Gareth Bacon

Gareth Andrew Bacon (born 7 April 1972) is a British Conservative politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington since 2019.

Gareth Bacon

MP AM
Bacon in 2020
Member of Parliament
for Orpington
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJo Johnson
Majority22,378 (45.9%)
Leader of the Conservatives
in the London Assembly
In office
October 2015 – 17 December 2019
Preceded byAndrew Boff
Succeeded bySusan Hall
Member of the London Assembly
for Bexley and Bromley
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Preceded byJames Cleverly
Member of the London Assembly
as the 1st Additional Member
In office
1 May 2008 – 5 May 2016
Preceded byPeter Hulme-Cross
Succeeded byKemi Badenoch
Councillor for Bexley London Borough Council
Assumed office
8 May 1998
WardLonglands (2002–present)
Sidcup West (1998–2002)
Personal details
Born (1972-04-07) 7 April 1972
British Hong Kong
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Domestic partnerCheryl Cooley
Alma materUniversity of Kent
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Bacon was born in Hong Kong, and studied at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's School in Sidcup, then at University of Kent at Canterbury where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Politics and Government in 1996, followed by a Master of Arts degree in European Studies in 1997. He worked as head of the public sector division of Martin Ward Anderson from 2004.[1]

Political career

Gareth Bacon joined the Conservative Party in 1987. Prior to Bacon's election as the Member of Parliament for Orpington, he had a long career in local government, serving as a London Assembly Member since 2008 and as a local councillor since 1998.

Following his election as a Member of Parliament, Bacon announced he would stand down from Bexley Council and the London Assembly ahead of May's local elections. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the English local elections were postponed for a year.

Member of Parliament

On 8 November 2019, Bacon was selected by Orpington Conservatives to be their candidate for the upcoming General Election after incumbent Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Boris Johnson chose not to seek reelection.

On 12 December 2019, Bacon was elected as the Member of Parliament for Orpington. Despite a fall in his numerical vote share, Bacon was however elected with the highest Conservative vote share in the seat since 1955, winning the seat with 30,882 votes - a majority of 22,378.

Gareth Bacon made his maiden speech in Parliament on 5 February 2020.[2] He became a member of the influential House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on 2 March 2020.[3]

In June 2020, Bacon was one of a minority of Conservative MPs to vote against restricting demonstrations outside abortion clinics.[4]

Member of the London Assembly

In the 2008 London Assembly election, Gareth Bacon was elected as the third Conservative London-wide Assembly Member.[5] In 2012, he was ranked second on the Conservative party top-up list and went on to be re-elected to the London Assembly.[6]

In September 2015, Gareth Bacon was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the London Assembly constituency of Bexley & Bromley. At the following election he was duly elected to the London Assembly with 87,460 votes (46.1%) and a majority of 41,699.[7] In October 2015, he succeeded Andrew Boff as the Leader of the GLA Conservative Group at City Hall.

In the London Assembly, Gareth Bacon was Chairman of the London Assembly's Budget and Performance Committee, Chairman of the Budget Monitoring Sub-Committee, and Vice-Chairman of the Oversight Committee.[8]

Bexley Council

Gareth Bacon is a long-standing councillor of Bexley Council, representing Sidcup West from 1998 to 2002, and then Longlands ward since 2002.

After the Conservatives won control of Bexley Council in 2006, Bacon served as the Cabinet Member for the Environment (2006 - 2014). In 2012, his portfolio was widened to include the Public Realm.

Bacon steered through an enhanced recycling service in Bexley, which produced a 20% increase in the level of recycling in the borough in the first year and ensured that Bexley retained its position as the leading borough for recycling in London, breaking through the 50% barrier for the first time and avoiding an increase of £2 million in costs for waste disposal.

In June 2010, Gareth Bacon was appointed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to serve on the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.

Bacon was elected Deputy Leader of Bexley Council in 2014, a position he left in January 2015 after Boris Johnson appointed him as Chairman of the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.

In October 2017, Bacon was listed by Iain Dale at Number 97 in the '100 most influential on the Right', on the website ConservativeHome.[9]

References
  1. 'BACON, Gareth Andrew', Who's Who 2009, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2008, accessed 17 March 2009.
  2. Bacon, Gareth (5 February 2020). "WATCH Orpington's new MP Gareth Bacon deliver his maiden speech in Parliament". Gareth Bacon. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. "Parliamentary career for Gareth Bacon - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/801#noes
  5. "BBC NEWS | Election 2008 | London Assembly Election 2008". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. "BBC News - Vote 2012 - London Assembly Results". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  7. "Bexley & Bromley 2016 election results". Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. "Gareth Bacon". London City Hall. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. Dale, Iain (2 October 2017). "Iain Dale's 100 most influential people on the Right 2017. May tops it. Davis is second. And Davidson third. | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Jo Johnson		 Member of Parliament for Orpington
2019–present		 Incumbent
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