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Jo Churchill

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Jo Churchill
Official portrait, 2020
Minister of State for Employment
In office
13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byGuy Opperman
Succeeded byAlison McGovern
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office
8 September 2022 – 13 November 2023
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byMichael Tomlinson
Succeeded byStuart Anderson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation
In office
16 September 2021 – 6 July 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byVictoria Prentis
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care
In office
26 July 2019 – 16 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded bySeema Kennedy
Succeeded byMaria Caulfield
Member of Parliament
for Bury St Edmunds
In office
7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byDavid Ruffley
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1964-03-18) 18 March 1964 (age 60)
Political partyConservative
WebsiteOfficial website

Johanna Peta Churchill[1] (born 18 March 1964) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury St Edmunds from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions from November 2023 until July 2024.[2] She previously served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 2022 to 2023.[3] In that role, she took part in the 2023 Coronation[4] and the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.[5]

Early life

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Johanna Churchill was privately educated at Dame Alice Harpur School.[6]

Career

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Churchill was the finance director of a scaffolding company and served on Lincolnshire County Council.[7]

Churchill was the member of parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, which encompasses Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, having first taken her seat at the 2015 general election.[8] She has sat on the Women and Equalities Committee and the Environmental Audit Select Committee.[9]

Churchill was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[10] She has since stated that the EU referendum result must be respected and therefore supported Theresa May in triggering Article 50 (the formal process of leaving the EU).

She entered government when she was made an assistant government whip during the reshuffle on 9 January 2018, having previously served as PPS to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for the Department of Health.[11]

In July 2019, Churchill was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care at the Department for Health and Social Care in the first Johnson ministry.

In September 2021, Churchill was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry.[12] She resigned from this position in 2022 in protest at Boris Johnson's conduct in the Chris Pincher scandal.[13]

In 2023, Churchill as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, was "taken hostage" at Buckingham Palace to ensure the King's safe return after the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.[14][15]

She announced that she would not stand for re-election at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.[16] She was replaced as the Conservative candidate for the new constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket by special adviser Will Tanner, who ultimately lost the contest to Labour candidate Peter Prinsley.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9125.
  2. ^ "Ministerial appointments: November 2023". GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  5. ^ Edgington, Tom; Clarke, Jennifer (7 November 2023). "King's Speech: What is it and why is it important?". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Churchill, Johanna Peta". Who's Who. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U283969. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ^ "Director selected as Tory candidate for Bury St Edmunds". BBC News. 4 November 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Bury St Edmunds". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Environmental Audit Committee". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  10. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  11. ^ Walker, Peter (9 January 2018). "Theresa May's junior ministerial reshuffle: who's in and who's out". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Ministerial appointments: September 2021". 16 September 2021.
  13. ^ Geater, Paul (6 July 2022). "Jo Churchill quits as minister over Boris Johnson's leadership". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  14. ^ Morton, Becky (7 November 2023). "Focus on crime as Rishi Sunak sets out priorities in King's Speech". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  15. ^ Edgington, Tom; Clarke, Jennifer (7 November 2023). "King's Speech: What is it and why is it important?". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Second minister of day announces exit from Parliament adding to Tory headache to fill '150 empty candidate spots'". LBC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  17. ^ Geater, Paul (5 June 2024). "Downing Street official hopes to become Suffolk MP after General Election". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Bury St Edmunds
2015–2024 		Constituency abolished
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