Matt Vickers

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Matt Vickers
MP
Matt Vickers MP Official Portrait crop.jpg
Member of Parliament
for Stockton South
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byPaul Williams
Majority5,260 (9.6%)
Personal details
Born (1983-09-24) 24 September 1983 (age 38)
Stockton-on-Tees, England
Political partyConservative
Websitewww.mattvickers.co.uk

Matthew Alexander Vickers[1] (born 24 September 1983)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton South since the 2019 general election.

Early life[]

Vickers was born in University Hospital of North Tees and grew up in Stockton. His parents were a builder and a hairdresser.[3] Vickers has three brothers.[4] He studied law and business management at university. Vickers has previously worked in retail management.[5][6]

Local political career[]

Vickers represented Hartburn Ward on the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council from May 2015 until April 2021, when he stood down.[7] During his tenure as a councillor Vickers was the leader of the Conservative group on the council. He campaigned against overdevelopment and for suitable parking facilities.[8] During this period he had faced some criticism due to his ongoing representation as a councillor whilst an elected MP, being labelled as a "part time MP" by other councillors from the region.[9] In response to criticism, Vickers highlighted how he did not claim any expenses and donated all his councillor salary to three local charities, which helped veterans, those suffering with dementia and homelessness in the constituency.[10] At the time of his departure as a councillor, his allowance amounted to a minimum of £9,300 per year.[11][12] One of the recipients was The Teesside Dementia Link Services who received a £500 donation from his councillor allowance.[13] The two remaining recipients of the allowance donations are unknown.

Vickers was the Conservative candidate for Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner in 2016.[14] Between 2009 and 2019, he was the constituency agent for Richmond (Yorks). Vickers initially worked with William Hague. Following this Vickers helped to run, now Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak's successful election campaign.[15]

Parliamentary career[]

He was elected as MP for Stockton South in the 2019 general election with a majority of 5,260. The seat had previously been held by Labour's Paul Williams.[16] From March 2020 until 16 January 2021, Vickers had sat on the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union.[17] Since March 2021, he has been a member of the Petitions Committee and the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee since October 2021.[18][19] On 19 November 2020, Vickers backed the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, after a Cabinet Office inquiry found evidence that Patel had breached the ministerial code following bullying allegations, publicly supporting Patel; "[Patel] is one of the most hardworking Home Secretaries this country has had."[20][21]

Vickers, along with 22 other MPs, wrote to Attorney General Suella Braverman in August 2020 requesting that the killing of police officer Andrew Harper case, where the perpetrators were convicted of manslaughter, be referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme as he supported a life imprisonment.[22]

On 27 September 2021, Vickers wrote a letter to the House of Commons Director of Catering requesting that the Teesside dish, the chicken Parmo, be added to the menu.[23] After a successful campaign, the Parmo was added to the menu for a short period of time.[24][25]

References[]

  1. ^ "Members Sworn". UK Parliament. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ 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. 342. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ^ Vickers, Matt (10 February 2020). "Matt Vickers MP: "Representing my home in Westminster is the greatest honour of my life"". The Northern Echo.
  4. ^ The Real Me: Matt Vickers, MP for Stockton South. GB News. 2 November 2021. Event occurs at 00:33.
  5. ^ Brown, Mike (13 December 2019). "Who is Matt Vickers? Meet the councillor and Brexiteer who's the new MP for Stockton South". TeessideLive. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Matthew Vickers selected for Stockton South". ConservativeHome. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Teesside MP to step down from role as councillor". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Council told to 'stop dithering' and end 'Yarm Crawl' – but leader insists progress is being made". Gazette Live. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  9. ^ Metcalfe, Alex (28 July 2020). "Fiery meeting sees Tory councillor and MP criticised as 'part time'". gazettelive. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. ^ "MP speaks on decision to remain as a local councillor after criticism". The Northern Echo. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council – Annual Financial Statements 2020/21 (Members' Allowances 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021)" (pdf). Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Member Expenses for 2019–20 (Members' Allowances)" (pdf). Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Teesside Dementia Link Services – Thank you Matt Vickers". Teesside Dementia Link Services. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Barry Coppinger re-elected as Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Join Rishi in saying farewell and thanks to Matt". Richmond Conservatives. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Stockton South parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  17. ^ "Parliamentary career for Matt Vickers". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Petitions Committee Members". UK Parliament.
  19. ^ "Parliamentary career". UK Parliament.
  20. ^ Matt Vickers [@Matt_VickersMP] (19 November 2020). ".@PritiPatel is one of the most hardworking Home Secretaries this country has..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 November 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Scott, Jim (20 November 2020). "North-East MPs defend Priti Patel amid allegations of bullying". The Northern Echo.
  22. ^ "Matt Vickers: The killing of Andrew Harper. Why I, alongside 22 other MPs, wrote to the Attorney General last Friday". Conservative Home. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  23. ^ Matt Vickers [@Matt_VickersMP] (27 September 2021). "I've just written to the head of catering to get the Teesside Parmo on the House of Commons menu..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Stockton MP met with backlash after parmo added to House of Commons menu". Northern Echo.
  25. ^ "Teesside MP calls for Parmos to be served in Parliament – but not everyone is impressed". Gazette Live.

External links[]

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