John Redwood

Sir John Redwood was elected as the Conservative MP for Wokingham in 1987. Born in Dover, Redwood holds a doctorate and became Oxfordshire’s youngest-ever councillor at 21, beginning his lifelong career in politics. He first stood for parliament in the 1982 Peckham by-election, where he came second to Harriet Harman. In the 1983 general election, he became the head of Margaret Thatcher’s Policy Unit and in the 1987 general election became the MP for Wokingham, holding the seat for the party with a majority of 20,387. In 1989, he became parliamentary under-secretary at the Department for Trade and Industry and was soon promoted to minister of state. In 1993, he joined John Major’s cabinet as Welsh secretary. Redwood challenged John Major to Conservative leadership amid government turmoil over the European Union, though Major won comfortably – Redwood again stood for leadership following the 1997 general election, coming fourth. He later joined William Hague’s shadow cabinet as shadow trade secretary and then shadow environment secretary, and under Michael Howard, served as shadow deregulation secretary. Redwood campaigned for Vote Leave and has recently called for tax cuts and protection for the hospitality industry during Covid-19.