Ben Spencer is the Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, having first been elected to Parliament in 2019 with a majority of 18,270 over the Labour Party.
The Runnymede and Weybridge constituency is found within the county of Surrey and covers the affluent towns of Weybridge, Addlestone, and Chertsey. Containing the university campus of Royal Holloway and Brooklands College, it has a high student population. It was previously represented at Westminster by the former Conservative Chancellor, Phillip Hammond.
Dr Spencer was appointed parliamentary private secretary to Nadhim Zahawi in October 2022.
Born in 1981, Dr Ben Spencer worked as a consultant psychiatrist at both King’s College Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital, before becoming an MP. The Register of Members Interests showed him continuing to undertake locum work at the Maudsley hospital in May 2020.
He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health, but in the past has warned that talk of a mental health epidemic was “doing real harm”.
Spencer supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. A member of the Tory Reform Group, he is considered to be on the moderate wing of the Party.
In 2020 he was a member of the Covid Recovery Group which expressed some scepticism about the nature of the covid lockdowns at different points.
In relation to partygate, Spencer issued a pretty strong statement on Facebook, in which he said: “The prime minister has set out his explanation, which is that he believed at the time it was a work event. I struggle with this … Clearly if it is found that the prime minister has intentionally misled parliament or knowingly broke the law his position would be untenable”.
Married with children, he is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Finland, and Arts, Health, and Wellbeing. Continuing his interest in Scandinavia, he is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sweden.
Email – ben.spencer.mp@parliament.uk
Website – https://www.drbenspencer.org.uk/
Twitter – @DrBenSpencer
