The Right Honourable
Lucy Frazer
KC MP
Parliamentary portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Assumed office
7 February 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byMichelle Donelan
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
In office
26 October 2022 – 7 February 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byLee Rowley
Succeeded byRachel Maclean
Minister of State for Transport
In office
8 September 2022 – 26 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byTrudy Harrison
Succeeded byJesse Norman
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
16 September 2021 – 7 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byJesse Norman
Succeeded byAndrew Griffith
Minister of State for Prisons and Probation
In office
10 September 2021 – 16 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byAlex Chalk
Succeeded byVictoria Atkins
In office
25 July 2019 – 2 March 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byRobert Buckland
Succeeded byAlex Chalk
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Acting
2 March 2021 – 10 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byMichael Ellis
Succeeded byMichael Ellis
In office
9 May 2019 – 25 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byRobert Buckland
Succeeded byMichael Ellis
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
In office
9 January 2018 – 9 May 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byDominic Raab
Succeeded byPaul Maynard
Member of Parliament
for South East Cambridgeshire
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byJim Paice
Majority11,490 (17.9%)
Personal details
Born (1972-05-17) 17 May 1972
Yorkshire, England
Political partyConservative
Alma materNewnham College, Cambridge
Occupation
  • Politician
  • barrister
Websitelucyfrazer.org.uk

Lucy Claire Frazer KC (born 17 May 1972) is a British politician and barrister serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since February 2023.[1] A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cambridgeshire since 2015.

Frazer previously served as Solicitor General for England and Wales, Minister of State for Prisons and Probation, Minister of State for Transport and Minister of State for Housing and Planning. Prior to being elected to Parliament, she practised as a barrister, taking silk in 2013.

Early life

Born on 17 May 1972 in Yorkshire,[2] Frazer is descended from Jewish immigrants, among whom was her grandfather Dr Hyman Frazer, headmaster of Gateway Grammar School in Leicester.[3][4][5]

Education

Frazer was privately educated both at Gateways School for Girls[6] and Leeds Girls' High School,[7] before studying Law at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was elected President of the Cambridge Union.[8]

Career

Soon after graduating, Frazer interned at the Israeli Ministry of Justice.[9][10] Before entering politics, Frazer worked as a barrister in commercial law in London, practising in South Square Chambers, Gray's Inn;[11] she was appointed Queen's Counsel at the age of 40.[8] She was then selected as the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary candidate for South East Cambridgeshire in December 2013, despite claims that she had been beaten in an open primary by Heidi Allen, who was later elected as MP for South Cambridgeshire.[12] Frazer succeeded in being elected at the 2015 general election with 28,845 votes (48.5%), a majority of 16,837.[13] After entering the Commons, she was then elected to the Education Select Committee later that year.[14]

Frazer supported the UK remaining within the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.[15] In July 2016, she became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Ben Gummer.[14]

Frazer put forward a Private Member's Bill to Parliament for making upskirting an offence in England and Wales; this attained Royal Assent on 12 February 2019. Before the Act was passed, the common law offence of outraging public decency might have been applicable.

She was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in January 2018, before being promoted Solicitor General for England and Wales in May 2019.

On 25 July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Frazer as Minister of State for Prisons. She was then temporarily reappointed as Solicitor General when Suella Braverman took maternity leave in March 2021, being sworn of the Privy Council.[16] Frazer returned to her role as Minister of State for Prisons upon Braverman's return on 10 September 2021.[17]

On 16 September 2021, Frazer was promoted Financial Secretary to the Treasury.[18]

In November 2021 it was claimed by the Liberal Democrat MP, Sarah Olney, that Frazer had a conflict of interest in respect of a contract held by her husband's company to supply temporary staff to government departments and that six of these workers had been employed using a "controversial tax-avoidance scheme".[19]

In June 2022, Frazer declared her support for Johnson in the 2022 vote of confidence in his Conservative Party leadership.[20]

Frazer served as Minister of State for Transport from September to October 2022.[21][22]

On 26 October 2022, following the election of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Frazer was appointed Minister of State for Housing and Planning.[23] In the February 2023 Cabinet reshuffle, Frazer joined HM Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[24]

Following the 2023 local elections, Frazer appeared on the BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme saying her party needs to "reflect" upon the poor results.[25]

See also

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "Minister of State (Housing and Planning) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
    2. ↑ "Biography for Lucy Frazer". MyParliament. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
    3. ↑ Staff writer (February 1965). "Home news: New Year Honours" (PDF). AJR Information. Association of Jewish Refugees in Britain. XX (2): 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
    4. ↑ Gillard, Derek. "Crowther Report (1959) Volume I". educationengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
    5. ↑ "Daily Hansard - Debate". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 4 June 2015. col. 826–827. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
    6. ↑ www.gatewaysschool.co.uk
    7. ↑ "Lucy Frazer QC". The Legal 500. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
    8. 1 2 Jamieson, Sophie (29 April 2015). "Election 2015: Meet the future female front bench stars of the 2015 Parliament". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
    9. ↑ "Britain's Jewish fighters for justice, against antisemitism". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
    10. ↑ "Rishi reshuffle: The Jewish movers and shakers in Sunak's new government". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
    11. ↑ Dominic Lawson (10 May 2019). "Former South Square barrister named English solicitor general". Global Restructuring Review. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
    12. ↑ Merrick, Jane (12 January 2014). "The battle of the Tory women: Farcical scenes after 'invalid' vote to select candidate for safe seat". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
    13. ↑ "Election 2015: Cambridgeshire South East parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
    14. 1 2 "About Lucy Frazer". Lucy Frazer MP. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
    15. ↑ 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 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
    16. ↑ "Ministerial appointments: 2 March 2021". GOV.UK (Press release). Retrieved 2 March 2021.
    17. ↑ "The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021. The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP was re-appointed as a Minister of State in the Ministry of Justice on 10 September 2021
    18. ↑ "Parliamentary career for Lucy Frazer". UK Parliament. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
    19. ↑ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon (21 November 2021). "Treasury minister Lucy Frazer accused of conflict of interest over husband's firm". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
    20. ↑ Brackley, Paul (6 June 2022). "Boris Johnson faces confidence vote - but will Cambridgeshire's Conservative MPs continue to back the Prime Minister?". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
    21. ↑ "The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
    22. ↑ "Ministerial Appointments: September - October 2022". GOV.UK. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
    23. ↑ "Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
    24. ↑ Maher, Bron (7 February 2023). "Lucy Frazer replaces Michelle Donelan as Culture Secretary". Press Gazette. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
    25. ↑ "Local elections 2023: We need to reflect and do more, says Lucy Frazer after Tory losses". BBC News. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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