Christian Wakeford

Prior to becoming an MP, Wakeford concurrently held multiple public office roles, including:

• Conservative county councillor for Pendle Hill division on Lancashire County Council (May 2013–ongoing)[4]
• Co-Chair of Lancashire County Council's Education Scrutiny Committee (March 2018–ongoing).[3][6]
• Conservative borough councillor for Barrowford ward on Pendle Borough Council (from May 2015)[4]
• House of Commons case worker for Andrew Stephenson MP (January 2015–January 2016)[4]
• Local Education Authority governor for Colne Park High School (September 2009–October 2017)[4]
• Leader of the Conservative Group on Pendle Borough Council (c.2019–c.2020)[7][8]

In December 2019, Wakeford was elected MP for Bury South, winning the seat by 402 votes (a 0.8% majority) from long-term Labour MP, Ivan Lewis, who had held the seat since Labour's landslide victory in 1997.[1] Lewis had stood as an Independent candidate at the 2019 election, but polled in fifth place with 1,366 votes.

On 14 March 2020, Wakeford was appointed as a member of the House of Commons Education Committee.[9] The committee has since been involved in inquiries such as the impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services, adult skills and lifelong learning and 'left behind' white pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.[10]

In July 2020, Wakeford was elected as Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Jews, whose stated purpose is to promote understanding of the aspirations and challenges of the UK’s Jewish community with topics including religious freedom, faith-based education, welfare and social justice, and to celebrate the culture, contribution and achievements of the UK’s Jewish community.[11] Residential areas within Bury South, namely Prestwich and Whitefield, are home to one of the largest Jewish communities outside London.

Wakeford is one of 22 UK MPs who are members of the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd), an initiative of 'Results UK', a dual-registered company and charity.[12] It states its priorities are to achieve higher total and better quality financing for education, ensure policy makers prioritise helping the furthest behind first and secure a focus on the quality of education and improved learning.[13]

After his election as MP in December 2019, Wakeford continued claiming public allowances for at least three roles outside the House of Commons – as a Lancashire County Council councillor, as chair of that council's education scrutiny committee and as a Pendle Borough Council councillor – despite having announced "to a full Lancashire council chamber" his resignation in February 2020.[2][3]

For the three roles noted in the media, Wakeford received a total allowance equating to £22,041 p.a. for "approx. 40 hours per month" on top of his base salary of £81,932 as an MP.[3][14]

Wakeford attributed his change of mind over his resignation to a desire to ensure the two areas where he was a councillor were not without representation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fellow councillor, Mark Perks, dismissed this, citing a comparable case in Chorley Council where the incumbent had stepped down and no by-election was held and other colleagues had stood in. Perks said: "[Wakeford] is not even an MP for part of Lancashire and it just grates with me that somebody can be elected to Parliament and get all their expenses, but then stay on at a local authority and claim expenses for that, too – it’s not doing a service to the residents in his area, nor the council taxpayers of Lancashire."[2]

Between the general election in December 2019 and July 2020, there were reportedly only two full meetings of Lancashire County Council, of which Wakeford had attended one. Over the same time, Lancashire County Council's Education Scrutiny Committee reportedly held three meetings, of which Wakeford – as committee chair – had attended one.[3]

In July 2020, Private Eye reported that after the general election, Wakeford had applied to Pendle Borough Council for "leave of absence while he sorted himself out in Westminster". According to the article, the council refused and, in April 2020, dismissed Wakeford, as he had not attended a borough council meeting "for more than six months".[3]

Wakeford's office had stated in June 2020 that he would relinquish his chairmanship of the LCC Education Scrutiny Committee, which attracted an allowance of £7,620 per annum.[2]