Stewart Jackson
Encyclopedia
Stewart James Jackson (born 31 January 1965) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. A member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

, he is the Member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 (MP) for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...

.

Early life

Jackson was born in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

 and brought up in South East London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He attended the London Nautical School
London Nautical School
The London Nautical School was founded in 1915, as a consequence of the official report into the loss of the Titanic. The primary aim of the school is "to educate and prepare pupils to meet the needs of society either at sea or in any other occupation where responsibility, attention to duty and...

 in Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

, and Chatham House Grammar School
Chatham House Grammar School
Chatham House Grammar School, often abbreviated to "Chatham House" is a grammar school in Ramsgate, Kent, England, founded in 1797 as a private boy's boarding school by William Humble, under the name Humbles Boys' School...

 in Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...

, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. He studied at Royal Holloway
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London is a constituent college of the University of London. The college has three faculties, 18 academic departments, and about 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 different countries...

, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, where he was awarded a BA (Hons)
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in Economics & Public Administration in 1988. He also earned an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in Human Resource Management from Thames Valley University
Thames Valley University
The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading, Berkshire....

 in 2001, and is a Graduate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is Europe's largest professional institute for people management and development. It is located in Wimbledon, London, England. The organisation has over 135,000 members across 120 countries, and achieved chartered status in 2000...

 (CIPD).

Before joining Business Link, Jackson worked for Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...

 for nine years, and ran his own branch as a Branch Manager in London's West End, as well as being a small business manager. He was a Board Member and Trustee of the London City YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

 for five years.

Prior to being elected, Jackson was a Business Services Manager with Business Link
Business Link
Business Link is a government-funded business advice and guidance service in England. It consists of an online portal managed by HMRC, local/regional advisors and a national helpline.-History:...

 in London.

Political career

Jackson served on Ealing Borough Council
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...

 in West London from 1990 to 1998, during which time he was Conservative Party spokesman on planning and housing, on which he served until his election to the House of Commons for Peterborough. Jackson is widely regarded by colleagues of all parties to be an expert on local government, particularly on issues surrounding planning, urban regeneration and urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...

. He is Vice President of the Local Government Association
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association is a voluntary lobbying organisation acting as the voice of the local government sector in England and Wales, which seeks to be an authoritative and effective advocate on its behalf....

. He also sits on the Board of Management of the local government think tank the New Local Government Network.

Jackson unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Brent South at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

. He was then selected as the Conservative candidate for the Peterborough seat in October 2000, and fought the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

, where he reduced the Labour Party's
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 majority in the constituency from 7323 votes to 2854 votes, but lost to the incumbent Labour MP Helen Brinton
Helen Clark (UK politician)
Helen Rosemary Clark, previously known as Helen Brinton, is a politician in the United Kingdom...

. Jackson was re-adopted as the Conservative candidate for Peterborough in August 2002, and defeated Brinton at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

 to become the MP. He was re-elected at the 2010 general election.

In the House of Commons, Jackson was a member of the Regulatory Reform Select Committee and from 11 December 2006, the Health Select Committee
Health Select Committee
The Health Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the British House of Commons. It oversees the operations of the Department of Health and its associated bodies.-Membership:...

 leaving it in July 2007 when he became an Opposition Whip. He was Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 from 2007–2010. In January 2008, he became Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, with responsibility for the fire service, flooding, housing renewal areas and the Thames Gateway
Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...

. He was unanimously readopted as the Conservative candidate for the Peterborough constituency by the Executive Council of the Peterborough Conservative Association in July 2007.

In the General Election held on 6 May 2010, Stewart Jackson increased his majority to 4,861 votes over the Labour candidate, Ed Murphy and was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

 (PPS) to Rt Hon Owen Paterson
Owen Paterson
Owen William Paterson is a British Conservative Party politician and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He is the Member of Parliament for North Shropshire.-Early life and career:Paterson was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire...

 MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...

 in June 2010, a position he resigned from on 24 October 2011, after he voted against a three-line whip on an EU referendum.

Parliamentary expenses

In May 2009, Jackson's Parliamentary expenses were scrutinised in the expenses scandal. Articles in the Daily Telegraph reported that Jackson had claimed more than £66,000 in three financial years for housing costs in his constituency: on 11 May 2009 the newspaper reported that he had claimed £11,000 in professional, legal and mortgage fees on buying a new constituency home. However, Jackson explained that there were legitimate 'one-off costs' relating to the purchasing of a home base in the constituency after his election as an MP, and until the house was purchased, he, his wife and infant daughter were renting one bedroomed accommodation in the constituency. On 12 May 2009, both BBC Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....

, and a second article published by The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

 reported that Jackson had claimed £55,000 on housing costs for the constituency house, bringing the total sum to over £66,000. When asked about how MPs should be housed in their constituencies, Jackson was quoted in the Daily Telegraph as saying that any ban on the second home allowance would be "draconian and unfair". David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

, leader of Jackson’s Conservative Party, declared himself appalled at the raft of revelations made by the Telegraph relating to claims submitted by his parliamentary party colleagues, and stated that disciplinary action could be taken against those who had acted illegally or outside of the rules. However, no action was taken against Jackson by either his party or Parliamentary authorities, who deemed his expense claims to be legal and within the rules.

Twitter controversy

In August 2010 Jackson came under scrutiny for his conduct on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

, when he responded to newly published data on Sexually Transmitted Infections.

The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

commented on the controversy his series of tweets caused and Jackson later told the Peterborough Evening Telegraph that his tweets were "directed only at people who had sent him abusive messages".

Personal life

In July 1999, Jackson married Sarah O'Grady, a journalist with the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...

, at the College Chapel at Royal Holloway in Egham
Egham
Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...

, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

. As a result, Jackson has regularly been interviewed for stories that have appeared in the Daily Express, or has written articles for the paper himself, normally commenting on immigration issues. The couple have one daughter (born 2005), and split their time between living in London and Peterborough.

External links

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