Vernon Coaker

The Right Honourable The Lord Coaker
Official portrait, 2017
Minister of State for Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 July 2024
Prime Minister	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	The Earl of Minto
Shadow Spokesperson for Home Affairs
In office 18 May 2021 – 6 July 2024
Leader	The Baroness Smith of Basildon
Preceded by	The Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Shadow Spokesperson for Defence
In office 18 May 2021 – 6 July 2024
Leader	The Baroness Smith of Basildon
Preceded by	The Lord Touhig
Minister of State for Schools and Learners
In office 8 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Jim Knight
Succeeded by	Nick Gibb
Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Security
In office 3 October 2008 – 8 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Tony McNulty
Succeeded by	David Hanson
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 10 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Jim Murphy
Succeeded by	Alan Campbell
Shadow cabinet portfolios Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland In office 13 September 2015 – 26 June 2016 Leader Jeremy Corbyn Preceded by Ivan Lewis Succeeded by Dave Anderson In office 7 October 2011 – 7 October 2013 Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by Shaun Woodward Succeeded by Ivan Lewis Shadow Secretary of State for Defence In office 7 October 2013 – 13 September 2015 Leader Ed Miliband Harriet Harman (acting) Preceded by Jim Murphy Succeeded by Maria Eagle
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 22 March 2021 Member of Parliament for Gedling In office 1 May 1997 – 6 November 2019 Preceded by Andrew Mitchell Succeeded by Tom Randall
Personal details
Born	Vernon Rodney Coaker (1953-06-17) 17 June 1953 (age 71) London, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Jacqueline Heaton ​ (m. 1978)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Warwick Nottingham Trent University
Awards	Life peer

Vernon Rodney Coaker, Baron Coaker (born 17 June 1953) is a British politician and life peer serving as Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence since 2024.^[1] A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Gedling from 1997 to 2019.

Coaker served in government as Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Security from 2008 to 2009, and Minister of State for Schools and Learning from 2009 to 2010. In opposition, he was Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 2013 to 2015 and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2011 to 2013, and again from 2015 to 2016. Coaker lost his seat at the 2019 general election.