Sir Jeremy Paul Wright (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is the chief legal adviser to the sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales as well as the highest ranking amongst the law officers of the Crown. The attorney gener ...

from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kenilworth and Southam, previously Rugby and Kenilworth, since the 2005 general election and served as Shadow Attorney General from July to November 2024. He served as

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second ...

from 12 May 2010 until his appointment as

Minister of State for Prisons The Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending (or simply Prisons Minister) is a mid-level ministerial office in the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice. On 5 July 2024 James Timpson was appointed by ...

at the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

on 6 September 2012. He became

and Advocate General for Northern Ireland on 15 July 2014. Wright replaced

Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 20 ...

as Culture Secretary on 9 July 2018, serving in the post for a year until being sacked by incoming Prime Minister

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 ...

in July 2019 and returning to the backbenches.
Sky Sports report, 25 July 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

Early life and career

Jeremy Wright was born on 24 October 1972 in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. His parents were both teachers and he has one brother who served as a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Wright was educated at two

independent 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 ...

Taunton School Taunton School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, now co-educational, in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18. The current headmaster i ...

and Trinity School, New York City, before going to the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, where he graduated as a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1996 and specialised in criminal law in the Midlands until his election to Parliament in 2005.'WRIGHT, Jeremy Paul'
''Who's Who'' 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Wright remains a member of No.5 Chambers in Birmingham but is officially listed as non-practising as of May 2013.Jeremy Wright MP
Democracy Live, BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
The Register of Members' Financial Interests: Part 1. As at 7 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

Parliamentary career

Early political career

Wright was first elected to Parliament at the 2005 general election, when he won the seat of Rugby and Kenilworth. He won the seat with 41.2% of the vote and a majority of 1,556. In July 2007, Wright was appointed as an Opposition

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and served as a Government Whip from 2010 until 2012, holding the office of

.Jeremy Wright
Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He served as a member of the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee between 2005 and 2007. Wright has generally supported the proposals for the HS2 London to Birmingham rail link which will run through his constituency.Warwickshire candidates support high-speed rail link
BBC election 2010, 14 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He has opposed some of the detailed original plans for the route, although supporting route changes made in 2010.High-speed route in Warwickshire 'revised', says MP
''BBC News'', 8 September 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.Warwickshire MP joins HS2 protest group
''Coventry Telegraph'', 11 October 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2013.County divided on HS2 rail route
''BBC News'', 10 January 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

In government

At the 2010 general election, Wright was elected for the newly created seat of Kenilworth and Southam with 53.6% of the vote and a majority of 12,552. In September 2012 Wright was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

. His specific responsibility was as Minister for Prisons and Rehabilitation.Jeremy Paul Wright
politics.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He was appointed Attorney General on 15 July 2014, replacing Dominic Grieve. For the purposes of this role, he was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. At the 2015 general election, Wright was re-elected with an increased vote share of 58.4% and an increased majority of 21,002. Wright campaigned for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union before the EU membership referendum on 23 June 2016. In November 2016, Wright was criticised by a number of other Conservative MPs for his role in the Government's loss of a High Court case which gave MPs and peers a veto over when Brexit begins. Although it was suggested that he should resign as Attorney General, Wright retained his position. At the snap 2017 general election, Wright was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 60.8% but a decreased majority of 18,086. In July 2018, after a series of resignations in May's cabinet after her decision of a " Soft Brexit" was reached at

Chequers Chequers ( ) is the English country house, country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough in England, halfway betwee ...

, Wright was appointed to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, after

was moved to become

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Departmen ...

. With

Sajid Javid Sir Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the ...

in late 2018, Wright warned social media firms that "the era of self-regulation is coming to an end" with regard to extremist content and announced a forthcoming ' online harms white paper', published in April 2019, which is expected to introduce legal regulation of online publishers and social media, including new censorship rules. At the 2019 general election, Wright was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 57.7% but an increased majority of 20,353. In late May 2022, Jeremy Wright became the 27th Conservative MP to publicly call for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign, in a 2,000 word letter on his website. In November 2023, Wright voted against a ceasefire in Gaza.

In opposition

Following the Conservative Party's defeat in the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

and the subsequent formation of the

Starmer ministry The Starmer ministry began on 5 July 2024 when Keir Starmer was invited by King Charles III to form a government, following the resignation of Rishi Sunak after the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election. Background Star ...

, Wright was appointed Shadow Attorney General in Rishi Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet.

Register of Members' Interests

From 1 September 2021 to 1 September 2022, Wright was a Professor of Practice at the University of Warwick in Coventry, for which he received £10,000 per annum, paid monthly. This was for approximately 3 hours a week. (Registered 1 October 2021).

Expenses claims

Wright has defended his expenses claims as an MP, including claiming nearly £3,000 for the purchase of furniture for a flat in London after he became an MP in 2005.My furniture claim was not extravagant
''Coventry Telegraph'', 1 June 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He repaid £46.71 over-claimed for council tax in 2007–08 after a "genuine mistake".Jeremy Wright MP made mobile phone and furniture expenses claims
''Coventry Telegraph'', 30 May 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He also claimed just under £800 in mobile phone call charges which he was ordered to repay. He appealed the decision to order repayment of these expenses, claiming that he had requested permission to charge an amount for mobile phone calls as he did not have a landline installed in his London flat.Tory whip appealing against MPs' expenses payback demand
''The Guardian'', 23 December 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013.Tory MP Jeremy Wright appeals over MPs expenses order
''Coventry Telegraph'', 23 December 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Wright succeeded in his appeal and was not required to repay the amount claimed for mobile phone calls.MP Jeremy Wright won't have to repay £700 expenses
''Coventry Telegraph'', 3 February 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Wright published errors on his website in 2009, placing political links on it, an activity banned if costs for the site are paid for from Parliamentary expenses, although he was not required to repay the expenses claimed in this instance.Tory candidate Jeremy Wright under pressure to repay expenses after breaking rules
''Birmingham Post'', 29 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

Personal life

He married Yvonne Salter in 1998, with whom he has a son and a daughter. He and his wife live in the village of Shrewley in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. In November 2018, Wright said that he likes to unwind by spending time with his "very large"

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

collection. Wright described assembling lego bricks as "therapeutic". He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for political and public service.

References

External links

www.jeremywright.org.uk
Jeremy Wright's website
Profile
at the Conservative Party *
His profile at his chambers

Debrett's People of Today
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jeremy (Politician) 1972 births Living people People educated at Taunton School Trinity School (New York City) alumni Alumni of the University of Exeter Attorneys general for England and Wales British barristers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English Anglicans English King's Counsel Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Taunton People from Warwickshire Rugby, Warwickshire UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present Advocates general for Northern Ireland British Secretaries of State Member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life Knights Bachelor 21st-century King's Counsel