Ben Spencer (politician)

Ben Spencer
Official portrait, 2024
Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology
Assumed office
6 November 2024
LeaderKemi Badenoch
Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care
In office
19 July 2024 – 6 November 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
25 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Member of Parliament
for Runnymede and Weybridge
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byPhilip Hammond
Majority7,627 (15.8%)
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Walter Jack Spencer[1]

(1981-12-11) 11 December 1981 (age 42)
Liverpool, England
Political partyConservative
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website

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

Early life and career

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Ben Spencer was born on 11 December 1981 in Liverpool. He attended a state grammar school in the West Midlands. He has a master's in mental health law and a PhD on Decision-Making Capacity.[3]

Spencer worked for ten years as a doctor for the NHS, specialising in mental health.[3]

Parliamentary career

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At the snap 2017 general election, Ben Spencer stood in Camberwell and Peckham, coming second with 12.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Harriet Harman.[4][5][6]

Spencer was elected to Parliament at the 2019 general election as MP for Runnymede and Weybridge with 54.9% of the vote and a majority of 18,270.[7]

He is a former member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.[8]

On 3 October 2022, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister without Portfolio and Chairman of the Conservative Party Jake Berry.[9] On 25 November 2023, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party for Campaigning and Candidates – Disability and Diversity.[10]

At the 2024 general election, Spencer was re-elected as MP for Runnymede and Weybridge with a majority of 7,627.[11]

On 19 July 2024, he was appointed as Shadow Minister of State for Mental Health, Prevention and Public Health.[12]

Following the election of Kemi Badenoch in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election, Spencer was made Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology.

References

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  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. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ^ a b "Reforming the Mental Health Act". Dr Ben Spencer MP for Runnymede and Weybridge. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Camberwell & Peckham parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Camberwell & Peckham general election results 2017". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Runnymede & Weybridge Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  8. ^ "11 current committee members". Work and Pensions Committee, House of Commons. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  9. ^ "I am delighted that @DrBenSpencer is joining @conservatives, as my Parliamentary Private Secretary. Looking forward to working with him!". Twitter. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Latest civil service and public affairs moves – December 4". Civil Service World. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Runnymede and Weybridge - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Shadow Department of Health and Social Care". UK Parliament.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Runnymede and Weybridge
2019–present
Incumbent