Jo Churchill

Jo Churchill is former finance director of a scaffolding company and Lincolnshire councillor. Churchill was a Theresa May loyalist, and under her leadership served as PPS to Jeremy Hunt and later as an assistant whip. Although she voted for Remain in the 2016 referendum, 54 per cent of her constituents voted Leave. Churchill refused to back the 2018 no-confidence vote in May. As a local MP, Churchill has taken a keen interest in improving the infrastructure and welfare of Bury, favouring faster rail links between London and her constituency. She has also campaigned for improved cancer outcomes, having been treated for thyroid and breast cancer in the past. She holds a range of cancer-related positions in parliament, including chair of the APPG on medical research, vice-chair of the APPGs on cancer and breast cancer. In 2020, she was reprimanded by the speaker for calling Labour MPs “children”. As parliamentary under-secretary of state for prevention, public health and primary care (since 2019), Churchill was forced to defend her department’s PPE purchases during the coronavirus pandemic. It is alleged that the government paid inflated prices to so-called “VIP” companies with links to the Conservative Party.