Bernard Jenkin

Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin(born 9 April 1959) is aBritish Conservative Partypolitician who has been theMember of Parliament(MP) forHarwich and North Essex,previouslyColchester NorththenNorth Essex,since1992.He also served as chair of theLiaison Committee.

The Honourable Sir Bernard Jenkin MP
Official portrait, 2019
Chair of theLiaison Committee
In office 23 May 2020 – 30 May 2024
Preceded by	Sarah Wollaston
Chair of thePublic Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
In office 10 June 2010 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	Tony Wright
Succeeded by	William Wragg
Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office 1 December 2005 – 7 November 2006 Serving withThe Lord Ashcroft
Leader	Michael Howard David Cameron
Succeeded by	John Maples
Shadow portfolios Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change In office 10 May 2005 – 8 December 2005 Leader Michael Howard Shadow Secretary of State for the Regions In office 11 November 2003 – 6 May 2005 Leader Michael Howard Preceded by David Davis Succeeded by Caroline Spelman Shadow Secretary of State for Defence In office 18 September 2001 – 6 November 2003 Leader Iain Duncan Smith Preceded by Iain Duncan Smith Succeeded by Nicholas Soames Shadow Minister for Transport In office 19 June 1998 – 1 September 2001 Leader William Hague Preceded by Tim Yeo Succeeded by Eric Pickles
Member of Parliament forHarwich and North Essex North Essex(1997–2010) Colchester North(1992–1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Antony Buck
Majority	1,162 (2.4%)
Personal details
Born	Bernard Christison Jenkin (1959-04-09)9 April 1959 Wood Green,Middlesex,England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Anne Strutt ​ (m.1988)​
Children	2
Parent	Patrick Jenkin(father)
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge(BA)

Jenkin was elected chairman of thePublic Administration Select Committeein May 2010. He is a longstanding critic of theEuropean Union,believing that EU membership undermined the United Kingdom's national sovereignty, and he was one of theMaastricht Rebelsduring thepremiershipofJohn Major.In the2016 EU referendumhe supportedBrexitand from 2017 he was one of the most vocal supporters of the Eurosceptic pressure groupLeave Means Leave.

Early life and career

Bernard Jenkin was born on 9 April 1959 inWood Green,toPatrick Jenkin,who subsequently became aConservativeMP and Cabinet minister, and later a life peer (as Baron Jenkin of Roding); and Monica Jenkin (née Graham). He is a descendant of the scientistFleeming Jenkin.

He was educated at the fee-paying independentHighgate School,the voluntary aidedWilliam Ellis School,andCorpus Christi College, Cambridge,where he was awarded achoralexhibitionand gained aBAhonours degree inEnglish literaturein 1982. He was President of theCambridge Union Societyin 1982.

After graduation, Jenkin worked forFordand theprivate equitycompany3ias Manager of Legal & General Ventures from 1989 to 1992. From 1992 to 1995, he was an advisor toLegal & GeneralGroup plc.

Jenkin stood for election as theConservativecandidate inGlasgow Centralat the1987 general election,coming second with 13% of the vote behind the incumbentLabourMPBob McTaggart.

Parliamentary career

1st term (1992–1997)

At the1992 general election,his 33rd birthday, Jenkin was elected as MP forColchester Northwith 51.5% of the vote and a majority of 16,402.

DuringJohn Major's government, Jenkin was one of theMaastricht Rebelswho defied the partywhipto oppose theMaastricht Treaty.

2nd term (1997–2001)

Prior to the1997 general election,Colchester North was abolished, and replaced withNorth Essex.At the general election, Jenkin was elected as MP for North Essex with 43.9% of the vote and a majority of 5,476.

William Hagueappointed himShadow Minister for Transport,serving from 1998 to 2001.

3rd term (2001–2005)

At the2001 general election,Jenkin was re-elected as MP for North Essex with an increased vote share of 47.4% and an increased majority of 7,186.

Jenkin served asShadow Secretary of State for Defencefrom 2001 to 2003 underIain Duncan Smithand Shadow Regions Secretary from 2003 to 2005 underMichael Howard.

4th term (2005–2010)

Jenkin was again re-elected at the2005 general electionwith an increased vote share of 47.6% and an increased majority of 10,903.He was appointed asDeputy Chairman of the Conservative Partyafter the general election and served until 7 November 2006, when he was replaced byJohn Maples.Jenkin's deputy chairman role came to an end when, during a shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was offered another frontbench position, which he declined, reportedly saying toDavid Cameronthat only a return to the shadow cabinet would interest him.

In 2006, Jenkin faced criticism after he used the word "coloured"when referring to aBritish AsianConservative A-Listcandidate,Ali Miraj.

5th term (2010–2015)

Prior to the2010 general election,Jenkin's constituency of North Essex was abolished and replaced withHarwich and North Essex.At the election, Jenkin was elected as MP for Harwich and North Essex with 46.9% of the vote and a majority of 11,447.

In May 2012, Jenkin was re-elected as a member of theExecutive of the 1922 Committee.

Jenkin, who gained a reputation as a critic of theCoalition government,led calls to drop theHouse of Lords Reform Bill 2012.Jenkin voted in favour of same sex marriage in 2013 "as a matter of principle", whilst acknowledging the decision to hold the debate caused much "political unhappiness".

In January 2014, Jenkin drafted a letter calling for Prime Minister Cameron to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU to give the House of Commons powers to veto EU legislation, which was ultimately signed by 95 MPs, and reportedly backed by another six.Following theScottish independence referendumand promises made to further devolve powers to Scotland, Jenkin called for the creation of an "English First Minister" and for departments responsible for policy that applied only in England to be accountable only to the English MPs.

6th term (2015–2017)

Jenkin was re-elected as MP for Harwich and North Essex at the2015 general electionwith an increased vote share of 51% and an increased majority of 15,174.Following the general election, he was returned unopposed as the chairman of thePublic Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.

Jenkin was one of the most vocal supporters of the Eurosceptic pressure groupLeave Means Leave,and was a prominent Leave supporter in theBrexit referendum.

7th term (2017–2019)

At the snap2017 general election,Jenkin was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 58.5% and a decreased majority of 14,356.

In September 2019, Jenkin criticised the House of Commons speakerJohn Bercow,stating that he was "irretrievably politicised and radicalised". This comment came after Bercow made a speech warningBoris Johnsonthat "the only form of Brexit which we will have, whenever that might be, will be a Brexit that the House of Commons has explicitly endorsed".

8th term (2019–2024)

Jenkin was again re-elected at the2019 general election,with an increased vote share of 60.3% and an increased majority of 20,182.

Although a sceptic of lockdown, Jenkin supported thefirst COVID-19 tier regulations in England.However, he urgedBoris Johnsonto put forward awhite paperon the issue, setting out how the UK can deal with COVID-19 through treatments, social distancing and an improvedNHS Test and Trace.

In 2021, he was a critic of Russia, and urged the government to take action in Ukraine.

In June 2023Boris Johnsoncalled for Jenkin to resign, after his participation in theCommons Select Committee of Privilegeswhichinvestigated whether Johnson had misled parliament,when it was reported by theGuido Fawkeswebsite that Jenkin had attended an event on 8 December 2020 in parliament. It was reportedly the date of his wife's birthday, with a "drinks party" held byEleanor Laing,a Commons deputy speaker, in her office.In December 2023, it was found that the allegations did not meet the threshold for a fixed penalty notice by the police.

In December 2023, Jenkin was placed under investigation by theParliamentary Commissioner for Standards,Daniel Greenberg,for alleged "actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its Members generally".On 26 March, Greenberg's investigation determined the allegations would not be upheld.

9th term (2024–)

At the2024 general election,Jenkin was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 34.4% and a decreased majority of 1,162.

Expenses claims

Main article:United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal

In May 2009, Jenkin was reported byThe Daily Telegraphto have used £50,000 inexpensesto pay his sister-in-law rent on the property he uses as his constituency home. Jenkin said that he was just paying "an honest and reasonable rent" for the property.On 27 October 2009, it was initially recommended that Bernard Jenkin pay back £63,250 by expenses auditor SirThomas Legg.This is the highest amount known to have been recommended after an audit of MPs' claims on second homes expenses. His father ultimately settled the bill for him.This amount was reduced to £36,250 following an appeal.

In popular culture

Jenkin's role on thePublic Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committeewas dramatised in the 2017verbatim musicalCommittee: (A New Musical),which retold the downfall of the charityKids Companyand which was first performed at theDonmar Warehouse.Jenkin was portrayed by actorAlexander Hanson.

Jenkin was portrayed byTim McMullanin the 2019Channel 4dramaBrexit: The Uncivil War.

Personal life

Bernard Jenkin in January 2016

Jenkin marriedAnne Struttin 1988 and has two sons. He is an occasionalnaturist,and a long-time acquaintance of screenwriterRichard Curtis,who typically includes a character named 'Bernard' in everything he writes.

He separated from his wife in 2023.

Jenkin is the vice-president of the UK charityCombat Stress,which offers residential treatment to ex-servicemen and women suffering fromposttraumatic stress disorder.To mark his 50th birthday, he held a fundraising event in March 2009 which raised over £50,000 for the charity.

Honours

In 2018, Jenkin wasawarded with a knighthoodhonouring his political and public service.

Jenkin is in favour ofmarriage equalityand was nominated for aStonewallaward in 2013.The Climate Coalitionawarded him the Green Heart Hero Award in May 2018 for hiseco-friendlylifestyle choices.

External links

• Official website
• ProfileatParliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in ParliamentatHansard
• Contributions in ParliamentatHansard 1803–2005
• Voting recordatPublic Whip
• Record in ParliamentatTheyWorkForYou
• Bernard Jenkin CV
• Bernard Jenkin MPbiography at the site of the Conservative Party
• ePolitix – Bernard Jenkin
• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Bernard Jenkin MP
• BBC News – Bernard JenkinArchived17 February 2007 at theWayback Machineprofile 20 June 2006

Video clips

• With Anne WiddecombeonYouTube
• AppearancesonC-SPAN

News items

• 2006 reshuffle
• Use of the racial descriptor "Coloured"
• Laptop stolen in 2002