Ranil Jayawardena was first elected as the Conservative MP for North East Hampshire in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 20,211.
The North East Hampshire constituency covers the towns of Fleet, Hook, Church Crookham and Yateley. This area contains a number of defence firms, technology companies, as well as a host of London bound commuters. Income levels are well above the national average and almost four fifths of homes are privately owned. This area of Hampshire has long supported the Conservative Party.
Ranil Jayawardena served briefly as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between September 2022 and October 2022. He left the government in October 2022 when Rishi Sunak became prime minister.
Jayawardena was an ally of Liz Truss and backed her in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. He formerly served under Truss, as Under Secretary of State for International Trade, a position he held betewen 2020 and 2022.
In 2019 he was appointed a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Born in 1986, Jayawardena grew up in this constituency, and was educated at Alton College before attending the London School of Economics. He worked in government relations for Lloyds Bank before becoming an MP. He is a Freeman of the City of London.
Jayawardena supported Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and voted for Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Leadership election. He has previously served as a Director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship.
Jayawardena served on Basingstoke Council between 2008 and 2015.
He is married with two children. He employs his wife as a part-time Senior Researcher. He lists his interests as watching cricket, tennis and rugby.
Email: email@ranil.uk
Personal Website: http://www.tellranil.com/
Twitter: @tellranil
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tellranil
