Lucy Frazer
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Lucy Claire Frazer (born 17 May 1972) is a British
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
who served as
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and po ...
from February 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cambridgeshire from 2015 to 2024. Frazer previously served as
Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General for England and Wales ...
, Minister of State for Prisons and Probation, Minister of State for Transport and
Minister of State for Housing and Planning The Minister of State for Housing and Planning is a mid-level position in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the British government. The position has been held by Matthew Pennycook since 6 July 2024. The position was f ...
. Prior to being elected to
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, she practised as a barrister, becoming a Queen's Counsel in 2013.


Early life and education

Born on 17 May 1972 in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, Frazer is descended from
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrants. Her grandfather Dr Hyman Frazer was headmaster of Gateway Grammar School in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. Frazer was privately educated at Gateways School for Girls and Leeds Girls' High School, before studying Law at
Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...
, where she was elected President of the Cambridge Union.


Career

After graduating, Frazer interned at the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Before entering politics, Frazer worked as a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
in commercial law in London, practising in South Square Chambers,
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
; she was appointed
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 age of 40. Frazer was selected as the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary candidate for South East Cambridgeshire in December 2013, despite claims that she had been beaten in an open primary by Heidi Allen, who was later elected as MP for
South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambri ...
. Frazer succeeded in being elected at the 2015 general election with 28,845 votes (48.5%), a majority of 16,837. After entering 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 ...
, she was then elected to the
Education Select Committee The Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education and any asso ...
later that year. Frazer supported the UK remaining within the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum. In July 2016, she became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the
Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. History The post was ...
and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Ben Gummer. At the snap 2017 general election, Frazer was re-elected, increasing her share of the vote to 53.3% and decreasing her majority to 16,158. Frazer put forward a
Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
to Parliament for making
upskirt Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking photographs or videos under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image or video of the crotch area, showing underwear such as panties, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photo ...
ing an offence in England and Wales; this attained
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
on 12 February 2019. Frazer was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice is a junior position in the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice in the British Government. The present incumbent is Frederick Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, ...
in January 2018, before being promoted
Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General for England and Wales ...
in May 2019. On 25 July 2019, 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 ...
appointed Frazer 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 ...
. She was then temporarily reappointed as Solicitor General when Suella Braverman took maternity leave in March 2021, being sworn of the Privy Council. Frazer returned to her role as Minister of State for Prisons upon Braverman's return on 10 September 2021. At the 2019 general election, Frazer was again re-elected, decreasing her share of the vote to 50% and decreasing her majority to 11,490. On 16 September 2021, Frazer was promoted
Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...
. In November 2021, the Liberal Democrat MP, Sarah Olney, claimed that Frazer had a conflict of interest because of a contract held by her husband's company to supply temporary staff to government departments and that six of these workers had been employed using a "controversial tax-avoidance scheme". In June 2022, Frazer declared her support for Johnson in the 2022 vote of confidence in his Conservative Party leadership. Frazer served as Minister of State for Transport from September to October 2022. On 26 October 2022, following the election of
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 ...
as Prime Minister, Frazer was appointed
Minister of State for Housing and Planning The Minister of State for Housing and Planning is a mid-level position in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the British government. The position has been held by Matthew Pennycook since 6 July 2024. The position was f ...
. In the February 2023 Cabinet reshuffle, Frazer joined HM Cabinet as
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and po ...
. Following the 2023 local elections, Frazer appeared on the BBC '' Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg'' programme saying her party needs to "reflect" upon the poor results. Her South East Cambridgeshire constituency was abolished at the 2024 general election, when she stood as a candidate for the new Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency, which covers much of the same area. She lost her seat to the Liberal Democrat Charlotte Cane by a slim margin of 495 votes (0.9%).


See also

* List of presidents of the Cambridge Union *
Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frazer, Lucy 1972 births Living people English people of Jewish descent British people of Polish-Jewish descent Politicians from Yorkshire People educated at Leeds Girls' High School Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union 21st-century English lawyers English barristers Members of Gray's Inn 21st-century English women politicians 21st-century King's Counsel English King's Counsel Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Female justice ministers Solicitors general for England and Wales Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom British Secretaries of State Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024