Johanna Peta Churchill 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 o ...
(MP) for
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...
since the
2015 general election. She has been serving as
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household since 2022.
Early life
Johanna Churchill was educated at
Dame Alice Harpur School.
Career
Churchill was the finance director of a scaffolding company and served on
Lincolnshire County Council
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire an ...
.
Churchill is 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 o ...
(MP) for the constituency of
Bury St Edmunds in
Suffolk, which encompasses
Bury St Edmunds and
Stowmarket
Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket
Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edm ...
, having first taken her seat at the
2015 general election. She has previously sat on the
Women and Equalities Committee
The Women and Equalities Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was established following the 2015 general election to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Governme ...
and the
Environmental Audit Select Committee
The Environmental Audit Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine how government departments' policies and programmes will affect both the envir ...
.
Churchill was opposed to Brexit prior to the
2016 referendum. She has since stated that the EU referendum result must be respected and therefore supported
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...
in triggering
Article 50 (the formal process of leaving the EU).
She entered government when she was made an assistant government whip during the
reshuffle on 9 January 2018, having previously served as 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 the Department of Health.
In July 2019, Churchill was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care at the
Department for Health and Social Care
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...
in the
first Johnson ministry
The first Johnson ministry began on 24 July 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II invited Boris Johnson to form a new administration, following the resignation of the predecessor Prime Minister Theresa May. May had resigned as Leader of the Cons ...
.
In September 2021, Churchill was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation at the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the second
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parli ...
of the
second Johnson ministry
The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party ...
. She resigned from this position in 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 ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Jo
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Living people
Members of Lincolnshire County Council
People educated at Dame Alice Harpur School
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
21st-century British women politicians
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century English women
21st-century English people
Women councillors in England