Sir John Alan Redwood (born 15 June 1951) is a British politician and academic who was the
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Wokingham
Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...
in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
from
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
to
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 ...
. A member of the
Conservative Party, he was
Secretary of State for Wales in the
Major government and was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party in the 1990s. Redwood subsequently served in the Shadow Cabinets of
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
and
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
; he remained a backbencher from then on. On 24 May 2024, Redwood announced that he would stand down as MP for Wokingham and not seek re-election in the
2024 general election.
Prior to becoming an MP, Redwood completed a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
at
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...
and served as Director of the
Number 10 Policy Unit
The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone ...
under
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
. He is a veteran
Eurosceptic who was described in 1993 as a "pragmatic Thatcherite".
He was the
co-chairman of the Conservative Party's Policy Review Group on
Economic Competitiveness until 2010. He has the role of Chief Global Strategist of investment management company Charles Stanley & Co Ltd (part of
Charles Stanley Group). Redwood supported
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 ...
in the
2016 EU referendum, and was a member of the British Eurosceptic pressure group
Leave Means Leave.
Early life and education
John Redwood was born in
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
, the second child of William Redwood (1925–2016), an
accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy.
Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...
and
company secretary
A Company secretary is a senior position in the corporate governance of organizations, playing a crucial role in ensuring adherence to statutory and regulatory requirements. This position is integral to the efficient functioning of corporations, ...
, and his wife, Amy Emma (''née'' Champion), the manager of a shoe shop. He had an elder sister, Jennifer, who died as a baby in 1949. His childhood began in a council house, and he describes his family buying their own house as a "big breakthrough" for the family.
Redwood was educated at
private Kent College in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, and
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
, where he graduated with a
BA in
modern history
The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...
in 1971. He was a postgraduate at
St Antony's College, Oxford, from 1971 to 1972 and was elected an
Examination Fellow at
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...
, from 1972 to 1979, which later led to a distinguished fellowship in 2007. At All Souls, he wrote a
DPhil thesis which investigated the fear of
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
in England, from the
Restoration to the publication of ''
Alciphron'' by
George Berkeley
George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...
. He graduated with a DPhil in 1975.
Political career
Before parliament
Redwood was an
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Australia
In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...
lor, representing the
Conservative Party between 1973 and 1977, the youngest ever at the age of 21 when elected. In 1981, he unsuccessfully stood for the
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
seat of
Peckham
Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...
. From 1983 onwards, he headed
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
's policy unit,
where he was one of the champions of privatisation.
Redwood stood as the Conservative candidate at the
Peckham by-election of October 1982, coming third with 12.42% of the vote behind the
Labour Party candidate
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...
and the
SDP candidate
Dick Taverne.
As a parliamentarian
At the
1987 general election, Redwood was elected to 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 ...
as MP for
Wokingham
Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...
, winning with 61.4% of the vote and a majority of 20,387.
He was made a
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in July 1989 for corporate affairs at the
Department of Trade and Industry. In November 1990, he was promoted to
Minister of State
Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
. Redwood became Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities following the 1992 general election, where he oversaw the abolition of the
Community Charge, known colloquially as the "poll tax", and its replacement with the
Council Tax.
Redwood was re-elected as MP for Wokingham at the
1992 general election with the same vote share of 61.4% and an increased majority of 25,709.
Redwood was opposed to attempts to reduce the age of consent for
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
in both 1994 and 1999, choosing to vote to keep
Section 28 in November 2003. He has generally been opposed to
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
. He voted for the reintroduction of
capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
in 1988, 1990 and 1994 and voiced support for the reintroducing of the death penalty when he launched his leadership bid on 26 June 1995. Redwood has stated since then: "I have never spoken or written against civil partnerships and gay marriage and am not proposing any change to current laws. I regard the debate about capital punishment as being over and do not support its reintroduction."
At the
1997 general election, Redwood was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 50.1% and a decreased majority of 9,365.
After the election, Redwood was appointed
Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
. He was appointed
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in June 1999, but was dropped in a mini reshuffle in February 2000, being succeeded by
Archie Norman.
Redwood was again re-elected at the
2001 general election with a decreased vote share of 46.1% and a decreased majority of 5,994.
Under
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
, he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation.
At the
2005 general election, Redwood was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 48.1% and an increased majority of 7,240.
Redwood was interviewed about the rise of
Thatcherism
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...
for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television documentary series of 2006, ''
Tory! Tory! Tory!'', and has often appeared on television, including appearances on the BBC's ''
Question Time''.
Redwood was again re-elected at the
2010 general election with an increased vote share of 52.7% and an increased majority of 13,492.
In 2011, he abstained on the
military intervention in Libya. Redwood supports the establishment of a
devolved English parliament
A devolved English parliament is a proposed institution that would give separate decision-making powers to representatives for voters in England, similar to the representation given by the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Scottish Parliament and ...
. Following the
2014 Scottish independence referendum
A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...
, Redwood called for radical reform involving the establishment of an English Parliament. His politicking prior to and succeeding the referendum placed him "front and centre" to any political gain due to the perceived power vacuum resulting from any possible changes to the status quo of the union.
At the
2015 general election, Redwood was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 57.7% and an increased majority of 24,197.
He was again re-elected at the snap
2017 general election, with a decreased vote share of 56.6% and a decreased majority of 18,798. He was again re-elected at the
2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 49.6% and a decreased majority of 7,383. In 2021, Redwood publicly argued with
Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist, climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to climate change mitigation, mitigate the effec ...
over the UK's climate emissions on Twitter.
On 24 May 2024, two days after announcement of the date of the
2024 general election, and just 40 days before the actual date, John Redwood announced he would not be standing again for his
Wokingham constituency, saying that he had ‘other things I wish to do’.
As a government minister

In the government reshuffle of May 1993, Redwood was appointed to the
cabinet as
Secretary of State for Wales. He deferred some road-widening schemes in Wales because of suggested harm to the environment.
Redwood committed a gaffe in 1993, when he attempted to mime to the
Welsh national anthem at the
Welsh Conservative Party conference, when he did not know the words. Redwood subsequently learned the anthem but, in August 2007, an unconnected news story on Redwood was illustrated with the same clip. This resulted in Conservative activists filing complaints, and as a result the BBC apologised to Redwood for airing the dated footage.
In February 1995, he was at loggerheads with the
Countryside Council for Wales
The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; ) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access in Wales.
It merged with Forestry Commission Wales, and Environment Agency Wales to form ...
, because he had decided to cut its grant by 16%.
Redwood consequently gained a somewhat haughty reputation with apparent disregard for Welsh national feeling; this did not endear him further to some of the population, including when he returned £100 million of Wales's block grant to the Treasury unspent in 1995.
Leadership contests
When
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
called upon his critics to "put up or shut up" and tendered his resignation to allow for a leadership challenge, Redwood resigned from the Cabinet, and stood against Major in the subsequent
party leadership election on 26 June 1995. In the ballot held on 4 July 1995, Redwood received 89 votes, around a quarter of the then Parliamentary Party. Major received 218 votes, or two thirds of the parliamentary party vote. ''
The Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'' newspaper had declared its support for Redwood in the run up to the leadership contest, running the front-page headline "Redwood versus Deadwood".
When Major resigned as party leader following the General Election defeat of May 1997, Redwood stood in the resulting
election for the leadership, and was again defeated. After being defeated in the third round with 38 votes to
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
's 64 and
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
's 62, Redwood backed Clarke against Hague.
Brexit
Redwood is a veteran Eurosceptic.
A critic of the
Euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
before its launch, in 2011 Redwood suggested that the
Eurozone
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
should "break up", and proposed that the United Kingdom should give up its
Council voting rights in return for the ability to opt out of any EU legislation. There are no existing laws that would permit such an arrangement, as it would make European law not apply evenly across the Union as a whole. Later that year, he joined 81 rebel Conservative MPs in voting for an in-out referendum for leaving the European Union, saying afterwards "People used to call me an extreme Eurosceptic. Now I'm a moderate."
Before the
Brexit referendum, Redwood wrote that, to Conservative Eurosceptics like him, leaving the EU was "more important than which party wins the next election or who is the prime minister."
Since then, he has suggested the United Kingdom need not prioritise a post-Brexit deal with the EU, and received criticism for writing an investment advice column which recommended investors "look further afield" than the United Kingdom. Redwood denied this interpretation, saying that he simply advises investors of where international markets are heading and did not write an investment column "recommending investors pull their money out of the United Kingdom".
In statements to media and in the House of Commons, Redwood has consistently defended the position that the UK should not pay the so-called Brexit bill (amounting to around £39 billion). This is in line with a
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 ...
EU financial affairs committee report, which itself is contested on its legal soundness since the financial settlement simply reflects commitments already entered into by the UK under the EU's multi-annual financial framework for the years 2014–2020 and therefore is not linked to the process of the UK leaving the European Union. In December 2019, Redwood voted in favour of the
Withdrawal Agreement through which the UK accepts to pay its outstanding financial obligations to the EU.
In June 2021, Redwood criticised the composition of the
G7 which includes the
president of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...
and the
president of the European Council
The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This Institutions of the European Union, institution comprises the college of heads of state or governme ...
in addition to representatives from
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. According to Redwood this hands a majority to the EU in the G7, even if the G7 does not take decisions through majority voting.
Public image
He has often been compared to a
Vulcan, a comparison originally made by
Matthew Parris
Matthew Francis Parris (born 7 August 1949) is a British political writer, broadcaster, and former politician. He served as Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire from 1979 to 1986. Ideologically a liberal conservative, he is a member of t ...
, due to his physical appearance and intonation,
a preference for making arguments with logic over passion
and a perception for being cold and humourless. Redwood said that he does not like the description but "if you don't like the heat then get out of the kitchen". He continued, "I think people sometimes go for those kind of things because they haven't managed to trap me in the more normal way."
Business career
Redwood worked as an investment analyst, manager and director for Robert Fleming and for NM Rothschild in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2007 he co-founded Evercore Pan-Asset Capital Management Ltd, a financial management company, which was subsequently sold to
Charles Stanley. He is currently Chief Global Strategist at Charles Stanley & Co Ltd. He was previously a non-executive chairman of Mabey Securities, an investment arm of the engineering firm
Mabey.
In January 2023,
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
revealed that Redwood had, since the
2019 general election, earned more than £600,000 in addition to his salary as an MP – the fifth-highest amount of any MP.
Personal life
He married Gail Felicity Chippington, a barrister, on 20 April 1974 in
Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...
; they had two children, Catherine (born 1978) and Richard (born 1982). They divorced in July 2003.
Blog
Redwood regularly updates a blog of political commentary which he has called ''John Redwood's Diary''.
Printed and bound copies of this blog are housed at the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
and can be accessed through the British Library catalogue.
Honours
* Appointed to the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...
in 1993, giving him the
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
"
the Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...
" for life.
*
Knighted in the
2019 New Year Honours List.
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ''Reason, Ridicule and Religion: The Age of Enlightenment in England 1660–1750.'' Thames and Hudson. 1976.
References
External links
John Redwood MPofficial site
''Debrett's People of Today''John Redwood MP, at UK Parliament WebsiteProfile at the Conservative Party
*
Profile: John Redwood ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', 16 October 2002
BBC Interview 2004*
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, -
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Redwood, John
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