Rebecca Harris
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Comptroller of the Household
Assumed office
8 July 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byMarcus Jones
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
9 January 2018 – 8 July 2022
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded byHeather Wheeler
Member of Parliament
for Castle Point
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byBob Spink
Majority26,634 (60.2%)
Personal details
Born (1967-12-22) 22 December 1967[1]
Windsor, Berkshire, England[2]
Political partyConservative
SpouseFrank
Alma materBedales School
London School of Economics
Websitewww.rebeccaharris.org

Elizabeth Rebecca Scott Harris[3] (born 22 December 1967) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Castle Point. She is the incumbent Comptroller of the Household.[4][5] In that role, she took part in the 2023 Coronation.[6]

Education

Harris was born in Windsor, Berkshire and was privately educated at the Hampshire independent boarding school Bedales. She earned her degree from the London School of Economics (BSc).

Business career

Harris spent most of her working life with Phillimore & Co publishers, working in warehousing as a delivery driver and sales rep. Working her way through the ranks of the company she eventually joined the board as marketing director.

Political career

Harris was a Conservative head office campaign co-ordinator during 2000-2001 and Conservative North West London area officer during 2007–2008.[1] She was elected as MP for Castle Point in 2010 with a majority of 7,632.[1] She was re-elected in 2015 with an increased majority, and then again in 2017 with a substantially increased majority.

In 2012, Harris was named by Conservative Home as one of a minority of loyal Conservative backbench MPs not to have voted against the government in any significant rebellions.[7]

She was a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and has championed the Daylight Saving Bill which, had it passed, would have moved Britain onto Central European Time.[8] On 20 January 2012, the legislation ran out of time to progress, meaning that the United Kingdom would remain on Western European Time.[9] Prior to the EU 2016 referendum Harris stated the intention to campaign for Britain to leave the European Union.[10]

Harris and her entourage recorded video footage of allegedly speeding motorbikers and handed them to the police, after spotting them whilst canvassing for the 2015 general election. Local residents had complained of the street being used for road racing.[11]

Harris was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers on 28 May 2015.

Harris was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid MP in July 2016.

Prior to the General Election in May 2015, Harris was named as the Member of Parliament with the 4th highest voting record in the country.[12]

She was re-elected at the 2017 and 2019 general election; at the latter, Harris won 76.7% of the vote, the largest Conservative vote share of the entire election.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Rebecca Harris MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9122.
  4. ↑ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Rebecca Harris MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Barrett, Matthew (14 September 2012). "The 24 Conservative MPs who are still on the backbenches and have never rebelled". Conservative Home. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Winterman, Denise (24 February 2011). "Could the UK work with two different time zones?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  9. ↑ Staff writer (20 January 2012). "Clock change bill runs out of time in Commons". BBC News. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand". BBC News. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Trayner, David (12 March 2015). "MP films bikers she accuses of speeding". Southend Echo. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Wilkinson, Michael (16 April 2015). "Election 2015: How active was my MP?". Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
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