Laura Rose Farris (née McNair-Wilson; born 13 June 1978) is a British

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 ...

politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury 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 ...

. Prior to her parliamentary career, she worked as a journalist and later as a barrister. She was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding from November 2023 until July 2024.

Early life and career

Laura McNair-Wilson was born on 13 June 1978 at London's Westminster Hospital, and grew up in Bucklebury,

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 ...

. Her father Michael McNair-Wilson and her uncle Patrick McNair-Wilson were Conservative MPs. She studied

philosophy, politics and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating in 2000 with an upper second class degree. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

, graduating in 2006, and took the Bar Vocational Course at BPP Law School in 2007. She qualified as a barrister in 2007, practising mainly in employment law. Farris was appointed to the panel of counsel operated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2015. Farris worked as a journalist for

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 ...

and

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

and also worked for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

when she was a United States Senator for New York.

Parliamentary career

At the snap 2017 general election, Farris stood as the

candidate in Leyton and Wanstead, coming second with 20.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP John Cryer. Farris was selected as the Conservative candidate for Newbury on 10 November 2019. At the 2019 general election, Farris was elected as MP for Newbury, winning with 57.4% of the vote and a majority of 16,047 votes. Her father had represented the constituency between 1974 and 1992. She has been a member of the Justice Select Committee since June 2021 and the Privileges Committee and the Standards Committee since March 2022. Farris was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee from March 2020 to March 2022. She identifies as a one-nation conservative. On 22 October 2021, Farris opposed a bill to prevent employers from firing employees and rehiring them on worse terms and conditions. She stated during the debate that the rules on fire and rehire needed to be tightened up, but the choice should be available as "an option of last resort" for companies facing insolvency. In November 2021, a man was convicted of sending a malicious communication to Farris in 2020 and given a suspended sentence. Farris endorsed

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. In July 2023, Farris was re-selected as the Conservative candidate for Newbury at the 2024 general election, however she lost the election to Lee Dillon, a Liberal Democrat - whom she had defeated in 2019 - with a swing of almost 20% .

Personal life

Farris married Henry Farris in 2011. The couple have two daughters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farris, Laura 1978 births 21st-century English journalists 21st-century English lawyers 21st-century English women politicians Alumni of BPP University Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford BBC people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English barristers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Living people Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Berkshire People from Bucklebury Politicians from Berkshire Reuters people UK MPs 2019–2024