John Baron
Encyclopedia
John Charles Baron is a British
Conservative
politician
and the Member of Parliament
for Basildon and Billericay
.
and educated at Queen's College, Taunton
, Jesus College, Cambridge
and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
. He joined the British Army
in 1984 and was a captain serving with The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
in Northern Ireland
, Cyprus
and Germany
. He left the Army in 1987 and became a merchant bank
er, working as a fund manager then director of Henderson Private Investors Ltd (now Henderson Global Investors) and Rothschild Asset Management
.
Conservative Association. In 1997 David Amess
decided not to risk standing again in his ultra marginal Conservative seat of Basildon
and was successfully selected and subsequently elected for the safer seat of Southend West
. Baron won the Conservative nomination to defend Basildon at the 1997 General Election
, but Amess's judgement proved accurate and Angela Smith
won the seat for Labour
comfortably.
In November 1999 Teresa Gorman
announced that she stand down at the next general election from her seat in Billericay
, the neighbouring constituency to Basildon. Baron was selected to defend Billericay at the 2001 General Election
and he held the seat with a majority of more than 5,000, which he doubled at the 2005 General Election
. He made his maiden speech
on 20 July 2001.
John Baron was a member of Iain Duncan Smith
's frontbench team, but resigned in March 2003 in protest at Duncan Smith's support of the Iraq War. He was reappointed by Duncan Smith as a health spokesman just four months later, a position he held until July 2007 when he was moved to the Conservative Whip
's Office.
Baron was a strong backer of David Davis
in the most recent Conservative leadership election
, having also supported him in the 2001 leadership contest
won by Iain Duncan Smith.
John Baron was the only Tory among just 15 MPs who voted against British participation in the attack on Libya in the Commons on 21 March 2011.
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...
Conservative
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Basildon and Billericay
Basildon and Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)
Basildon and Billericay is a borough constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament using the first past the post electoral system. The seat was created for the 2010 general election following a review of the Parliamentary...
.
Early life
Baron was born in Redhill, SurreyRedhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
and educated at Queen's College, Taunton
Queen's College, Taunton
Queen's College is a co-educational independent school located in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It is a day/boarding school for children aged 2–18. The school incorporates Nursery, Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior schools. The current headmaster of the Senior School is Chris Alcock...
, Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
. He joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1984 and was a captain serving with The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He left the Army in 1987 and became a merchant bank
Merchant bank
A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....
er, working as a fund manager then director of Henderson Private Investors Ltd (now Henderson Global Investors) and Rothschild Asset Management
N M Rothschild & Sons
N M Rothschild & Sons is a private investment banking company, belonging to the Rothschild family...
.
Parliamentary career
In 1995 John Baron became the treasurer of the StreathamStreatham (UK Parliament constituency)
Streatham is a borough 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:...
Conservative Association. In 1997 David Amess
David Amess
David Anthony Andrew Amess is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983, first for Basildon, and since 1997 for Southend West.-Early life:...
decided not to risk standing again in his ultra marginal Conservative seat of Basildon
Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)
Basildon was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
and was successfully selected and subsequently elected for the safer seat of Southend West
Southend West (UK Parliament constituency)
Southend West is a parliamentary 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....
. Baron won the Conservative nomination to defend Basildon at the 1997 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, but Amess's judgement proved accurate and Angela Smith
Angela Evans Smith
Angela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon is a British Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Basildon from 1997 till she was defeated in 2010...
won the seat for Labour
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...
comfortably.
In November 1999 Teresa Gorman
Teresa Gorman
Teresa Ellen Gorman is a British politician, and was Conservative Member of Parliament for Billericay, in the county of Essex in England until 2001 when she stood down...
announced that she stand down at the next general election from her seat in Billericay
Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)
Billericay was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.It returned Conservative MPs at every election except 1966....
, the neighbouring constituency to Basildon. Baron was selected to defend Billericay at the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
and he held the seat with a majority of more than 5,000, which he doubled 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....
. He made his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 20 July 2001.
John Baron was a member of Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
's frontbench team, but resigned in March 2003 in protest at Duncan Smith's support of the Iraq War. He was reappointed by Duncan Smith as a health spokesman just four months later, a position he held until July 2007 when he was moved to the Conservative Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
's Office.
Baron was a strong backer of David Davis
David Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
in the most recent Conservative leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2005
The 2005 Conservative leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as leader in the near future. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted,...
, having also supported him in the 2001 leadership contest
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2001
The 2001 Conservative leadership election was held after the United Kingdom Conservative Party failed to make inroads into the Labour government's lead in the 2001 general election. Party leader William Hague resigned, and a leadership contest was called under new rules Hague had introduced...
won by Iain Duncan Smith.
John Baron was the only Tory among just 15 MPs who voted against British participation in the attack on Libya in the Commons on 21 March 2011.