Bernard Jenkin was first elected to Parliament as a Conservative MP in 1992. In 2019 he was reelected MP for Harwich and North Essex with a majority of 20,182.
The constituency of Harwich and North Essex is found in the top right hand corner of Essex, and includes the coastal port town of Harwich, and the smaller port of Brightlingsea. It then spreads inland over a number of villages to reach the smaller town of Wivenhoe on the edge of Colchester. Owner occupancy is well above the national average. The main campus of Essex University is found within this constituency. This has long been a very safe seat for the Conservative Party, and one in which 59% of voters backed Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Bernard Jenkin is Chairman of the influential Commons Liaison Committee.
Jenkin has never served in the government during his three decades in Parliament. However he was Shadow Minister for Transport under William Hague from 1998-2001, and then Shadow Defence Secretary under Iain Duncan Smith from 2001-2003.
A one time Maastricht rebel during John Major’s government, he supported Leave in the 2016 EU referendum. He is a member of the European Research Group of Conservative MPs.
Born in 1959, Jenkin was educated at Cambridge University. Prior to his election to the House of Commons, Bernard worked in sales and marketing with the Ford Motor Company Ltd, for venture capital provider 3i PLC , and at Legal and General Ventures Ltd.
Sir Bernard Jenkin is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Net Zero; and Classical Music.
He is married with two sons. His wife was appointed to the House of Lords, as Baroness Jenkin
of Kennington in 2011. His father was the Conservative Cabinet Minister, Patrick Jenkin.
Email: bernard.jenkin.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.bernardjenkin.com/
Twitter: @bernardjenkin
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bernard-Jenkin-MP
