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John Stevenson (British politician)

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For other people named John Stevenson, see John Stevenson (disambiguation).

John Stevenson
Member of Parliament
for Carlisle
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byEric Martlew
Succeeded byJulie Minns
Personal details
Born (1963-07-04) 4 July 1963 (age 61)
Aberdeen, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
SpouseTracy Nixon[1]
Residence(s)Great Corby, Cumbria, England
Alma materUniversity of Dundee
OccupationPolitician / Solicitor
Websitewww.johnstevensonmp.co.uk

Andrew John Stevenson (born 4 July 1963) is a British Conservative Party politician and solicitor who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carlisle between 2010 and 2024.

Early life and career

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Andrew Stevenson was born on 4 July 1963 in Aberdeen. He was state educated at Aberdeen Grammar School[2] and graduated from the University of Dundee with Honours in History and Politics. He then studied law at Chester College before qualifying as a solicitor. He went on to become a partner in the law firm Bendles based in the centre of Carlisle.

Stevenson stood as the Conservative candidate in the Denton Holme ward of Carlisle City Council in May 1998, before he was elected in another ward just one year later.[3] Stevenson was first elected as a Conservative Councillor on Carlisle City Council in May 1999, for Stanwix Urban – a suburban ward on the northern edge of the city with the joint lowest levels of deprivation in the district.[4][5] He resigned as a councillor on the 2 August 2010, shortly after his election as Member of Parliament and his party won the subsequent by-election.[6]

Parliamentary career

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Stevenson was elected to Parliament at the 2010 general election as MP for Carlisle with 39.3% of the vote and a majority of 853.[7]

Aside from his duties as a constituency MP, he is the chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Food and Drink[8] which advises the direction of national policy on British food and drink manufacture.[9]

In January 2013, Stevenson faced accusations of nepotism for employing his fiancée as a Senior Secretary. Although Stevenson said that no other applicants had been considered for the role, he argued that she was a qualified legal secretary, and still does that work when not working for him.[10] Although MPs who were first elected in 2017 have been banned from employing family members, the restriction is not retrospective – meaning that Stevenson's employment of his wife is lawful.[11]

In January 2014 it was reported that Stevenson was one of a group of MPs who had been charging the taxpayer to help them fill in tax forms. Part of his expenses claim was rejected, although he was not the only MP to be the subject to such action.[12]

At the 2015 general election, Stevenson was re-elected as MP for Carlisle with an increased vote share of 44.3% and an increased majority of 2,774.[13][14]

In May 2016, it was reported that Stevenson was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 party spending investigation, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses.[15] In May 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service said that while there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns, it did not "meet the test" for further action.[16]

Stevenson was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[17]

At the snap 2017 general election, Stevenson was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 49.9% and a decreased majority of 2,599.[18][19]

Stevenson contributed to the Conservative Government's first defeat over key Brexit legislation in December 2017 when he declined to vote against Dominic Grieve's amendment requiring Parliament to have a vote on the final deal relating to the UK departing the European Union.[20][21] Following the election of Boris Johnson as Conservative leader, Stevenson later shifted his views on the possibility of a No Deal exit from the EU saying "it may well come to being the only solution".[22]

At the 2019 general election, Stevenson was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 55.2% and an increased majority of 8,319.[23][24]

In August 2021, Stevenson and Peter Aldous wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to call on the government to keep the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift.[25]

Stevenson submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson following the publication of Sue Gray's report on Partygate in May 2022.[26][27][28]

In February 2023, Stevenson was reselected as the Conservative candidate for Carlisle at the 2024 general election;[29] he went on to lose the election to Julie Minns of Labour by 5,200 votes.[30]

Personal life

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Stevenson lives in the village of Great Corby, which is close to the edge of Carlisle.[31][32] He is married to Tracy Nixon and they were wedded at a Church of Scotland ceremony in Carlisle in 2013.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "House of Commons - the Register of Members' Financial Interests - Part 2: Part 2".
  2. ^ "About John". Personal website. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Carlisle City Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  4. ^ John Stevenson MP Archived 3 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Conservative Party
  5. ^ "Deprivation Analysis" (PDF). Cumbria County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Carlisle City Council Councillors". Carlisle City Council. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. ^ "John Stevenson MP to attend the All Party Manufacturing Group Meeting". Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Carlisle MP elected to Select Committee". Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  10. ^ "MP Ronnie Campbell: If they change the rules, I'll sack my wife". Newcastle Chronicle. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  11. ^ "MPs banned from employing spouses after election in expenses crackdown". London Evening Standard. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  12. ^ "MPs claim tens of thousands of pounds in accountants' fees to help them fill in tax forms". The Daily Telegraph. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Carlisle". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Election Expenses Exposed". Channel 4 News. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Carlisle Conservative candidate 'not surprised' by expenses decision". ITV News. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  18. ^ "General election 2017: Full list of candidates". ITV News. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Carlisle MP plays part in key Commons Brexit vote". Newcastle Chronicle. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Theresa May: We're on course to deliver Brexit despite vote". BBC News. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  22. ^ "No-deal Brexit may be only option for new Prime Minister, says Carlisle MP". 24 July 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  23. ^ "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL. Election of a Member of Parliament: Carlisle Constituency" (PDF). Carlisle City Council. 14 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  24. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  25. ^ "MP writes to his own Tory government amid 'alarm' at universal credit cut". Eastern Daily Press. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  26. ^ Maidment, Jack (31 May 2022). "John Stevenson becomes latest Tory MP to submit letter of no confidence". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Partygate: John Stevenson submits letter of no confidence in Johnson - 28th Tory MP to publicly call for him to go". Sky News. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Tory MP John Stevenson submits letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson – as it happened". the Guardian. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  29. ^ "MP reselected 'unanimously' by Conservatives to fight parliamentary seat". 24 February 2023.
  30. ^ "Labour seizes Cumbria winning five of six seats". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  31. ^ "IPSA". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  32. ^ John Stevenson MP Archived 3 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Conservative Party
  33. ^ "Ballet star shows off charity portraits". Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Carlisle
2010–2024 		Succeeded by
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