Laura Farris
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding
Assumed office
13 November 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byEdward Argar (Victims)
Sarah Dines (Safeguarding)
Member of Parliament
for Newbury
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byRichard Benyon
Majority16,047 (26.7%)
Personal details
Born
Laura Rose McNair-Wilson

(1978-06-13) 13 June 1978
Bucklebury, Berkshire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Henry Farris
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
Alma materLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Profession
  • Barrister
  • journalist
WebsiteOfficial website

Laura Rose Farris[1] (née McNair-Wilson; born 13 June 1978)[2] is a British Conservative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury since the 2019 general election. Prior to her parliamentary career, she worked as a journalist and later as a barrister. She has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding since November 2023.[3]

Early life

Farris was born and grew up in Bucklebury, West Berkshire, England.[4] Her father Michael McNair-Wilson and her uncle Patrick McNair-Wilson were Conservative MPs.[5] She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating in 2000 with an upper second class degree.[4][6] She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from City, University of London (2006) and took the Bar Vocational Course at BPP Law School (2007).[6] Farris worked as a journalist for BBC and Reuters and also worked for Hillary Clinton when she was a United States Senator for New York.[7]

She qualified as a barrister in 2007, practising mainly in employment law. Farris was appointed to the panel of counsel operated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2015.[6]

Parliamentary career

Farris was selected as the Conservative candidate for Newbury on 10 November 2019.[8] She had previously stood as a candidate in the safe Labour seat of Leyton and Wanstead in 2017.[9] Farris was elected as MP with a majority of 16,047 in the 2019 general election. Her father had represented the constituency between 1974 and 1992.[10] She has been a member of the Justice Select Committee since June 2021 and the Privileges Committee and the Standards Committee since March 2022. Farris was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee from March 2020 to March 2022.[11] She identifies as a one-nation conservative.[12]

On 22 October 2021, Farris opposed a bill to prevent employers from firing employees and rehiring them on worse terms and conditions. She stated during the debate that the rules on fire and rehire needed to be tightened up, but the choice should be available as "an option of last resort" for companies facing insolvency.[13] In November 2021, a man was convicted of sending a malicious communication to Farris in 2020 and given a suspended sentence.[14][15]

Farris endorsed Rishi Sunak in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[16]

Personal life

Farris married Henry Farris in 2011.[17] They have two daughters.[18][19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Members Sworn". parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  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. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ↑ "Ministerial appointments: November 2023". GOV.UK. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "Introducing the six candidates shortlisted for Devizes". ConservativeHome. 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Laura Farris". Littleton Chambers. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Election 2019: the lawyers standing for parliament". The Lawyer. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.(subscription required)
  8. ↑ "Conservatives select Newbury candidate". Newbury Today. 11 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "Leyton and Wanstead". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "Conservatives hold Newbury as Laura Farris elected". Newbury Today. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Parliamentary career for Laura Farris". UK Parliament. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  12. ↑ @Laura_Farris (13 December 2019). "It's a huge honour to have been elected MP for Newbury. I am so so grateful to my brilliant team @WestBerksTories. I will always put this wonderful community first & strive to be a proud One-Nation voice on the Conservative back benches" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 September 2020 – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ "Fire-and-rehire: Government blocks law to curb the practice". BBC News. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  14. ↑ Kirk, Tristan (27 August 2020). "Conservative MP left 'in fear' after receiving email referencing samurai sword killing". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Man convicted of terrorising Newbury MP Laura Farris". Newbury Today. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  16. ↑ Ashby, Jonathan (11 July 2022). "I back Sunak, says Newbury MP". Newbury Today.
  17. ↑ "Laura McNair-Wilson and Henry Farris wedding". Jenks & Co. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "Election 2017: Conservatives announce Remain-supporting barrister Laura Farris as candidate for Leyton and Wanstead". Ilford Recorder. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Mr H. Farris and Miss L. McNair-Wilson". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.(subscription required)
  20. ↑ "Farris". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.(subscription required)
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