Ben Spencer (politician)

Benjamin Walter Jack Spencer (11 December 1981)[2] is a psychiatrist and British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament for Runnymede and Weybridge since 2019.

Ben Spencer
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Runnymede and Weybridge
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byPhilip Hammond
Majority18,270 (34.3%)
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Walter Jack Spencer[1]

(1981-12-11) 11 December 1981
Liverpool, England
Political partyConservative
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website

Education

Spencer attended state grammar school in the West Midlands. He has a Masters in mental health law and a PhD on Decision-Making Capacity.[3]

Medical career

Spencer worked for ten years as a doctor at NHS specializing in mental health.[3]

Political career

Spencer sits in the seat of Runnymede and Weybridge. His voting record is publicly available.[4]

Spencer has been successful in both Private Members Bill Ballots since his election. In 2020, he aimed to put forward the Mental Health Admissions (Data) Bill, however due to COVID and disruption to the Parliamentary schedule, this was unable to proceed through the House.

In 2021, Spencer introduced a second Private Member's Bill presenting his Planning (Enforcement) Bill to Parliament in June 2021. The Bill's second reading took place on 19 November 2021 but was withdrawn with a view to incorporating the provisions in the forthcoming Planning Bill.

He is currently a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee[5] and the Conservative Party's COVID Recovery Group.

On 3 November 2021, Spencer voted not to suspend Owen Paterson after he had been found guilty of paid lobbying by the Parliamentary Committee on Standards.[6] Spencer later claimed he regretted the decision after Paterson had resigned.

On 23rd September 2022, following the fiscal event introduced by Kwasi Kwarteng, Spencer made a speech in the Commons supporting the measures that had been announced.

On 3 October 2022, Spencer was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister without Portfolio and Chairman of the Conservative Party Jake Berry.[7]

Personal life

Spencer lives in the constituency with his wife and two children. He has two cats called Frazzle and Ragnar.

References
  1. "No. 62862". The London Gazette. 20 December 2019. p. 23192.
  2. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. "Reforming the Mental Health Act". Dr Ben Spencer MP for Runnymede and Weybridge. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  4. "Ben Spencer – Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  5. "11 current committee members". Work and Pensions Committee, House of Commons. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  6. Demianyk, Graeme (3 November 2021). "How MPs Voted As Tories Mobilise To Protect Owen Paterson". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  7. "I am delighted that @DrBenSpencer is joining @conservatives, as my Parliamentary Private Secretary. Looking forward to working with him!". Twitter. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.