students Executive during the two previous years. [2]
In 1977 he worked for a year as a researcher to the Conservative MP at Petersfield,Michael Mates. In 1983 he was the chairman for the Federation of Conservative Students,and was appointed as a director of public affairs at Extel Consultancy in 1984,before becoming a researcher for two years to Tom King,the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and MP for Bridgwater in 1985. He was a briefly a member of the policy unit at the City of Westminster Council in 1988 before training as a novice monk at Quarr Abbey in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He left the abbey in 1990 to take up the position of news editor with the Catholic Herald ,before becoming a lead writer with The Daily Telegraph in 1991,moving to be a reporter with The Sunday Telegraph in 1992,before returning to The Daily Telegraph as a comment editor in 1995,remaining as a leader writer since his election to Westminster.
He was elected to the House of Commons for Wycombe in Buckinghamshire at the 2001 general election following the retirement of Ray Whitney. Goodman held Wycombe with a majority of 3,168 and remained the MP there until the 2010 general election. He made his maiden speech on 27 June 2001,in which he recalled the former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli who had once contested his seat. [5]
In parliament he served on the Work and Pensions Select committee 2001–5. He also served for a year as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the Conservative Party David Davis from 2001,and was promoted to the frontbench by Michael Howard in 2003 as a spokesman on work and pensions. On David Cameron becoming Conservative leader in 2005,Paul Goodman was made a spokesman on Treasury matters. On 5 June 2009,amidst the uncertainty caused by the parliamentary expenses scandal,he announced in the Bucks Free Press that he would not be standing for Parliament at the next general election. [6] He said "a House in which professional politics predominates,entrenching and empowering a taxpayer-dependent political class distinct and separate from those who elect them...for better or worse,this future Commons isn't for me". [2]
Goodman was nominated for a life peerage by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and on 11 March 2024 was created Baron Goodman of Wycombe,of High Wycombe in the County of Buckinghamshire. [7]
He has been married to Fiona Mary Ann Gill since 1999 and they have a son,named Daniel.[ citation needed ]
Sir Graham Stuart Brady is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010,except for a brief period during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Nicolas John Gibb is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Schools from 2010 to 2012;2014 to 2021 and from 2022 to 2023. He has served at the Department for Education under Conservative Prime Ministers David Cameron,Theresa May,Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. A member of the Conservative Party,Gibb has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton since 1997. He announced that he was standing down at the next election in 2023.
Peter James Guy Aldous is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Waveney constituency in Suffolk since the 2010 general election.
Christopher James Skidmore is a British former Conservative Party politician and author of popular history who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingswood in South Gloucestershire from 2010 to 2024.
Stephen Paul Barclay is a British politician who has been the Secretary of State for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs since November 2023,having previously served in various cabinet positions under prime ministers Theresa May,Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2023. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010.
Melvyn John Stride is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since October 2022. He previously served in the May Government as Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General from 2017 to 2019 and as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from May to July 2019. He also served as Chair of the Treasury Select Committee from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Devon since 2010.
Gareth Alan Johnson is a British politician and former lawyer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts from September to October 2022. A member of the Conservative Party,he 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. Johnson was first elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford,winning the seat from Labour. He has been supportive of Leave Means Leave,a Eurosceptic pressure group.
Sir James Jacob Gilchrist Berry is a British Conservative Party politician and former solicitor who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen in Lancashire since the 2010 general election. He has previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 6 September to 25 October 2022. He previously served as Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth from 2017 to 2020 in the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Rishi Sunak is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2022. The first British Asian prime minister,he previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson,latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.
Wendy Morton is a British politician who served as Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from September to October 2022. A member of the Conservative Party,she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldridge-Brownhills in the West Midlands since 2015.
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 has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wells in Somerset since 2015.
Oliver James Dowden is a British politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A member of the Conservative Party,he is also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.
Paul Stuart Scully is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton and Cheam since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party,he served as Minister for London from February 2020 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy from October 2022. He was sacked from both roles in November 2023.
Sir Jeremy Mark Quin is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Horsham since the 2015 general election. A member of the Conservative Party,he served as Minister of State for Crime,Policing and Fire under Prime Minister Liz Truss from September to October 2022. After Truss resigned and Rishi Sunak succeeded her,Quin was appointed to be Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office. Quin resigned from Sunak's government in the November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle and became Chair of the Defence Select Committee in January 2024.
Sir Simon Richard Clarke is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party,he briefly served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up,Housing and Communities from September to October 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2021 to 2022.
Joyce Rebekah "Joy" Morrissey is an American-born British politician who has served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire since 2019. Morrissey has been a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury since November 2023.
Lee Anderson is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield since 2019. Elected as a member of the Conservative Party,he defected to Reform UK in March 2024 after having the whip suspended. He is Reform UK's first and only MP.
Paul Bristow is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough since the 2019 general election. A member of the Conservative Party,he worked as a public relations consultant and was the chairman of the lobbying trade body,the Association of Professional Political Consultants,prior to his parliamentary career. Bristow was also a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council between 2006 and 2010.
Richard John Holden is a British politician who has been Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio since November 2023. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Durham since the 2019 general election. He is the first Conservative MP in the constituency's history. Holden served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport from October 2022 to November 2023.
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,following a series of political controversies.