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Greg Smith (British politician)

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Greg Smith
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Buckingham
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJohn Bercow
Majority20,411 (32.2%)[1]
Personal details
Born
Gregory David Smith[2]

(1979-03-03) 3 March 1979 (age 45)
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseAnnalise
EducationUniversity of Birmingham
Websitewww.gregsmith.co.uk

Greg David Smith (born 3 March 1979)[3] is a British Conservative politician. Previously deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Buckingham constituency since the 2019 general election.

Early life

Smith was privately educated at Bromsgrove School and then studied at the University of Birmingham. He has had a career in design and marketing.[4] Smith was a trustee of Riverside Studios[5] from 2008 to 2019.

Career

Smith was a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham Council between May 2006 and May 2018, and was also deputy leader of the council. In 2014, the Conservatives lost control of the council to Labour in the local elections, and Smith was appointed as Leader of the Conservative group.[6] He stood down from the council in the 2018 elections.

At the 2017 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in Hayes and Harlington, which has generally been a safe seat for the Labour Party in recent years.[7] He lost to John McDonnell, with 28.6% of the vote.[8]

In October 2019, Smith was announced as the Conservative candidate for the Buckingham constituency, following the announcement by the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow that he would stand down at the end of October.[9] Bercow had held the seat since 1997, having been elected as a Conservative.

Smith announced his opposition to HS2 and the East West Expressway as part of his campaign.[9] He is a supporter of Brexit.[10]

Smith opposes a Ministry of Justice plan to build a third prison in his constituency.[11]

Smith was appointed as a member of the Transport Select Committee in February 2020.[12] He is the co-chair of the Conservative rightwing Free-Market Forum.[13] In May 2021 he became chairman of the Minimally Invasive Cancer Therapies All-party parliamentary group. [14]

Controversies

In October 2020, following a national campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford, the Labour Party put down a House of Commons motion to extend the free school meals food vouchers to cover the October 2020 half-term break. Many local councils, individuals and businesses volunteered to offer assistance to FareShare to help them serve people in need. Despite Smith’s vote against the motion, he applied to one such volunteer organisation (a cafe in his constituency at Ivinghoe) for a photo opportunity to "help get the meals ready for distribution or help with delivery". The request was refused by the cafe owners with national publicity.[15][16]

Personal life

He moved to Wendover, Buckinghamshire, with his second wife, Annalise, in 2017.[9]

In 2021, Smith and his family moved to the Buckinghamshire village of Chearsley.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "UK election results 2019: Boris Johnson returned as PM with all constituencies declared". The Guardian. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. ^ "No. 62862". The London Gazette. 20 December 2019. p. 23185.
  3. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  4. ^ Wareham, Stephanie (21 October 2019). "Tories pick candidate for Speaker John Bercow's Westminster seat". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  5. ^ Wallace, Mark (21 October 2019). "New candidates selected in Buckingham, Newport, Brecon, Workington, Chester and Warrington". Conservative Home. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  6. ^ Wallace, Mark (21 October 2019). "New candidates selected in Buckingham, Newport, Brecon, Workington, Chester and Warrington". Conservative Home. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  7. ^ De Peyer, Robin (8 June 2017). "Hayes and Harlington Election Results Who is the MP for the constituency after the general election". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Hayes & Harlington". BBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Greg Smith selected as Conservative Party candidate for Buckingham at next general election". The Bucks Herald. Johnston Press. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Bemused at the surrender of sovereignty at Maastricht, I was always going to be a Brexiteer". Brexit Central. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  11. ^ Richardson, Hannah (23 June 2021). "Plans for new prison 'devastating' says Buckingham MP". www.buckinghamtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Buckingham MP Greg Smith: 'I share anger and frustration over HS2 decision'". Bucks Free Press. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Who We Are". FMF v1. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Greg Smith MP becomes chairman of group to help cancer patients". Bucks Free Press. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Cafe rejects MP who voted against free meals to help them pack kids' lunches". Metro. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  16. ^ Bamford, Thomas (26 October 2020). "Local schools and businesses stepping up to the plate after MPs vote down Free School Meals in Aylesbury". The Bucks Herald. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Buckingham
2019–present 		Incumbent
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