Natalie Jessica Evans, Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, (born 29 November 1975), is a British politician and member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. A member of the Conservative Party, she was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 2014 and from 2016 to 2022 was

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...

. She was the first Leader of the House of Lords to serve under two different prime ministers since Lord Shepherd in 1974, and the longest serving Lords leader since 1951.

Early life and education

Evans was born on 29 November 1975. She was educated at

Rockport School Rockport School is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls from 2.5 years to 18 years in the British Public School tradition. It is situated in of woodland on the shore of Belfast Lough in Craigavad, near Holywood, County D ...

in County Down, The

Henrietta Barnett School The Henrietta Barnett School is a grammar school with academy status for girls, in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London. The '' Good Schools Guide'' called the school 'One of the best academic state schools in the country, providing a gentle, ins ...

and at

New Hall, Cambridge New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, where she studied

social and political sciences The Faculty of Human, Social, and Political Science at the University of Cambridge was created in 2011 out of a merger of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies. ...

and graduated in 1998.

Career

Evans worked as a researcher for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and then for the

Social Market Foundation The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is an independent British political public policy think-tank based in Westminster, London. It is one of the 'Top 12 Think Tanks in Britain' and was named 'UK Think Tank of the Year' by Prospect in 2012. Its pur ...

, a public policy think tank which aims to "champion ideas that marry a pro-market orientation with concern for social justice". She moved to the

Conservative Research Department The Conservative Research Department (CRD) is part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It operates alongside other departments of Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster. The CRD has been descri ...

in 1999, eventually becoming its deputy director."IRS hires Evans in bid to forge links and raise profile", ''PRWeek'', 16 August 2002. In 2002, she was appointed head of policy at the

Investor Relations Society The Investor Relations Society (IR Society) is the professional body for investor relations professionals in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain ...

"with a remit to help the Society play a leading role in influencing UK legislation, in particular the Financial Services Authority's review of the listing rules and regulations covering analyst research." She later became its general manager.Tom Williams
"Workman lands GM job at the IRS"
''

PRWeek ''PRWeek'' is a trade magazine and news website for the public relations and wider communications industry. It is published by Haymarket Media Group. History ''PRWeek'' was originally launched as a private venture in 1984 and was acquired b ...

'', 23 April 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2020. In 2004, she became head of health and protection at the

Association of British Insurers The Association of British Insurers, or ABI, is a trade association made up of insurance companies in the United Kingdom. History The ABI began in 1985 after several specialised insurance industry trade associations joined to form one trade associ ...

(2004–2006), and then worked as head of policy at the

British Chambers of Commerce The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC, formerly known prior to 1996 as the Association of British Chambers of Commerce) is the national representative body of 53 chambers of commerce across the UK. The chambers represent 50,000 businesses, whi ...

(2006–2008)."Evans of Bowes Park, Baroness (Natalie Jessica Evans)"
''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, December 2019). Retrieved 28 January 2020. In 2008, Evans became deputy director at

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". Policy Exchange is a registered charity; it most ...

, a centre-right

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

. In May 2010, she stood for election to the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey ( , same as Harringay) is a London boroughs, London borough in north London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation ...

as a Conservative Party candidate to be one of three councillors in the

Bounds Green Bounds Green is a suburb to the north of Wood Green, in the London Borough of Haringey and London Borough of Enfield in north London. Parts of it are also known as New Southgate, but most of New Southgate lies in the London Borough of Enfield ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

; she achieved 647 votes and was not elected. On 5 November 2010, as deputy director at Policy Exchange, she introduced Home Secretary

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

at a speech about

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

hosted by the think tank. In 2011, Evans left Policy Exchange to become chief operating officer at the

New Schools Network The New Schools Network (NSN) is a United Kingdom-registered charity and former think tank which formerly supported groups setting up Free school (England), free schools within the English state education sector. History Early years The New Sch ...

. She was then its director from January 2013 until May 2015. The New Schools Network is a registered charity, and supports groups who wish to set up free schools.

House of Lords

She was made

as Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, of

Bowes Park Bowes Park () is situated on the borders of Wood Green, Palmers Green and Bounds Green in London, England. The postcodes for Bowes Park are N postcode area, N13 and N22. The border between the London boroughs of London Borough of Enfield, Enfield ...

which borders the London Boroughs of Enfield and Haringey, on 12 September 2014. Baroness Evans was formally introduced to the

along with Lord Cashman on 28 October 2014. She was, at the time, the youngest female peer. Evans served as a government whip in the House of Lords during the 2015 government, and spoke briefly in January 2016 about how "education must be at the heart of our prison system if we are to rehabilitate effectively". On 14 July 2016 Baroness Evans was appointed to the post of

by then prime minister,

. She remained in that office when

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

became Prime Minister in July 2019.

Personal life

Her husband James Wild was employed as a

Special Adviser Special adviser may refer to: *Special adviser (Norway), a high-ranking civil servant *Special adviser (UK) A Special Adviser, also known as a SpAd, is a temporary civil servant who advises and assists UK government ministers or ministers in th ...

by Sir

Michael Fallon Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom ...

MP, when he served as

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...

. He was elected the MP for

North West Norfolk North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

at the 2019 general election.

References

External links

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
– UK Parliament , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Natalie 1975 births Alumni of New Hall, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Leaders of the House of Lords Living people Lords Privy Seal People educated at Henrietta Barnett School People educated at Rockport School Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom