John Penrose was first elected as the Conservative MP for Weston-Super-Mare in 2005, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 17,128.
The constituency of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset is focussed largely on the Victorian seaside resort of the same name, known for its donkey rides and short pier. Aside from the tourism industry on the coast, inland the constituency has a presence for the distribution and food processing sectors. This area was won by the Liberal Democrats between 1997 and 2005, but it has swung heavily to the Conservatives in recent years. In the last three elections the Liberal Democrat vote here has largely collapsed, with Labour coming second, and the Lib Dems even coming fourth behind UKIP in 2015.
Penrose previously served in the government as the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office between 2018 and 2019; as Minister for Constitutional Reform between 2015 and 2016, Under Secretary of State for Tourism between 2010 and 2012. He was a government whip between 2013 and 2015.
Born in 1964, Penrose was educated at Cambridge University, before undertaking an MBA at Columbia University in New York. Earlier in his career, John worked in publishing for Thomson, in management consulting for McKinsey, and in banking for JPMorgan.
Before being elected to Parliament, John Penrose then worked in publishing. He was Chairman of Logotron Ltd, a small independent company creating educational software for schools. He was also Managing Director of Longman, publishing school textbooks for the UK and parts of Africa.
He is married to Baroness Dido Harding who was responsible for the government’s Track and Trace system during the 2020-21 coronavirus pandemic. The couple have two children.
He supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, and backed Jeremy Hunt in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
He is a member of the Advisory Board of the John Mills Institute for Prosperity, a cross-party think tank focussed on putting a successful economy at ‘the heart of British political discourse’.
John Penrose is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on British Overseas Territories; and Electoral Campaigning Transparency.
Email: penrosej@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.johnpenrose.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnPenroseNews
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/john.penrose.37?fref=ts
