Jack Edgar Brereton (born 13 May 1991) is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency from the 2017 general election until 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he is a former councillor on Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Early life and education

Brereton was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

on 13 May 1991 and grew up in the area. He attended

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

, graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations in 2012, and further studied at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Career

Brereton first stood for a seat at the age of 18 in the 2010 Stoke-on-Trent City Council election on 6 May 2010, where he was defeated in the East Valley ward by the Labour Party candidate Matt Wilcox. One year later, he stood again for the City Council and successfully retained the Baddeley, Milton and Norton ward for the Conservative Party. Following the local election in May 2015, in which he was re-elected as a councillor, he became cabinet member for Regeneration, Heritage and Transport on the City Council as part of a Conservative/Independents ruling coalition. He combined his councillor duties with attending university and, subsequently, with employment as a Parliamentary assistant to Conservative MP for Staffordshire Moorlands Karen Bradley.

Member of Parliament

Brereton unsuccessfully contested Stoke-on-Trent Central in a by-election on 23 February 2017, finishing third. He attracted some negative publicity for a mailshot his campaign released which contained false claims about two local Labour MPs voting against the then Prime Minister

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 ...

Brexit withdrawal agreement The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

and for a poster that misspelled Brexit. After the Government announced that there would be a General Election taking place in June 2017, the

Conservative Campaign Headquarters The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

told the local

Conservative Association A Conservative Association (CA) is a local organisation composed of Conservative Party members in the United Kingdom. Every association varies in membership size but all correspond to a parliamentary constituency in England, Wales, Scotland and N ...

to choose Brereton from a list of one, after he was promoted by his boss, the Cabinet Minister Karen Bradley. This was at the expense of Joe Rich, who had added four per cent to the Conservative Party vote share when he stood in the constituency in the 2015 general election and had hoped to stand again. Brereton went on to defeat the sitting Labour MP Rob Flello and take the seat on 9 June 2017, making him the first Conservative to win in the constituency in over 80 years. Aged 26, he was the youngest Conservative MP in the 2017 intake. In September 2018 he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

. Following his election as MP for Stoke South, Brereton continued with his role on the city council until June 2019 when he did not stand for re-election. He was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Exiting the European Union between September 2019 and 31 January 2020. Following the closure of the Department for Exiting the European Union, Brereton was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

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 ...

. Brereton resigned his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Secretary of State for International Trade The Secretary of State for International Trade, also referred to as the International Trade Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Intern ...

on 7 July 2022 as part of the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis, one of the last to do so before

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 ...

announced his resignation as party leader. Brereton lost his seat during the 2024 general election to Labour challenger Allison Gardner.

European Union

Brereton is a supporter of

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, saying he is "optimistic about our future in leaving the EU". In February 2019 he labelled the behaviour of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

officials as "threatening and aggressive". He voted against extending negotiations with the EU in March 2019, stating that it was "disrespecting" his constituents.

Personal life

Brereton lives with his wife and children in Stoke-on-Trent, and in London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Jack 1991 births Living people Alumni of Keele University Alumni of University College London UK councillors 2011–2015 UK councillors 2015–2019 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Eurosceptics