Robert Jenrick

Education

Robert Jenrick grew up in Shropshire and Herefordshire near the town of Ludlow.

Jenrick attended Wolverhampton Grammar School before reading History at St John's College, Cambridge, where he gained a first class degree in 2003. He was Thouron Fellow in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania from 2003–2004. He subsequently studied law, gaining a graduate diploma in law from The College of Law in 2005 and completing a legal practice course at BPP Law School in 2006.

Career

Jenrick qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and practised business law with the leading international law firms, Skadden Arps and Sullivan & Cromwell in London and Moscow, before pursuing a management career. Immediately prior to being elected to parliament in 2014 Jenrick was a Director of Christie's, the art business where he held a series of senior commercial roles, lastly as an international managing director of the company.

At the general election of 2010, he contested Newcastle-under-Lyme for the Conservative Party, achieving one of the largest swings to the Conservatives in the UK, adding 9.4 per cent to the party's vote, but falling short of incumbent, Paul Farrelly of the Labour Party by 1,582 votes.

In November 2013, Jenrick was selected as his party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Conservative stronghold of Newark, where the sitting Conservative member had left the party following a cash for lobbying scandal. At a by-election held on 5 June 2014, he regained the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 7,403. Jenrick became the first Conservative candidate to win a by-election in Government since the election of William Hague in the Richmond by-election in 1989 and achieved the strongest peacetime by-election result for the Conservative Party in government for over 40 years.

Shortly after his election, Jenrick was elected to the House of Commons Health Committee.

In February 2015 he was appointed PPS to the Employment Minister, Esther McVey.

Jenrick was re-elected in the May 2015 General Election with a majority of 18,474 or 57% of the vote, the largest majority in the history of the constituency and the largest swing of any Conservative MP in that election.

In May 2015, Robert Jenrick was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Michael Gove and continued to do so under his successor, Liz Truss from July 2016.

Following his re-election in the June 2017 General Election with a majority of 18,150 or 63% of the vote, the largest share of the vote by any Conservative in the history of the county of Nottinghamshire, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary, Rt. Hon. Amber Rudd MP.

In July 2017 he was elected by fellow MPs to be their representative on the Board of the Conservative Party.

In Parliament, Robert Jenrick is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Trade & Investment, Vice Chairman of the Groups on China, France and on Cultural Protection. He led a national campaign to support the protection of historic sites in the Middle East, being or threatened with destruction by Islamist extremists, such as the ancient city of Palmyra and persuaded the David Cameron to establish the UK's first Cultural Protection Fund and to change the law to tackle the illicit trade in antiquities, the Cultural Protection Bill.

In his constituency, Robert Jenrick has campaigned for improvements in education and social mobility. He developed and campaigned for the establish of a free school in Newark, The Suthers School which was granted as the last act of Prime Minister David Cameron. He serves as a governor of the school, which opened in September 2017.

He has campaigned for infrastructure investments in and around Newark, including the proposed Newark A46 Northern By-Pass, which is currently being planned by Highways England.

Jenrick is President of the League of Friends of Newark Hospital.

In February 2016, Channel 4 News broadcast a story alleging overspending in Jenrick's 2014 by-election victory. Jenrick said he was "very confident" his election expenses had been compiled "in complete compliance with the law". Nottinghamshire Police took no action on these claims as too much time had passed since the alleged offence.

Jenrick was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum. Jenrick attended US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.

Property

During the Newark by-election campaign, Jenrick was attacked in a personal campaign by UKIP's candidate Roger Helmer for owning several properties. Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, defended Jenrick, insisting that being self-made and successful was nothing to be ashamed of.

The Jenricks bought the Grade I listed Eye Manor in Eye, Herefordshire, near to his home town of Ludlow, for £1.1  million in 2009. They also own a £2.5 million house in Vincent Square, Westminster, and a £2.1 million flat in Marylebone, as well as renting a property in Southwell, Newark.