Jonathan George Caladine Lord (born 17 September 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

from 2010 to 2024.

Early life

Jonathan Lord was born in 1962 to John Herent Lord, a circuit judge, and June Ann Lord (''née'' Caladine). He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

, which included a year

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

Kent School Kent School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Kent, Connecticut. Founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It educates around 520 boys and girls in grades 9–12. Kent was one of the first schools ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Lord then graduated in 1985 with a BA in History from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, and was president of the

Oxford University Conservative Association The Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) is a student Conservative association founded in 1924, whose members are drawn from the University of Oxford. Since October 2009, OUCA has been affiliated with Conservative Future and its ...

in Michaelmas Term 1983.

Political career

Lord served on

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

between 1994 and 2002, as a member of the Conservative Party, and was deputy leader between 1998 and 2000. At the 1997 general election, he stood in

Oldham West and Royton Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (known as Oldham West and Royton prior to 2024) is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented by the Labour Party since its creation in 1997. Boundaries The constitue ...

, coming second with 23.4% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP

Michael Meacher Michael Hugh Meacher (4 November 1939 – 20 October 2015) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for O ...

. For the 2005 general election, he managed the election campaign for

Anne Milton Anne Frances Milton (''née'' Turner; born 3 November 1955) is a British former politician and lobbyist who served as List of education ministries, Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament ...

MP, subsequently becoming chair of her local Conservative Association and serving on

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

between 2009 and 2011.

Parliamentary career

At the 2010 general election, Lord was elected to Parliament as MP for

with 50.3% of the vote and a majority of 6,807. He was re-elected as MP for Woking at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 56.2% and an increased majority of 20,810. Lord was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with a decreased vote share of 54.1% and a decreased majority of 16,724. He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 48.9% and a decreased majority of 9,767. In the 2024 General Election Lord lost the Woking seat to Will Forster of the Liberal Democrats; Lord's share of the vote dropped from 48.3% of the vote to 26.5%, while Forster's share of the vote at 49.9% was 18.8% higher than that of the Liberal Democrat candidate at the previous election. The seat had previously been a safe Conservative seat since its formation in 1950; the personal swing against Lord was 21.8%, noticeably higher than the national swing against the Conservative Party as a whole.

All Parliamentary Groups (APPGs)

At the time of the 2024 dissolution of Parliament, Lord served on seven All Parliamentary Groups, including the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community APPG, Children who need Palliative Care (Vice Chair), Egypt (chair), Isle of Man (Manx), South East, South Western Railway (Co-chair), Yoga in Society (chair). He had previously served on Immigration Law and Policy, Longevity, Sixth Form Education and Waterways.

Personal life

He married Caroline Commander in 2000, with whom he has two children: John and Katherine.

References

External links

Official websiteFacebook Page

Twitter
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Jonathan 1962 births Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the City of Westminster People educated at Shrewsbury School Kent School alumni Living people UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Politicians from Oldham People from Woking Members of Surrey County Council Politicians from Lancashire Conservative Friends of Palestine