Andrew Hanson Jones (born 28 November 1963) is a British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician who has been the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for the
Harrogate and Knaresborough
Harrogate and Knaresborough () is a parliamentary constituency in North Yorkshire which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Andrew Jones, an MP from the Conservative Party. The constituency was for ...
constituency in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
since
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. He has twice served as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
at the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
and as well as
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Fina ...
. He returned to the backbenches in July 2019.
Early life
Born in
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...
, West Riding of Yorkshire, Jones was educated at the independent
Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...
and the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
.
Jones worked for 25 years in various sales and marketing roles before becoming an MP.
He chaired Conservative think-tank the
Bow Group
The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with i ...
from 1999 to 2000.
He became a member of
Harrogate Borough Council
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa wate ...
for the High Harrogate ward in 2003. In 2007, he gained more than half of the votes in his ward. He became Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources on the council.
Jones is a passionate
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
fan and has been a member of
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...
for over twenty years.
Member of Parliament
On 6 May 2010, Jones was elected MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough ending 13 years of
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
control. He secured this with a 9.1% swing. Jones had previously unsuccessfully contested the seat in 2001.
Jones made his maiden speech in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 22 June 2010.
He served as the
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to Transport Secretary
Justine Greening
Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transport ...
, and then to Chief Whip
Andrew Mitchell
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. A member of the Conservative Party, Mitchell was previously the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1 ...
. He was subsequently appointed as a Government Apprenticeship Ambassador and PPS to
Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...
, Secretary of State for Health. He joined the
Regulatory Reform Select Committee
The Regulatory Reform Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee was to examine subordinate provisions to amend primary legislation as created under the Deregulati ...
in 2010.
Jones campaigned to remain in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
during the
2016 European Union referendum.
On 8 January 2018, Jones was reshuffled from Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury to Vice Chair for Business Engagement within the Conservative Party HQ.
On 12 November 2018, Jones was reappointed to the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
to replace
Jo Johnson MP as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, a position he last held in 2017. He was removed from this role in July 2019, and currently has no ministerial responsibilities.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Andrew
1963 births
Living people
People educated at Bradford Grammar School
Alumni of the University of Leeds
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Bow Group
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present