Dehenna Davison

Dehenna Sheridan Davison[1] (/diˈɛnə/[2]) (born 1993/1994)[3] is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishop Auckland since the 2019 general election. She is the first Conservative to represent the constituency since its creation in 1885. The seat had previously been represented by a Labour Party MP since 1935.

Dehenna Davison

MP
Davison in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Bishop Auckland
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byHelen Goodman
Majority7,962 (17.8%)
Personal details
Born
Dehenna Sheridan Davison

1993/1994 (age 26–27)
Sheffield, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
John Fareham
​
​
(m. 2018; sep. 2019)​
Alma materUniversity of Hull
Websitedehennadavison.com

Early life

Dehenna Sheridan Davison was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England where she grew up on a council estate.[4][5][6] Her father was a stonemason, and her mother was a nursery nurse.[3] Davison was educated at the independent Sheffield High School, on a full scholarship.[7] When she was 13 years old her father was attacked and killed;[3] his assailant being jailed for manslaughter.[8] Three years later she represented the family at a criminal injuries compensation tribunal. She has commented in interviews that the experience fostered her interest in politics.[9]

Davison studied British Politics and Legislative Studies at the University of Hull. During her time at the university, she spent a year working as a parliamentary aide for Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset.[10][11] Davison was also a National Union of Students (NUS) delegate and played for the university's lacrosse team.[12][13] She led a successful campaign to disaffiliate the university's student union from the NUS in 2016.[14][15] In the same year, Davison was the Conservative candidate for the Kings Park ward in the Hull City Council election, where she finished last.[16] In 2018, she again contested for a Hull City Council seat, where she finished fifth in the Kingswood ward.[17] In her late teens and early twenties, she had a variety of jobs including in a video games retailer, a casino, a betting shop, and a branch of Pizza Hut.[9][18][19]

Parliamentary career

Davison was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Kingston upon Hull North constituency in the 2015 general election. She finished in third behind the Labour Party and UK Independence Party candidates.[20] Davison supported Brexit in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[4] She next contested the Sedgefield constituency in the 2017 general election where she finished second behind the Labour candidate.[18][21]

She was elected as MP for the Bishop Auckland constituency in the 2019 general election, with a majority of 7,962 (17.8%) on a swing of 9.5% from Labour to the Conservatives.[22] Davison was the first Conservative MP for the constituency since its creation in 1885.[23] The seat had been represented by a Labour MP since 1935.[24][25] Her campaign focused on promises on Brexit, and reopening Bishop Auckland Hospital's emergency department which had been closed in 2009.[23][26] Prior to becoming an MP, Davison was a research and development analyst for LUMO, a company which advises businesses on tax credits.[27]

She made her maiden speech on 16 January 2020.[28] Davison supports scrapping the planned high-speed railway project HS2, and re-investing the money into local transport schemes.[29] On 14 February, it was reported that she had been photographed with two far-right activists at a party to celebrate Brexit on 31 January in her constituency. Advocacy group Hope not Hate called for the Conservatives to undertake an investigation. In response, Davison distanced herself from the views of the two men, stating, "These photos were taken at an event open to the public and I in no way whatsoever condone the views highlighted of the individuals concerned."[30][31][32]

Davison has been a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee since March 2020.[33] She is also a member of the European Research Group,[34] on the steering committee of the China Research Group,[35] on the board of the Blue Collar Conservatives,[36] and a member of the parliamentary council of the centre-right think tank The Northern Policy Foundation.[37]

In September 2020, Davison was criticised by her own party after she mocked Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard for having an English accent and suggested that this was the reason for Labour's decline in support in Scotland. A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said that: "The reason Labour have no credibility or relevance in Scotland, as their own MP Ian Murray has said, has got nothing to do with Richard Leonard’s accent. This criticism is unacceptable. It plays into the kind of divisive politics that the SNP promote." Conservative MSP Dean Lockhart also distanced himself from Davison's comments and stated that Leonard's accent is "irrelevant".[38][39]

Personal life

Davison married John Fareham, a Conservative councillor on Hull City Council in 2018.[6][9][40] He is 35 years older than her.[41] They appeared together on the Channel 4 documentary series Bride and Prejudice, which showed their wedding at the Guildhall, Kingston upon Hull.[42][43][44] They separated before the 2019 general election.[6] She lives in the village of High Etherley in her parliamentary constituency.[45]

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, Davison discussed her personal experience of depression and suicidal ideation while working in London as a parliamentary aide after her grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer.[46]

References
  1. Dickinson, Katie (8 June 2017). "Full list of North East candidates standing in the General Election". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  2. "House of Commons: Tuesday 17 December 2019: Meeting started at 2.23pm, ended 9.37pm". parliamentlive.tv. House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Event occurs at 21:21:14. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. Swerling, Gabriella (13 May 2017). "Video game shopworker, 23, aims for Blair's former citadel". The Times. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019. (subscription required)
  4. Payne, Sebastian (11 June 2019). "Northern Tories have designs on old Labour heartlands". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019. (subscription required)
  5. Capurro, Daniel (26 October 2019). "The young female candidate at the heart of the Tories' battle to win Labour's heartland". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019. (subscription required)
  6. Tucker, Grant; Urwin, Rosamund (15 December 2019). "Meet Boris's Babies — they're young, fun and working class". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.(subscription required)
  7. "HSBC Bank sponsors more places at Sheffield High School". Sheffield High School. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. Wright, Oliver (29 January 2020). "Dehenna Davison: Tory MP recalls father's death in pub attack". The Times. Retrieved 2 February 2020. (subscription required)
  9. McGoogan, Cara (21 December 2019). "Meet millennial MP Dehenna Davison – the 'Boris baby' who's just survived her first week in Westminster". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.(subscription required)
  10. Kelly, Mike (13 December 2019). "Who is Dehenna Davison? The new Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. "Register of Interests of Members' Secretaries and Research Assistants (As at 20 February 2014)" (PDF). parliament.uk. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. "HUU Goes Nationwide with NUS Conference". Hull University Students' Union. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  13. Shoemark, Jack (5 March 2013). "York's Women Lacrosse side show class as Hull crash". The Hullfire. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  14. Fredrickson, Connie (26 April 2016). "Hull students launch campaign to disaffiliate with the NUS". The Tab.
  15. Ali, Aftab (24 May 2016). "Hull University Union becomes latest to disaffiliate from National Union of Students". The Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  16. "Local election results 2016". Hull City Council. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  17. "Election Ward Candidates Constituency Summary". Hull City Council. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  18. McTague, Tom (11 May 2017). "Tories target Blair country". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  19. Castle, Stephen (16 December 2019). "Welcome to Parliament. Now Sit Down and Shut Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  20. "Kingston upon Hull North". UK Polling Report. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  21. "Sedgefield constituency General Election results 2017: Full standings, MP and reaction". Evening Chronicle. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  22. "Bishop Auckland". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  23. "Election winners and losers, from Jo Swinson to Dominic Raab". The Times. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.(subscription required)
  24. Conner-Hill, Rachel (13 December 2019). "Bishop Auckland elects Dehenna Davison as first Conservative MP". The Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  25. "Johnson heads for landslide as Labour's 'red wall' crumbles". ITV News. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  26. "General election 2019: Could Bishop Auckland Hospital's A&E reopen?". BBC News. 7 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  27. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  28. White, Andrew (16 January 2020). "Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison makes maiden Commons speech". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  29. Jeffery, Max (25 January 2020). "'Blue Wall' Tory MPs pile pressure on Boris Johnson to scrap HS2 after damning reports". Politics Home. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  30. Parveen, Nazia (14 February 2020). "New Tory MP pictured with alleged far-right activists". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  31. Wearmouth, Rachel (14 February 2020). "Exclusive: Tory MP Pictured With Far-Right Activist Faces Calls For Investigation". HuffPost. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  32. Priestley, Catherine. "MP pictured with alleged far-right figures 'in no way condones' their views". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  33. "Membership". parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  34. Devlin, Kate (18 December 2019). "ERG: New MPs flock to join Tory Eurosceptic group". The Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020. (subscription required)
  35. Payne, Sebastian (25 April 2020). "Senior Tories launch ERG-style group to shape policy on China". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  36. "Dehenna Davison MP". The Northern Policy Foundation. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  37. Black, Michael (25 June 2020). "Conservative think tank set up in bid to boost the North". The Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  38. Andrews, Kieran (6 September 2020). "Tory MP Dehenna Davison's 'accent' jibe at Labour leader Richard Leonard angers her own party". The Times. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  39. Paterson, Laura; Gildea, Samantha (7 September 2020). "Backlash after Tory MP's 'ill judged' tweet about party leader's Yorkshire accent". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  40. Mainwaring-Taylor, Flossie (16 May 2017). "Tory election runner Dehenna Davison, 23, and cabinet minister Karen Bradley MP call for backing as they lose bets at Sedgefield R". The Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  41. Burke, Dave; Robinson, Hannah (14 December 2019). "Student who married Hull councillor elected as MP aged 26". Hull Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  42. Wollaston, Sam (5 June 2018). "Bride and Prejudice review: guaranteed to expose your inner bigot". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  43. O'Grady, Sean (6 June 2018). "Bride and Prejudice, Channel 4, TV review: Does true love really conquer all?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  44. "Bride & Prejudice". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  45. "Meet our MP Dehenna Davison". Bishop Auckland Conservative Association. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  46. "One Hour At A Time". Her House UK. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Helen Goodman		 Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland
2019–present		 Incumbent
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