Jonathan Gullis

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Jonathan Gullis

MP
Official portrait of Jonathan Gullis MP crop 2.jpg
Gullis in 2020
Member of Parliament
for Stoke-on-Trent North
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byRuth Smeeth
Majority6,286 (15.7%)
Personal details
Born
Jonathan Edward Gullis

(1990-01-09) 9 January 1990 (age 31)
Political partyConservative
Children1

Jonathan Edward Gullis (born 9 January 1990) is a Conservative Party politician, who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent North since 2019.[1][2][3]

Education[]

Gullis attended Princethorpe College, an independent school near Rugby.[4] He studied International Relations with Law at Oxford Brookes University and PGCE Secondary Citizenship at the UCL Institute of Education.[5]

Career[]

Gullis was elected as a Conservative councillor in the Shipston ward of Stratford-upon-Avon in May 2011, until he resigned in October 2012 after starting a teaching job in London.[6] Gullis came in for criticism, resigning 3 hours too late for a by-election to coincide with the PCC election on November 15, an error costing in excess of £5,000 when the by-election was held two weeks later. Gullis, annoyed at his treatment by the local Conservative party, urged locals to vote for the Labour candidate, Jeff Kenner.[7]

He stood in Washington and Sunderland West at the 2017 general election, but lost to incumbent Labour MP Sharon Hodgson. It has generally been a safe seat for Hodgson's party.

Gullis was elected as the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North at the 2019 general election, unseating Labour's Ruth Smeeth and becoming the first Conservative to represent the constituency.[2] At the time of his election, Gullis was employed as a school teacher and head of year at Fairfax School in Sutton Coldfield, and served as the school's trade union representative.[8][9]

On 30 April 2020, Gullis was criticised by Piers Morgan after he complained of the media's 'sick obsession' with the number of deaths during the coronavirus pandemic. Gullis was responding to a tweet by radio presenter James O'Brien. Gullis described comparisons with the number of deaths in other countries as 'lazy' in a now deleted tweet. He later apologised for his 'poor choice of words'.[10] He has since closed his Twitter account.[citation needed]

In June 2020, Gullis introduced a Ten Minute Rule bill which would introduce custodial sentences of up to 14 years for those who desecrate war memorials.[11]

Gullis is a member of the European Research Group and is a parliamentary backer of FREER,[12] an initiative run by the neoliberal Institute of Economic Affairs.[13]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Gullis was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[14]

On 23 February 2021, Gullis was prevented by the Deputy Speaker from taking part in a debate in the House of Commons from home for being inappropriately dressed. Gullis changed into a shirt and jacket, and was then allowed to participate.[15]

Personal life[]

In March 2020, as part of a mental health awareness campaign run by the Stoke Sentinel, Gullis said that he has suffered with depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts throughout periods of his life.[16]

In June 2020, in a parliamentary debate on divorce law reform, Gullis said that he has gone through a divorce and supported the "no fault" divorce proposal.[17]

He has a daughter with his partner, Nkita.[18][19]

References[]

  1. ^ 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. 343. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Election 2019: Stoke on Trent North". BBC. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. ^ Corrigan, Phil (13 December 2019). "New MP pledges to 'work his bum off' after winning big in Stoke-on-Trent North". stokesentinel. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  4. ^ "New MP Jonathan Gullis Pays Tribute To His Princethorpe Teacher". Princethorpe Connect. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  5. ^ Speck, Dave (16 February 2020). "'Teaching is like doing 10 rounds with Anthony Joshua'". Tes. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Taxpayer could pay dear as Tory quits". Cotswold Journal. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Vote Labour – says hapless Tory councillor". LabourList.
  8. ^ "Meet Boris's Babies – they're young, fun and working class". The Times (London). 15 December 2019. p. 23.
  9. ^ Carr, James (18 January 2020). "From the classroom to the commons: former teacher's first weeks as MP". Schools Week. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. ^ Corrigan, Phil (30 April 2020). "'An absolute disgrace' – Piers Morgan blasts Stoke-on-Trent MP for controversial coronavirus tweet". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  11. ^ Corrigan, Phil (23 June 2020). "Stoke-on-Trent MP's war memorial desecration bill passes first hurdle in Parliament". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. ^ "About -". www.freeruk.com.
  13. ^ "Why new MPs are rushing to join the European Research Group". The Week. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Britain's heroes". Letter to the Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ "Covid: MP told to 'dress properly' for House of Commons debate". BBC News. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  16. ^ Ault, Richard (10 March 2020). "'I self-harmed after bullying...' MP Jonathan Gullis speaks out about his own mental health struggles - and thoughts of suicide". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  17. ^ Corrigan, Phil (11 June 2020). "Stoke-on-Trent MP opens up about 'painful' marriage breakdown during debate over 'no-fault' divorces". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  18. ^ Parker, Hayley (3 September 2020). "Adorable moment Stoke-on-Trent MP soothes newborn baby as cries interrupt Ofqual video call - and he's won a legion of fans". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Parents kept away from seeing seriously ill babies in intensive care". www.msn.com. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ruth Smeeth 		Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""