Greg Smith (British politician)

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Greg Smith

MP
Official portrait of Greg Smith MP crop 2.jpg
Smith in 2020
Member of Parliament
for Buckingham
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJohn Bercow
Majority20,411 (32.2%)[1]
Personal details
Born
Gregory David Smith[2]

(1979-03-03) 3 March 1979 (age 42)
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Annalise
ChildrenJacob, Charlie and Rupert
EducationUniversity of Birmingham
Websitewww.gregsmith.co.uk

Greg David Smith (born 3 March 1979)[3] is a British Conservative politician. Previously deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Buckingham constituency since the 2019 general election.

Early life[]

Smith studied at Bromsgrove School and then the University of Birmingham. He has had a career in design and marketing.[4] Smith was a trustee of Riverside Studios[5] from 2008 to 2019.

Career[]

Smith was a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham Council between May 2006 and May 2018, and was also deputy leader of the council. In 2014, the Conservatives lost control of the council to Labour in the local elections, and Smith was appointed as Leader of the Conservative group.[6] He stood down from the council in the 2018 elections.

At the 2017 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in Hayes and Harlington, which has generally been a safe seat for the Labour Party in recent years.[7] He came second to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, securing 28.6% of the vote.[8]

In October 2019, Smith was announced as the Conservative candidate for the Buckingham constituency, following the announcement by the retiring Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow that he would stand down at the end of October.[9] Bercow had held the seat since 1997, having originally been elected as a Conservative.

Smith announced his opposition to HS2 and the East West Expressway as part of his campaign.[9] He is a Brexit supporter[10] and helped Boris Johnson in his Conservative party leadership campaign.[citation needed]

Smith opposes a Ministry of Justice plan to build a third prison in his constituency.[11]

Smith was appointed as a member of the Transport Select Committee in February 2020.[12] He is the co-chair of the Free-Market Forum.[13] In May 2021 he became chairman of the Minimally Invasive Cancer Therapies All-party parliamentary group. [14]

Controversies[]

In October 2020, following a national campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford, the Labour Party UK put down a House of Commons motion to extend the free school meals food vouchers to cover the October 2020 half-term break. Many local councils, individuals and businesses volunteered to offer assistance to FareShare to help them serve the impoverished at this time. Despite him having voted against the motion, Smith's team applied to one such volunteer organisation (a cafe in his constituency at Ivinghoe) for a photo opportunity to "help get the meals ready for distribution, or help with delivery". The request was denied by the cafe owners which made national press.[15]

Personal life[]

He moved to Wendover, Buckinghamshire, with his wife, Annalise and first son Jacob in 2017.[9]

In 2021, Smith moved to the Buckinghamshire village of Chearsley. In July 2021, their third son Rupert was born at Stoke Mandeville hospital.[16]

References[]

  1. ^ "UK election results 2019: Boris Johnson returned as PM with all constituencies declared". The Guardian. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. ^ "No. 62862". The London Gazette. 20 December 2019. p. 23185.
  3. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  4. ^ Wareham, Stephanie (21 October 2019). "Tories pick candidate for Speaker John Bercow's Westminster seat". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  5. ^ Wallace, Mark (21 October 2019). "New candidates selected in Buckingham, Newport, Brecon, Workington, Chester and Warrington". Conservative Home. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  6. ^ Wallace, Mark (21 October 2019). "New candidates selected in Buckingham, Newport, Brecon, Workington, Chester and Warrington". Conservative Home. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  7. ^ De Peyer, Robin (8 June 2017). "Hayes and Harlington Election Results Who is the MP for the constituency after the general election". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Hayes & Harlington". BBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Greg Smith selected as Conservative Party candidate for Buckingham at next general election". Buckingham Advertiser. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Bemused at the surrender of sovereignty at Maastricht, I was always going to be a Brexiteer". Brexit Central. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  11. ^ Richardson, Hannah (23 June 2021). "Plans for new prison 'devastating' says Buckingham MP". www.buckinghamtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Buckingham MP Greg Smith: 'I share anger and frustration over HS2 decision'". Bucks Free Press. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Who We Are". FMF v1. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Greg Smith MP becomes chairman of group to help cancer patients". Bucks Free Press. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Cafe rejects MP who voted against free meals to help them pack kids' lunches". Metro. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  16. ^ "New baby son for Buckingham MP". Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Bercow 		Member of Parliament for Buckingham
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""