Duncan Charles Baker (born 15 November 1979) 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 served as 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

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

since the 2019 general election.

Early life and career

Baker was born in November 1979 in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

. He studied business at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...

, then qualified as a chartered accountant, and worked as a

finance director The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

Political career

His career in politics began with election to Holt Town Council in 2009, where he later served as Mayor. Baker was elected to

North Norfolk District Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

(NNDC) in 2015, standing for

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

in the Holt ward, which had previously been his father Michael's seat. He became Conservative group leader in North Norfolk in May 2019. On election as an MP, he stood down from this position and was replaced by Christopher Cushing as group leader. However, he continues to serve as a district councillor. He was elected Member of Parliament for North Norfolk in December 2019, standing as a Conservative. The constituency saw the largest decrease in the

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 ...

vote share at the 2019 general election, and the third highest increase in vote share for the Conservatives. The long-time incumbent, Liberal Democrat

Norman Lamb Sir Norman Peter Lamb (born 16 September 1957) is a British politician and solicitor. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk from 2001 to 2019, and was the chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee ...

, stood down after having been the MP for North Norfolk since 2001. The swing to the Conservatives was 17.5%. Baker's record in the Parliamentary Register of members Interests shows that he has received indirect financial support from

Thomas Coke, 8th Earl of Leicester Thomas Edward Coke, 8th Earl of Leicester (born 6 July 1965), is the son of Edward Coke, 7th Earl of Leicester, and Valeria Phyllis Potter. He is the current Earl of Leicester. From 1994 to 2015, when he succeeded into the earldom, he was styled ...

, whose

Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), 1st Earl of Leicester ...

is in the North Norfolk constituency, and from the Stalbury Trustees associated with

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, (born 30 September 1946), is a British Conservative politician. From 1979 to 1987 he represented South Dorset in the House of Commons, and in the 1990s he wa ...

. Baker was appointed as

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 ...

to the

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...

in February 2022. He resigned on 6 July 2022, in protest at Boris Johnson's conduct in the

Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct ...

Personal life

He lives in North Norfolk and is married with two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Duncan 1979 births Living people UK MPs 2019–present Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Alumni of Nottingham Trent University People educated at Gresham's School UK Independence Party councillors Conservative Party (UK) councillors British accountants People from Holt, Norfolk