Jessica Lee (politician)
Encyclopedia
Jessica Katherine Lee is a British
politician
. A member of the Conservative Party
, she was elected as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for the constituency of Erewash
in Derbyshire
in 2010. She is currently the Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Attorney General
, Dominic Grieve
.
and Royal Holloway
, University of London
, where she graduated with a degree in History & Politics in 1997 and served as Chair of the college's Conservative Students Society. She was the first person from her family to go to university.
Lee went on to study at the College of Law
. She was called to the Bar
by the Middle Temple
in 2000, and practiced as a barrister
specialising in family law
.
At the 2005 general election
, Lee stood as a parliamentary candidate
for the Conservative Party in Camberwell and Peckham, finishing third with 9.8% of the vote in a constituency won by the incumbent Labour Party
MP Harriet Harman
.
Following the formation of the Cameron Ministry
in May 2010, Lee was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve.
Lee has campaigned enthusiastically for the opening of a railway station in Ilkeston and has raised the issue in the House of Commons.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. A member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, she was elected as the Member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
(MP) for the constituency of Erewash
Erewash (UK Parliament constituency)
Erewash is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:The constituency covers the borough of Erewash....
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in 2010. She is currently the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
, Dominic Grieve
Dominic Grieve
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve, QC MP is a British Conservative politician, barrister and Queen's Counsel.He is the Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield and the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.-Early life:Grieve was born in Lambeth, the son of...
.
Early life
Lee was educated at Loughborough High SchoolLoughborough High School
Loughborough High School, also known simply as LHS, is a selective, independent, fee-paying British Public School for girls in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It is one of three Private Schools known collectively as the Loughborough Endowed Schools, along with Loughborough Grammar School for...
and Royal Holloway
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London is a constituent college of the University of London. The college has three faculties, 18 academic departments, and about 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 different countries...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, where she graduated with a degree in History & Politics in 1997 and served as Chair of the college's Conservative Students Society. She was the first person from her family to go to university.
Lee went on to study at the College of Law
The College of Law
The College of Law of England and Wales is a private educational institution in England and a registered charity which provides legal education for students and professionals.-20th century:...
. She was called to the Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
by the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 2000, and practiced as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
specialising in family law
Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
.
At the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, Lee stood as a parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate is a term used in British politics to refer to candidates selected by political parties to fight individual constituencies in advance of a general election. This terminology was motivated by the strict limits on the amount of expenses incurred by an actual...
for the Conservative Party in Camberwell and Peckham, finishing third with 9.8% of the vote in a constituency won by the incumbent Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
.
Parliamentary career
Lee was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Erewash in the 2010 general election with a majority of 2,501. After her victory was confirmed, she stated: "I feel privileged, honoured, slightly overwhelmed. I mean it when I say I will do my best to serve everyone in Erewash, whether they voted for me or not".Following the formation of the Cameron Ministry
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
in May 2010, Lee was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve.
Lee has campaigned enthusiastically for the opening of a railway station in Ilkeston and has raised the issue in the House of Commons.
External links
- Jessica Lee MP official constituency website