Stewart James Jackson, Baron Jackson of Peterborough (born 31 January 1965) is a British politician and adviser. Jackson served as a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Member of Parliament (MP)
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 often ...
for
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
from 2005 to 2017. After being ousted by Labour's
Fiona Onasanya
Fiona Oluyinka Onasanya (; born 23 August 1983) is a former British Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) who was removed from that role as a result of a criminal conviction. She was elected in the 2017 United Kingdom general election for the ...
at the
2017 general election, he served as Chief of Staff, and Special Adviser to
David Davis,
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union or, informally, Brexit Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the business of the Department for Exiting the Euro ...
, until July 2018 when Davis resigned his position.
Early life
Jackson was born in
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
and brought up in south-east London. He was educated at the
London Nautical School in
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
, and
Chatham House Grammar School
(May Chatham House Flourish)
, established = 1797
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, free_3 = 2011
, closed =
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, religious_affiliation =
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, head_label =
, head ...
in
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, followed by
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
, where he was awarded a
BA (Hons) degree in Economics & Public Administration, in 1988. Jackson was elected President of the
University of London Union
Student Central was a students' facility of the University of London. It was previously the students' union of the federal University of London, known as the University of London Union (commonly referred to as ULU, pron. 'yoo-loo'), which was clo ...
for the 1988–89 academic year. During his tenure as president, he faced a no-confidence motion in January 1989, and resigned before he was required to leave office.
Political career
Jackson served on
Ealing Borough Council
Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London.
History
There have previously been a number of ...
in west London from 1990 to 1998, during which time he was
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 ...
spokesman on planning and housing. He is Vice-President of the
Local Government Association.
Jackson unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of
Brent South at the
1997 general election. He was then selected as the Conservative candidate for the Peterborough seat in October 2000, and fought the
2001 general election, where he reduced the
Labour Party's majority in the constituency from 7,323 votes to 2,854 votes, but lost to the incumbent Labour MP
Helen Brinton. Jackson was re-adopted as the Conservative candidate for Peterborough in August 2002, and defeated Brinton at the
2005 general election to become the MP.
In the
2010 general election, held on 6 May, Jackson increased his majority to 4,861 votes over the Labour candidate, Ed Murphy; he was appointed the following month 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 ...
(PPS) to
Owen Paterson
Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...
, the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
, but resigned as PPS on 24 October 2011, after voting against a three-line whip on an EU referendum.
Following
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 cab ...
's selection as the new Conservative Prime Minister, following
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
's resignation, Stewart Jackson was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to
David Davis, the
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union or, informally, Brexit Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the business of the Department for Exiting the Euro ...
, in July 2016.
Following the loss of his seat at the
2017 general election, Jackson was appointed Special Advisor and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State at the
Department for Exiting the European Union
The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU; also known as the Department for Brexit or Brexit Department) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for overseeing negotiations relating to Brexit, and establi ...
.
On 25 April 2022 Stewart Jackson was appointed to the role of
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
Residents' Commissioner.
It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of
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
2022 Political Honours, Jackson would be appointed a life peer. On 16 November 2022, Jackson was created Baron Jackson of Peterborough, ''of
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
in the County of Cambridgeshire''.
Conservative Voice
Together with other MPs on the Conservative right wing, such as
Nadine Dorries
Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, she ...
, Jackson assisted in establishing the Conservative Voice parliamentary grouping led by David Davis (
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
's principal opponent in the contest to win the leadership of the Conservative Party) and
Liam Fox
Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party, Fox has served as t ...
(former
Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
). In explaining his decision to join the new right-wing grouping, Jackson said that he hoped it could "get Cameron back on election-winning ground" and away from the "current social liberal mush". He stated that he would vote against the government's legislation to introduce
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
, and accused his party leader of being "arrogant" for pressing ahead with it.
Policy positions
In 2013, he opposed
David Cameron's plan to arm the Syrian rebels.
In 2014, Jackson, along with six other Conservative Party MPs, voted against the Equal Pay (Transparency) Bill, which would have required all companies with more than 250 employees to declare the gap in pay between the average male and average female salaries.
Jackson opposed the
2013 bill to allow gay marriage. In March 2015, he told a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
constituent: "The feeling's fully mutual. Please feel free to never bother me again" after she requested to be removed from his campaign mailing list because she disagreed with his position on the act.
Use of social media
In March 2015, Jackson attracted media attention for his response to a constituent which was subsequently circulated on social media. Jackson's email told the constituent “The feeling’s fully mutual. Please feel free to never bother me again” after she requested to be removed from his campaign mailing list because she disagreed with his opposition to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
On 26 June 2016, Rupert Myers, a political correspondent for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', tweeted about the outcome of the Referendum of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union "I can't get over the fact that the winning side lied about a whole bunch of stuff & yet expect us to live cheerfully with the result". Stewart Jackson replied from his verified Twitter account "Suck it up whiner...".
Jackson attracted attention in October 2016, when he used Twitter to state that patriots should not subscribe to ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'', a liberal, free-market magazine, because of its arguments about the problems leaving the EU would entail.
After losing his seat in 2017, Jackson contacted a former constituent who had been critical of him on Facebook to call him a "thick chav", and also wrote: "If you print any shit about me on Facebook in the future you will regret it."
In October 2018, Jackson, who is known for his pro-
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
views, was again criticised after tweeting: "What a pathetic cretin" in response to a picture of an ill child with a duvet depicting 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 ...
flag. The child was recovering from an operation at the
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...
. Jackson subsequently said, after deleting the initial tweet, that he was referring to the child's stepfather rather than the child himself. The Science Minister,
Sam Gyimah
Samuel Phillip Gyimah (; born 10 August 1976) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey from 2010 to 2019. First elected as a Conservative, Gyimah rebelled against the government to block a no-deal Bre ...
, criticised the tweet, saying: "No one can take credibly or seriously people who use that language."
Heidi Allen
Heidi Suzanne Allen (' Bancroft; born 18 January 1975) is a British former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Cambridgeshire from 2015 to 2019. Initially elected as a Conservative, she resigned from the party in Fe ...
, another Conservative MP, responded by describing Jackson as "a pathetic, unkind and nasty man."
Attempts at a political comeback
Since losing his seat in 2017, Jackson has made several attempts at a political comeback, though has failed to be selected multiple times.
Ahead of the 2019 General Election, he attempted to be selected for the safe seat of
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...
in Kent, losing to
Laura Trott.
In 2020, he stood to be the
Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Cambridgeshire Police in the English County of Cambridgeshire. The p ...
, losing to eventual winner Daryll Preston. He lost the selection by a margin of two votes despite the endorsement of Home Secretary
Priti Patel.
Parliamentary expenses
On 12 May 2009, both BBC ''
Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'', and a second article published by ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' reported that Jackson had claimed £55,000 on housing costs for the constituency house, bringing the total sum to over £66,000. When asked about how MPs should be housed in their constituencies, Jackson was quoted in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as saying that any ban on the second home allowance would be "draconian and unfair".
In May 2013, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) issued a
High Court action in an attempt to recover £54,000 in alleged notional Capital Gains arising from Jackson's Peterborough home.
Wikipedia biography
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
es from inside the
Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
have often edited the Wikipedia biographies of politicians including Jackson in an attempt to remove details on the parliamentary expenses scandal,
and attempts have been made to remove details of Jackson's interaction with a lesbian constituent. Ben Riley-Smith, a correspondent for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', argues that it is impossible to prove that changes are made by staff of any particular MP.
[
]
Citizen's arrest attempt
In July 2012, Jackson attempted to tackle a vandal in Peterborough. Jackson, who was shopping with his wife and daughter, tried to perform a citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – that is, a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which ...
after seeing a bus shelter being vandalised. The vandal got away, but only after kicking the MP. Cambridgeshire Constabulary subsequently arrested a twenty-year-old man in connection with the incident who was later found guilty of assault and criminal damage at Peterborough Magistrates Court.
References
External links
Stewart Jackson MP
official site
*
* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-32128877 Peterborough candidate Stewart Jackson criticised over 'stupid' email exchange
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Stewart
1965 births
Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London
Alumni of the University of West London
People educated at the London Nautical School
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Councillors in the London Borough of Ealing
Councillors in Greater London
People educated at Chatham House Grammar School
People from Woolwich
Living people
UK MPs 2005–2010
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Life peers created by Charles III
British Eurosceptics