Alex Chalk

Chalk was born on 8 August 1976 in the village of Foxcote, Gloucestershire, England, where he also grew up.[1][2] He was privately educated at Windlesham House School and Winchester College[3] before studying Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford.[4][5] Chalk's parents are Gilbert John Chalk and Gillian Frances Audrey Blois.[6]

Following graduation, Chalk obtained a Graduate Diploma in Law from the City University London, and qualified as a barrister from the Inns of Court School of Law. During his legal career, he has prosecuted and defended in cases concerning terrorism, international fraud, and homicide. He has also advised and defended corporate clients, and prosecuted for HM Revenue and Customs and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. He represented journalists during the phone-hacking scandal.[7] Chalk has provided counsel for the human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian prisoner of conscience.[8]

Chalk was first elected as a Conservative councillor for Shepherds Bush Green ward on Hammersmith and Fulham Council in May 2006. He went on to stand successfully in Addison ward in 2010, with Labour taking his former Shepherds Bush Green seat in the same election. He did not stand for re-election in 2014.[9][10] Whilst on the Council he chaired the Planning Committee for four years.[11][12]

During the 2015 general election campaign, Chalk received support from the pro-hunting group Vote-OK,[13] with members volunteering to deliver leaflets for him.[14] In May 2017, Liberal Democrats candidate Martin Horwood said that Chalk was being actively supported by members of pro-hunting organisations Vale of White Horse Hunt, North Cotswold Hunt and Vote-OK, and questioned whether Chalk was concealing his position on fox hunting. Horwood noted that when asked to say yes or no to keeping the hunting ban, Chalk replied "free vote" in 2015 but replied "pass" in 2017.[15]

Chalk was among several Conservative candidates from the 2015 general election under investigation for breaking local campaign spending limits.[16] This related to the use of "Battle Buses" during his election campaign, the costs of which were not declared by Chalk's campaign but were instead paid for by the Conservatives' national headquarters. Had the costs been declared the strict local spending limit would have been exceeded by £1,500.[16] Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed they had received a complaint in 2016 and he was under investigation at the time.[16] In March 2017, the Electoral Commission fined the Conservative Party £70,000 for failing to accurately report campaign spending.[17] In May 2017, The Crown Prosecution Service concluded their investigations into the allegations and determined that no Conservative Party candidates or officials would face charges. An investigation into the Conservative campaign in South Thanet however was to continue.[18]

He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheltenham in the 2015 general election after he achieved a swing of over 10%.[19] His victory in the constituency was the first for a Conservative Party candidate in 23 years.[20]

From June 2015 to January 2019, Chalk was a member of the Justice Select Committee, which scrutinises the government's decisions relating to the justice system.[21][22] In addition to his role on the Justice Select Committee, Chalk was Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pro Bono[23] and Co- Chair of the APPG on Cycling.[24] He was also the secretary of the APPG on Public Legal Education and the APPG for Highways[25][26] and the vice chair of the APPG on Lyme Disease.[27]

In January 2016, the Labour Party unsuccessfully proposed an amendment in Parliament that would have required private landlords to make their homes "fit for human habitation". According to Parliament's register of interests, Chalk was one of 72 Conservative MPs who voted against the amendment who personally derived an income from renting out property. The Conservative Government had responded to the amendment that they believed homes should be fit for human habitation but did not want to pass the new law that would explicitly require it.[28]

Chalk held his seat in the 2017 general election with a reduced majority of 2,569.[29]

In 2018, prompted by his concerns about an apparent rise in child and adolescent mental health in his constituency, Chalk led a Parliamentary inquiry, together with the Children's Society and Young Minds charities, into the impact of social media and cyber bullying on young people's mental health.[30] Following the launch of the report, it was referenced in the Government's Response to the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper (published May 2018)[31] and the then-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock, spoke at the launch of the report and praised Chalk's efforts to tackle this phenomenon.[32]

In 2018, Chalk was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Department of Education. He was then appointed PPS to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care later in 2018, and then in May 2019 became PPS to the new Secretary of State for Defence Penny Mordaunt.[33]

In February 2020, Chalk joined the Ministry of Justice as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.

Chalk is married with three children and lives in the Charlton Park ward in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham.[61]

On 12 March 2020, Chalk went into self-isolation at his home in London for two weeks after interacting with Nadine Dorries, an MP who had tested positive for Coronavirus.[62]

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou