Bernard Jenkin

Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin (born 9 April 1959) is a British Conservative politician serving as Chairman of the Liaison Committee and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich and North Essex since 2010. He was first elected to represent Colchester North in the 1992 general election, and went on to represent North Essex before the current Harwich and North Essex constituency was created.[1]

The Honourable

Sir Bernard Jenkin

MP
Jenkin in 2019
Chair of the Liaison Committee
Assumed office
23 May 2020
Preceded bySarah Wollaston
Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
Public Administration Committee (2010–2015)
In office
10 June 2010 – 29 January 2020
Preceded byTony Wright
Succeeded byWilliam Wragg
Shadow Secretary of State for the Regions
In office
11 November 2003 – 6 May 2005
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byDavid Davis
Succeeded byCaroline Spelman
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office
18 September 2001 – 6 November 2003
LeaderIain Duncan Smith
Preceded byIain Duncan Smith
Succeeded byNicholas Soames
Member of Parliament
for Harwich and North Essex
North Essex (1997–2010)
Colchester North (1992–1997)
Assumed office
9 April 1992
Preceded byAntony Buck
Majority20,182 (38.9%)
Personal details
Born (1959-04-09) 9 April 1959
Wood Green, Middlesex, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1988)​
Children2
FatherPatrick Jenkin
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Cambridge

He was elected Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee in May 2010. He was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, and had responsibility for candidates until 7 November 2006 when this role was given to John Maples.[2] Jenkin's Deputy chairman role came to an end when, during a cabinet reshuffle, he was offered another frontbench position, which he declined, reportedly saying to David Cameron that only a return to the shadow cabinet would interest him.[3]

He is a long-standing critic of the European Union, believing that the European Union undermines the United Kingdom's national sovereignty, and he was one of the Maastricht Rebels during the premiership of John Major. In the 2016 EU Referendum, he supported Brexit and since 2017 has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.[4]

He is in favour of marriage equality and was nominated for a Stonewall award in 2013.[5] The environment is one of his main policy concerns: The Climate Coalition awarded him the Green Heart Hero Award for his eco-friendly lifestyle choices.[6] In 2018, he was awarded with a knighthood honouring his political and public service.[7]

Early life

Jenkin was born on 9 April 1959 to Patrick Jenkin (later Baron Jenkin of Roding), the life peer and former cabinet minister, and Monica Jenkin (née Graham). He is a male-line descendant of the scientist Fleeming Jenkin. He was educated at Highgate School, William Ellis School (also in Highgate) and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a Choral Exhibition and gained an BA honours degree in English literature in 1982. He was President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1982. He worked for Ford and the private equity company 3i as Manager of Legal & General Ventures from 1989 to 1992. From 1992 to 1995, he was an advisor to Legal & General Group plc.

Parliamentary career

Declaring that he wanted to 'illustrate that people in the south-east haven't forgotten about Scotland',[8] Jenkin stood for election in Glasgow Central in the 1987 general election. At the 1992 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Colchester North. When that constituency was abolished for the 1997 general election, he was returned to the House of Commons for the newly-re-established North Essex constituency.

In John Major's 1992–1997 government, Jenkin was one of the 'Maastricht Rebels' who defied the party whip to oppose the Maastricht Treaty. William Hague appointed him Shadow Minister for Transport (1998–2001). He has also served as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (2001–03) under Iain Duncan Smith and as Shadow Regions Secretary (2003–05) for Michael Howard. He has also been Shadow Energy Minister. In the 2010 Parliament Jenkin chaired the Public Affairs Committee.

In 2006, Jenkin used racial descriptor "coloured" (rather than "person of colour") when referring to a British Asian Conservative A-List candidate Ali Miraj.[9]

In January 2014, Jenkin drafted a letter calling for prime minister David Cameron to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU to give the House of Commons powers to veto EU legislation, which was ultimately signed by 95 MPs, and reportedly backed by another six.[10] Following the Scottish Independence Referendum and promises made to further devolve powers to Scotland Jenkin called for the creation of an "English First Minister" and for departments responsible for policy that applied only in England to be accountable only to the English MPs.[11]

Jenkin, who gained a reputation as a critic of the Coalition government, also led calls to drop the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012.[12] Jenkin voted in favour of same sex marriage in 2013 "as a matter of principle", whilst acknowledging the decision to hold the debate caused much "political unhappiness".[13]

Following the 2015 general election, he was returned unopposed as the chairman of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.[14]

In September 2019, Jenkin criticised the House of Commons speaker John Bercow, stating that he was "irretrievably politicised and radicalised". This comment came after Bercow made a speech warning Boris Johnson that "the only form of Brexit which we will have, whenever that might be, will be a Brexit that the House of Commons has explicitly endorsed".[15]

In December 2019, Jenkin voted in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement.[16]

Although a sceptic of lockdown, Jenkin supported the first COVID-19 tier regulations in England. However, he urged the Prime Minister to put forward a white paper on the issue, setting out how the UK can deal with COVID-19 through treatments, social distancing and an improved NHS Test and Trace.[17]

Expenses claims

In May 2009, Jenkin was reported by The Daily Telegraph to have used £50,000 in expenses to pay his sister-in-law rent on the property he uses as his constituency home. Jenkin claimed that he was just paying "an honest and reasonable rent" for the property.[18] On 27 October 2009, it was initially recommended that Bernard Jenkin pay back £63,250 by expenses auditor Sir Thomas Legg. This is the highest amount known to have been recommended after an audit of MPs' claims on second homes expenses.[19][20] This amount was reduced to £36,250 following an appeal.[21]

Combat Stress

Jenkin is the Vice-President of the UK charity Combat Stress, which offers residential treatment to ex-servicemen and women suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. To mark his 50th birthday, he held a fundraising event in March 2009 which raised over £50,000 for the charity.[22]

Jenkin was portrayed by Tim McMullan in the 2019 Channel 4 drama, Brexit: The Uncivil War.[23][24]

Personal life

Jenkin married Anne Strutt in 1988 and has two sons. He is an occasional naturist,[25][26] and a long-time acquaintance of screenwriter Richard Curtis, who typically includes a character named 'Bernard' in everything he writes.[27]

References
  1. Stott, Matt (8 May 2015). "Bernard Jenkin majority surges". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. "Jenkin axed in Cameron reshuffle". BBC News. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  3. Isaby, Brendan Carlin and Jonathan (8 November 2006). "Senior Tory sacked in 'A-list' race row". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  4. "Co-Chairmen – Political Advisory Board – Supporters". Leave Means Leave. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. "STONEWALL AWARDS 2013 ANNOUNCED". Stonewall.
  6. "Hope for the Future". Hope for the Future.
  7. Jennings, Ryan (11 June 2019). "Arise Sir Bernard! Jenkin humbled with knighthood". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  8. "Cahoots, mon", The Times, 25 November 1986.
  9. Browne, Anthony (9 November 2006). "Jenkin in new race row after 'coloured' remark". The Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  10. Ross, Tim (11 January 2014). "95 Tory MPs call for EU law veto". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. "Tory backbencher calls for 'England First Minister'". ITV. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  12. Watt, Nicholas (10 July 2012). "Rebel Tories scupper motion for House of Lords reform bill". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  13. Jenkin, Bernard. "Why I, a practising member of the Church of England, will vote for same-sex marriage today". Conservative Home. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  14. "Winning candidates for select committee Chairs announced". UK Parliament. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  15. Evans, Albert (13 September 2019). "Tory MP Bernard Jenkin accuses John Bercow of operating a 'majoritarian dictatorship' over Brexiters". I News. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  16. "European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill: Second Reading - Commons' votes in Parliament". votes.parliament.uk.
  17. Casalicchio, Emilio (2 November 2020). "5 things the UK's lockdown-skeptic MPs want from Boris Johnson". POLITICO. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  18. "Stop MP humiliation – archbishop". BBC News. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  19. "MP told to repay £63,250 expenses". BBC News. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  20. Parkes, Tom (27 October 2009). "MP ordered to pay back more than £60,000". Daily Gazette (Colchester). Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  21. Watt, Holly (30 January 2010). "MPs' expenses: Bernard Jenkin has repayment halved". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  22. "Colchester: Gala event for charity". Essex County Standard. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  23. Bennett, Asa (28 December 2018). "Brexit: The Uncivil War review: Benedict Cumberbatch is superb in this thrilling romp through the referendum". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  24. Matthew Elliott (4 January 2019). "Vote Leave's Matthew Elliott on Channel 4's Brexit: The Uncivil War". Financial Times. Screenwriter James Graham has turned the campaign into a compelling story – and nailed my mannerisms
  25. Hoggart, Simon (2 December 2010). "Register MPs' hobbies? Please no". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  26. "The people's choice?". BBC News. 22 March 2002. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  27. Born, Matt (13 November 2003). "Why Tory MP is the father of all Bernards". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 July 2015.

Video clips

News items
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Antony Buck		 Member of Parliament
for Colchester North
1992–1997		 Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for North Essex
1997–2010
Member of Parliament
for Harwich and North Essex
2010–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Iain Duncan Smith		 Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
2001–2003		 Succeeded by
Nicholas Soames
Preceded by
David Davis
as Shadow Secretary of State for
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister		 Shadow Secretary of State for the Regions
2003–2005		 Succeeded by
Caroline Spelman
as Shadow Secretary of State for
Local Government Affairs and Communities
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