Robert Jenrick

Robert Jenrick was born in 1982 in Wolverhampton. Jenrick attended Wolverhampton Grammar School before studying history at Cambridge, where he was a news editor of the student newspaper, Varsity. Jenrick gained a graduate diploma in law from the College of Law in 2005 and completed a legal practice course at BPP Law School, qualifying as a solicitor in 2008. Moving away from the legal field, he pursued a business career becoming director of Christie’s in 2014. As an MP, he joined the health select committee and in February 2015 was made PPS to the then-employment minister Esther McVey. In 2015, he became PPS to Michael Gove, and then to Liz Truss in their roles as justice secretary. In 2017, Jenrick became PPS to Amber Rudd, who was then home secretary. In July of that year he was elected by fellow MPs to be their representative on the board of the Conservative Party. In 2018, Jenrick became exchequer secretary to the Treasury and the youngest government minister. Although Jenrick voted Remain in 2016, he backed Theresa May and Boris Johnson in pursuing Brexit. Boris Johnson appointed Jenrick communities and housing secretary in 2019. In 2020, he was accused of breaking lockdown rules to visit his second home. He had previously written an article proposing that rather than travelling to visit relatives, people should seek help from their local communities. Later that year, he was embroiled in controversy after overruling the Planning Inspectorate to award a £1bn luxury housing development for Richard Desmond, a Conservative donor and owner of Northern and Shell. Jenrick owns two £2m homes in London as well as a countryside manor. He has been criticised for charging taxpayers £100,000 for a third London residence that he uses rarely. In 2020, Jenrick expressed support for the moving of the British Embassy to Jerusalem in a speech to Conservative Friends of Israel. In 2020, his relationship with Grenfell United deteriorated due to the group’s perception of Jenrick’s “focus on the interest of property developers”.