John Redwood

John Redwood
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation
In office
6 May 2005 – 5 December 2005
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions
In office
15 June 1999 – 2 February 2000
LeaderWilliam Hague
Preceded byGillian Shephard
Succeeded byArchie Norman
Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
In office
11 June 1997 – 15 June 1999
LeaderJohn Major
William Hague
Preceded byMichael Heseltine
Succeeded byAngela Browning
Secretary of State for Wales
In office
27 May 1993 – 26 June 1995
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byDavid Hunt
Succeeded byWilliam Hague
Minister of State for Local Government
In office
15 April 1992 – 27 May 1993
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byMichael Portillo
Succeeded byDavid Curry
Minister of State for Corporate Affairs
In office
26 July 1989 – 15 April 1992
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
John Major
Preceded byFrancis Maude
Succeeded byNeil Hamilton
Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit
In office
5 May 1982 – 12 November 1987
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byFerdinand Mount
Succeeded byBrian Griffiths
Member of Parliament
for Wokingham
In office
11 June 1987 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byWilliam van Straubenzee
Succeeded byClive Jones
Personal details
Born
John Alan Redwood

(1951-06-15) 15 June 1951 (age 73)
Dover, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Gail Chippington
(m. 1974; div. 2003)
Children2
EducationKent College, Canterbury
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford (BA)
St Antony's College, Oxford (MPhil)
All Souls College, Oxford (DPhil)
Academic background
ThesisThe fear of atheism in England, from the Restoration to Berkeley's Alciphron (1975)

Sir John Alan Redwood (born 15 June 1951) is a British politician and academic who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham in Berkshire from 1987 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Secretary of State for Wales in the Major government and was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party in the 1990s. Redwood subsequently served in the Shadow Cabinets of William Hague and Michael Howard; he remained a backbencher from then on. On 24 May 2024, Redwood announced that he would stand down as MP for Wokingham and not seek re-election in the 2024 general election.[1]

Prior to becoming an MP, Redwood completed a doctorate at All Souls College, Oxford and served as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Margaret Thatcher. He is a veteran Eurosceptic who was described in 1993 as a "pragmatic Thatcherite".[2] He was the co-chairman of the Conservative Party's Policy Review Group on Economic Competitiveness until 2010. He has the role of Chief Global Strategist of investment management company Charles Stanley & Co Ltd (part of Charles Stanley Group). Redwood supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum, and is a member of the British Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.[3]

  1. ^ "John Redwood to step down as record number of Tory MPs set to quit". The Telegraph. 24 May 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference indebio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Co-Chairmen – Political Advisory Board – Supporters". Leave Means Leave. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.