Gareth Bacon

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Gareth Bacon

MP
Official portrait of Mr Gareth Bacon MP crop 2.jpg
Bacon in 2020
Member of Parliament
for Orpington
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJo Johnson
Majority22,378 (45.9%)
Leader of the Conservatives
in the London Assembly
In office
October 2015 – 17 December 2019
Preceded byAndrew Boff
Succeeded bySusan Hall
Member of the London Assembly
for Bexley and Bromley
In office
5 May 2016 – 6 May 2021
Preceded byJames Cleverly
Succeeded byPeter Fortune
Member of the London Assembly
as the 1st Additional Member
In office
1 May 2008 – 5 May 2016
Preceded byPeter Hulme-Cross
Succeeded byKemi Badenoch
Councillor for Bexley London Borough Council
In office
8 May 1998 – 15 March 2021
WardLonglands (2002–2021)
Sidcup West (1998–2002)
Personal details
Born (1972-04-07) 7 April 1972 (age 49)
British Hong Kong
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Cheryl Cooley
Alma materUniversity of Kent
WebsiteOfficial website

Gareth Andrew Bacon (born 7 April 1972) is a British Conservative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington since 2019.[1] He was a member of the London Assembly, but stood down at the 2021 election after his election as an MP in 2019.[1][2]

Early life and career[]

Bacon was born in Hong Kong in 1972, the son of Robert and Helen Bacon.[1] He studied at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's School in Sidcup, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Politics and Government in 1996. This was followed by a Master of Arts degree in European Studies in 1997. He worked as head of the public sector division of Martin Ward Anderson from 2004 to 2012.[1][3]

Political career[]

Bacon joined the Conservative Party in 1987. Prior to his election as the Member of Parliament for Orpington, he had a long career in local government, serving as a London Assembly Member since 2008 and as a local councillor since 1998.

Following his election as a Member of Parliament in 2019, Bacon announced that he would stand down from Bexley Council and the London Assembly ahead of the upcoming local elections.[4] Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the English local elections were postponed for a year.[5]

Member of the London Assembly[]

Bacon stood for Greenwich and Lewisham on the Greater London Authority in 2004, but was unsuccessful.[1] In the 2008 London Assembly election, he was elected as the third Conservative London-wide Assembly Member.[6] In 2012, Bacon was ranked second on the Conservative party top-up list, and went on to be re-elected to the London Assembly.[7]

In June 2010, Bacon was appointed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to serve on the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority. He became Chairman of the authority in 2015, and held this position until the following year, remaining a member of the authority until 2018.[1]

In September 2015, Bacon was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the London Assembly constituency of Bexley & Bromley. At the following election, he was duly elected to the London Assembly with 87,460 votes (46.1%) and a majority of 41,699.[8] In October 2015, he succeeded Andrew Boff as the Leader of the GLA Conservative Group at City Hall, and held this position until 2019.

On the London Assembly, Bacon was Chairman of the London Assembly's Budget and Performance Committee (from 2016 onwards), Chairman of the Budget Monitoring Sub-Committee, and Vice-Chairman of the Oversight Committee.[9][1]

Bexley Council[]

Bacon was a long-standing councillor on Bexley Council, representing Sidcup West from 1998 to 2002, and then Longlands ward, centred on the area of the same name, from 2002 to 2021.[10][11][12][13] He was Deputy Mayor of the borough from 2001 to 2002.[1]

After the Conservatives won control of Bexley Council in 2006, Bacon served as the Cabinet Member for the Environment from 2006 to 2014.[1] In 2012, his portfolio was widened to include the Public Realm.[citation needed]

Bacon steered through an enhanced recycling service in Bexley, which produced a 20% increase in the level of recycling in the borough in the first year. It ensured that Bexley retained its position as the leading borough for recycling in London, breaking through the 50% barrier for the first time, and avoiding an increase of £2 million in costs for waste disposal.[citation needed]

Bacon was elected Deputy Leader of Bexley Council in 2014, a position he left in January 2015 after his appointment to the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.[1]

Bacon stood down from Bexley Council on 15 March 2021.[14]

Member of Parliament[]

On 8 November 2019, Bacon was selected by Orpington Conservatives to be their candidate for the upcoming general election, after incumbent Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Boris Johnson, chose not to seek re-election.

On 12 December 2019, Bacon was elected as the Member of Parliament for Orpington. Despite a fall in his numerical vote share, Bacon was elected with the highest Conservative vote share in the seat since 1955, winning the seat with 30,882 votes, a majority of 22,378.

Bacon made his maiden speech in Parliament on 5 February 2020.[15] He became a member of the influential House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on 2 March 2020.[16]

In June 2020, Bacon was one of a minority of Conservative MPs to vote against restricting demonstrations outside abortion clinics.[17][non-primary source needed]

Personal life[]

In 2004, he married Cheryl Cooley, a fellow Conservative councillor in Bexley. She also works for Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative MP for Saffron Walden. Bacon and his wife have a daughter.[18] He is a former rugby player, a current squash player and a season ticket holder at Manchester United Football Club.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k "Bacon, Gareth Andrew, (born 7 April 1972), MP (C) Orpington, since 2019; Member (C) Bexley and Bromley, London Assembly, Greater London Authority, since 2016 (London-wide, 2008–16)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u246974. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. ^ "New London MPs will step down from City Hall roles in May". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  3. ^ 'BACON, Gareth Andrew', Who's Who 2009, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2008, accessed 17 March 2009.
  4. ^ "Orpington MP Gareth Bacon to step down from Bexley council role ahead of May election". News Shopper. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Coronavirus: English local elections postponed for a year". BBC News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  6. ^ "BBC NEWS | Election 2008 | London Assembly Election 2008". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  7. ^ "BBC News - Vote 2012 - London Assembly Results". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Bexley & Bromley 2016 election results". Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Gareth Bacon". London City Hall. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Longlands Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Longlands Ward By-election | London Borough of Bexley". www.bexley.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Councillor details - Councillor Gareth Bacon". democracy.bexley.gov.uk. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  13. ^ Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (1998). London Borough Council elections 7 May 1998 : including the Greater London Authority referendum results (PDF). Dennis Grenham, London Research Centre. Demographic and Statistical Studies Department. London: London Research Centre. Demographic and Statistical Studies. ISBN 1-85261-276-2. OCLC 40179592.
  14. ^ "Councillor details - Councillor Gareth Bacon". democracy.bexley.gov.uk. 29 May 2021.
  15. ^ Bacon, Gareth (5 February 2020). "WATCH Orpington's new MP Gareth Bacon deliver his maiden speech in Parliament". Gareth Bacon. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Parliamentary career for Gareth Bacon - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Ten Minute Rule Motion: Demonstrations (Abortion Clinics) - Commons' votes in Parliament - UK Parliament". votes.parliament.uk.
  18. ^ "Register of interests for Councillor Cheryl Bacon". democracy.bexley.gov.uk. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Jo Johnson 		Member of Parliament for Orpington
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""