Shaun Stephen Bailey (born 22 July 1992) 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 was elected 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 West Bromwich West at the 2019 general election. Prior to his political career, he was a trainee solicitor.

Early life and career

Bailey grew up in

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...

and Newport in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

where he and his sister were raised by their mother. He attended

Burton Borough School Burton Borough School (often abbreviated as 'BBS') is a coeducational secondary school situated on the southern edge of Newport, Shropshire, England, in Audley Avenue. The school was opened in 1957 and since then has developed steadily. In Septe ...

in Newport and studied for his A-Levels at

Idsall School Idsall School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status located in the town of Shifnal in Shropshire, England. Idsall has its own Sixth Form Centre, which offers a range of A Level subjects. The House Cup When joining the school, ...

Shifnal Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 mo ...

. He joined the Conservative Party when he was 15. Bailey studied Law and French at

Aberystwyth University , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, 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 ...

and later obtained a master's degree in Legal Practice at the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. After graduating he worked as a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals i ...

before becoming a trainee solicitor for

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

in 2019.

Political career

In the

2012 Ceredigion County Council election An election to Ceredigion County Council was held on 3 May 2012 along with elections to 20 of the other 21 local authorities in Wales (all except Anglesey), community council elections in Wales and other elections elsewhere in the United Kingdom ...

, he was the Conservative candidate for Borth ward and finished in last place. Bailey contested as the Conservative candidate for the Hesters Way and Springbank ward of the

Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire County Council is a county council which administers the most strategic local government services in the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in the South West of England. The council's principal functions are county road ...

in the 2017 election where he finished in second place. He was selected as the Conservative candidate for West Bromwich West on 9 November 2019. Bailey was elected as MP in the 2019 general election with a majority of 3,799 (11.0%). The seat had previously been held by

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

Adrian Bailey Adrian Edward Bailey (born 11 December 1945) is a retired British Labour and Co-operative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich West from 2000, when he won the seat at a by-election in November 2000 until he stoo ...

since the 2000 by-election and had been previously held by the former

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

Betty Boothroyd Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (born 8 October 1929) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of ...

before that. Adrian Bailey had chosen to stand down in October 2019 prior to the general election. Bailey made his maiden speech on 30 January 2020 where he paid tribute to his mother who he called a "fighter" who inspired him to become a politician and his predecessors Bailey and Boothroyd. He has been a member of the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions 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 the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensi ...

since March 2020 and was a member of the Public Accounts Committee between November 2020 and October 2022. Bailey is a supporter of Blue Collar Conservatism. He was a

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

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

between July and September 2022. After

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

resigned as Prime Minister in October 2022, he supported former PM

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 bid in the

October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis. Rishi ...

who had resigned in July 2022. He had previously backed Truss in the

July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election 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 after a series of political controversies. The leadership ele ...

and had withdrew his support for Johnson as PM in July after the

July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis In early July 2022, 62 of the United Kingdom's 179 government ministers, parliamentary private secretaries, trade envoys, and party vice-chairmen resigned from their positions in the second administration formed by Boris Johnson as Prime Min ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Shaun Living people Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2019–present People from Telford 1992 births Politicians from Shropshire People from West Bromwich