Caroline Nokes

Caroline Nokes was born and raised in Southampton and is the daughter of a former MEP, Roy Perry for whom she served as a policy advisor after university. Nokes subsequently served for 11 years as a member of Test Valley Borough Council from 1999. She also served as chief executive of the National Pony Society from 2008 to 2009. In the Commons, she joined the environmental audit committee and the speaker’s advisory committee on works of art. In 2014, she joined the education committee. In 2015, Nokes became chair of the advisory committee on works of art, and in 2016 became parliamentary under-secretary at the DWP. Nokes retained her seat in the 2017 snap general election with an increased majority of 18,006. That year, she became parliamentary under-secretary at the Cabinet Office and, in January 2018 immigration minister. Nokes was sacked from government in July 2019 after Boris Johnson was appointed PM: she only found this out via Twitter. She later had the Conservative whip withdrawn after rebelling against the government and voting for the Benn Act. She had the whip restored shortly before parliament was dissolved for the 2019 general election.