Felicity Buchan

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Felicity Buchan
MP
Official portrait of Felicity Buchan MP crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Kensington
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byEmma Dent Coad
Majority150 (0.3%)
Personal details
Born1970
Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Websitefelicitybuchan.com

Felicity Christiana Buchan (born 1970) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kensington since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, she worked in investment banking for JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America prior to her political career.[1]

Early life and education[]

Buchan was born in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the daughter of Charles and Georgina Buchan.[1][2] She attended the Fraserburgh Academy comprehensive school in Fraserburgh and subsequently studied law at Christ Church, Oxford.[3][4] Her brother Charles is a partner at the alternative asset management firm Bluecrest Capital Management.[5]

Financial career[]

Buchan worked for 10 years at American investment bank JPMorgan Chase in their syndicate and capital markets division and was promoted to vice president of their European syndicate.[6] She left the company in 2001 to join Bank of America as a managing director in its debt capital markets division.[7] As of September 2020, she holds at least £70,000 of shares in both companies.[8]

After leaving the financial services industry, she volunteered at a North Kensington children's charity and was the chair of governors of Bousfield Primary School.[3]

Political career[]

Buchan contested South Down in Northern Ireland as a Conservative candidate in the 2015 general election, coming last with 318 (0.7%) votes.[9] She then contested the South Shields seat in Tyne and Wear in 2017, where she came second to the incumbent Labour Party MP, Emma Lewell-Buck, with 10,570 (25.9%) votes.[10] During the 2017 campaign, Buchan wrote an article for the website BrexitCentral in which discussed her support for "a tough Brexit deal: that means leaving the Single Market, the Customs Union and the ECJ" and decried a London-centric view of politics.[11]

She was selected as the Conservative candidate for Kensington on 16 July 2019. Buchan had been the treasurer and a member of the board for the Kensington Chelsea & Fulham Conservatives Local Association, roles she had held until 2019.[12][1] When asked about her prior comments on Brexit during her 2017 campaign, she stated that she had "always campaigned for a good negotiated deal" and that she was not in favour of a "hard Brexit".[13] She was elected as MP in the 2019 general election with a majority of 150.[14] After her election, she pledged to accept and help to implement the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry "with a sense of urgency". The purpose of the inquiry is to investigate the Grenfell Tower fire which occurred in 2017 in North Kensington, which lies within her constituency.[15] She has been a member of the Treasury Select Committee and Finance Committee since March 2020.[16]

On 7 September 2020, Buchan voted against a Labour Party amendment to the Fire Safety Bill which was intended to implement the recommendations of the first phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. This was criticised by campaign group Grenfell United and opposition politicians. She defended her vote by stating the government was "committed to implementing the recommendations", and criticised the Labour Party for "misrepresenting the vote" for political reasons.[17]

On 23 August 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Buchan as the UK's trade envoy to Iceland and Norway.[18]

Personal life[]

Buchan lists her recreations as "friends and family, travel, sport" in Who's Who. She is a member of the Chelsea Arts Club.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Buchan, Felicity Christiana, (born 1970), MP (C) Kensington, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293963. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  2. ^ Hughes, Brendan (7 April 2015). "Tories sending British members to contest Westminster seats in north". The Irish News. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Meet Felicity". Felicity Buchan. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Treasury Committee: Formal Minutes 2019–21". UK Parliament. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  6. ^ Hogan, Roger (6 September 1999). "BBB borrowers boosted". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ Townsend, Piers (19 April 2001). "BoA bolsters debt capital markets team". Financial News. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Register of Members' Financial Interests as at 1 September 2020" (PDF). UK Parliament. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ^ "South Down parliamentary constituency – Election 2015". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  10. ^ "South Shields – 2017 Election Results – General Elections Online". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  11. ^ Buchan, Felicity (1 June 2017). "Labour can no longer take South Shields for granted thanks to Corbyn and Brexit". BrexitCentral. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017.
  12. ^ Wallace, Mark (16 July 2019). "Felicity Buchan selected as Conservative candidate for Kensington". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. ^ Gregory, Julia (3 December 2019). "The woman on a quest to win back Kensington – a jewel in the Conservative crown". MyLondon. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Kensington". BBC News. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Grenfell truth must come out, urges Conservative Kensington MP". South West Londoner. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Parliamentary career for Felicity Buchan". UK Parliament. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Grenfell recommendations will be implemented, says Robert Jenrick". BBC News. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  18. ^ "PM announces new Trade Envoys to boost British business around the world". GOV.UK (Press release). 23 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Kensington
2019–present 		Incumbent
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