Peter Alexander Gibson (born 22 May 1975) is a British 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
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
since the
2019 general election.
He is a member of the
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 ...
.
Early life and career
Gibson was born in
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
,
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 ...
, to parents Alexander Francis Gibson and Anita Gibson (''née'' Popple).
He grew up in
Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar.
It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridi ...
, attending the town's Huntcliff Secondary School and then Sir William Turner's Sixth Form College in Redcar. He studied law at the
University of Newcastle, graduating with an
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...
in 1997. In 2000, he gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Legal Practice from the College of Law in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
.
Gibson worked for Corries Solicitors in York from 1998 onwards: he was admitted as a solicitor in 2001, and stayed with the firm in that role until 2005. That year, he joined Minster Law Solicitors in York, and worked as a solicitor for them until 2006.
Prior to being elected as an MP, he worked as a solicitor specialising in personal injury litigation: he was the Principal Solicitor and Managing Director of Coles Solicitors in
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...
from 2006 to 2019.
After selling Coles Solicitors, he was a Managing Director of Kingly Solicitors in London for several months, resigning on the day of the
2019 general election.
He voted Remain in the
2016 Brexit referendum
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
. Gibson is a member of the Rotary Club of Northallerton Mowbray, and became a
Paul Harris Fellow
Paul Percy Harris (April 19, 1868 – January 27, 1947) was a Chicago, Illinois, attorney. He founded the club that became the humanitarian organisation Rotary International in 1905.
Personal life
Harris was born in Racine, Wisconsin, to Ge ...
of
Rotary International
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...
in 2019.
Parliamentary career
Gibson was previously the Conservative parliamentary candidate for
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. He was defeated by
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
incumbent
Anna Turley, but increased the Conservative share of the vote by 17%, bringing them from fourth to second place in the constituency.
Gibson defeated Labour's shadow Brexit minister
Jenny Chapman
Jennifer Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington (born 25 September 1973) is a British politician and life peer attending shadow cabinet as a Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she served ...
at the
2019 general election, taking the seat for the Conservatives for the first time in 27 years and securing a majority of over 3,000.
Gibson used 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. ...
to advocate several constituency issues.
During his first nine months as an MP representing
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
, Gibson has been involved with a number of local projects. In an article published in a regional newspaper, ''
The Northern Echo
''The Northern Echo'' is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its t ...
'', Gibson said: "I've spoken with the head of every school and college, and have launched the Darlington Debates competition in conjunction with the amazing Darlington
Rotary Club
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...
. I've hosted
Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
calls for
Scouts
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
, helped pack bags, organised and participated in numerous litterpicks, helped establish the new Friends of North Cemetery and attended their first clean up, and I've lobbied
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
to smarten up its bridges which serve as a gateway to our town."
In
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, he was a member of 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 Governm ...
from March 2020 to June 2021. In March 2020, Gibson said that he took a train journey home while suffering suspected Coronavirus, posting a message on his
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page saying: "When it was suspected that I had covid I was advised to travel home and isolate in my home, undertaking a 250 mile journey from London."
In October 2020, as part of a protest organised by some Darlington residents, empty plates and teddy bears were placed outside his constituency office after he voted against a Labour Party
Opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...
Day Motion to extend free school meals over holidays.
On 6 July 2022, he resigned 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 ...
in the
Department for International Trade
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government responsible for striking and extending trade agreements between the U ...
in protest at
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
'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 ...
.
His resignation letter criticised "the damage our party has inflicted on itself over the failure to include trans people in the ban on
conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
".
In September 2022, he was reappointed to the
Truss ministry
Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day a ...
as
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office
The Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office is a Parliamentary Private Secretary that supports the Cabinet Office. The current officeholder is Peter Gibson MP.
List of officeholders
* Roberta Blackman-Woods (2006 to 2007)
* ...
.
Personal life
Gibson entered into a civil partnership with Gareth Wedgwood Dadd in 2008. Dadd is deputy leader of
North Yorkshire County Council
North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire; an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England. The council currently consists of 90 councillors. The council is current ...
.
Gibson lists his recreations as travel and cinema: he is a member of Easingwold and District Cinema Club.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Peter
UK MPs 2019–present
1975 births
Living people
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Alumni of Newcastle University
People from Darlington
Gay politicians
English LGBT politicians
LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom