Duncan Charles Baker (born 15 November 1979) is a British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer, and the largest town is North Walsham. The district also includes the towns of Fakenham, Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Shering ...

from

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life and career

Duncan Baker was born on 15 November 1979 in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, and went to Gresham's, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Holt. He studied business at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

, then qualified as a chartered accountant, before working as a

finance director A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

Political career

Baker ran for election to

North Norfolk District Council 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 (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

in 2015, standing for

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

in the Holt ward, which had previously been his step-father Michael's seat. He received 714 votes and was not elected. He was elected to the same ward as a Conservative in a 2017 by-election, gaining the seat from the Liberal Democrats with 724 votes. He became Conservative group leader in North Norfolk in May 2019. On election as an MP, he stood down from this position and was replaced by Christopher Cushing as group leader.

Parliamentary career

At the 2019 general election, Baker was elected to Parliament as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP for

with 58.6% of the vote and a majority of 14,395. Baker's record in the Parliamentary Register of members Interests shows that he has received indirect financial support from Thomas Coke, 8th Earl of Leicester, whose Holkham estate is in the constituency. Baker was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...

in February 2022. He resigned on 6 July 2022, in protest at Boris Johnson's conduct in the Chris Pincher scandal.

Personal life

He lives in North Norfolk and is married. He is a father of two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Duncan 1979 births Living people UK MPs 2019–2024 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Alumni of Nottingham Trent University People educated at Gresham's School UK Independence Party councillors Conservative Party (UK) councillors British accountants People from Holt, Norfolk