Darren Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Darren Jones
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| Assumed office 5 September 2025 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Pat McFadden |
| Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
| Assumed office 1 September 2025 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Minister for Intergovernmental Relations | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2025 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Pat McFadden |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 5 July 2024 – 1 September 2025 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Laura Trott |
| Succeeded by | James Murray |
| Chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee | |
| In office 6 May 2020 – 4 September 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Rachel Reeves |
| Succeeded by | Liam Byrne |
| Member of Parliament for Bristol North West |
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| Assumed office 8 June 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Charlotte Leslie |
| Majority | 15,669 (32.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Darren Paul Jones
13 November 1986 Bristol, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Lucy Symons-Jones |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Plymouth University of the West of England University of Law |
| Signature |  |
Darren Paul Jones, born on 13 November 1986, is a British politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. Since 2017, he has been a Member of Parliament for Bristol North West.
Currently, he serves in important government roles. Since September 2025, he has been the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He also became the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations in September 2025. Before this, he was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury from July 2024 to September 2025. From 2020 to 2023, he led the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee.
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Darren Jones's Early Life and Schooling
Darren Jones was born in Bristol on November 13, 1986. He grew up in an area called Lawrence Weston. He went to Portway Community School in Shirehampton. This was a public school. He has shared stories about growing up in a less wealthy area.
He studied human bioscience at the University of Plymouth. While there, he became the President of the Students' Union. After university, he worked for the National Health Service (NHS). He also served on the boards of the University of Plymouth and the Plymouth NHS Trust. He even wrote a weekly column for the Plymouth Herald newspaper. Later, he studied law at two other universities in Bristol. He then became a solicitor, which is a type of lawyer.
Becoming a Lawyer
Darren Jones first worked at a law firm called Womble Bond Dickinson LLP. After that, he joined BT as an in-house lawyer. He gave advice on topics like data privacy, cyber-security, and consumer law.
In Bristol, he created a special program. This program helped young people from his old school learn about legal careers. After the 2016 Brexit vote, he joined a group called UK Legal Futures. This group helped advise government officials on legal issues related to Brexit.
Starting in Politics
Darren Jones first ran for Parliament in 2010. He was a Labour candidate in Torridge and West Devon. He did not win that election. Later, he joined youth committees for the Co-operative Party and Unite the Union. He also served on Unite's Regional Political Committee.
In the 2015 general election, he ran for Parliament again. This time, he stood in Bristol North West. He came in second place. After this, he helped with Andy Burnham's campaign to become the leader of the Labour Party. He also led Marvin Rees's successful campaign to become Mayor of Bristol.
In 2016, he supported the "Remain" campaign during the EU membership referendum. He led a group of young lawyers who wanted the UK to stay in the European Union. Later that year, he worked on the Hillary Clinton campaign in the United States.
He also led Labour Digital, which is a group that develops new ideas for the Labour Party.
Working in Parliament
First Time as an MP (2017–2019)
In the 2017 general election, Darren Jones was elected as the Member of Parliament for Bristol North West. He won the seat from the Conservative Party. In his very first speech in Parliament, he joked that he was the first person named Darren to become an MP!
From 2017 to 2020, he was part of two important groups in Parliament. These were the Science and Technology Committee and the European Scrutiny Committee. These committees look closely at different government topics.
In 2019, he helped lead a group called the Future Britain Group. This group aimed to keep Labour Party members working together.
Second Term in Parliament (2019–2024)
Darren Jones was re-elected in the 2019 general election. He won with an even larger majority of votes.
In April 2020, Keir Starmer became the leader of the Labour Party. Jones was then appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary. He worked with the Shadow Justice Secretary and the Shadow Attorney General. Later, he became the Chair of the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
As Chair of this committee, he became well-known. His committee meetings were watched by millions online. He won several awards for his work.
He worked on many important issues. These included helping workers get their payments from AstraZeneca. He also supported increasing pensions for miners. He looked into the British Post Office scandal. He also championed the right for workers to join a trade union at Amazon. In 2020, he helped create the UK's first "citizens' assembly" on net zero. This group discussed how the UK could stop adding to climate change. He also led studies on how to make heating, electricity, and industry cleaner.
Jones also served on the National Security Strategy Joint Committee. He helped make sure the government used its national security powers correctly. He was also on the Liaison Committee, which checks on the Prime Minister's work. He had many discussions with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
He started a group called the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies. This group helps lawmakers around the world understand new technologies. In 2021, he helped create the Online Safety Bill committee. This bill aims to make the internet safer. In the same year, he helped pass a law about forensic science. This law helps make sure that police get high-quality scientific evidence.
In 2022, he became a member of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. This group helps build good relationships between the UK and the European Union.
In 2023, he joined the "shadow cabinet" as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. This means he was part of the opposition party's team. He was known for being a strong speaker during the 2024 general election.
Current Term in Parliament (2024–Present)
In the 2024 general election, Darren Jones was re-elected again. He achieved the largest majority of votes ever in Bristol North West.
He was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury and joined the Cabinet. In this role, he helped manage government spending. He also worked on the country's ten-year plan for new buildings and services. He led efforts to make public services more digital. Since April 2025, he has also overseen the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).
After a government announcement in March 2025, Jones made some comments. He used the example of "pocket money" when discussing changes to payments for disabled people. He later apologized for this comparison. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said it was "not the right analogy."
On a TV show in June 2025, Jones spoke about people crossing the English Channel in boats. He mentioned seeing many children, babies, and women during a visit to Border Security Command. He later clarified that, overall, most people crossing were men.
On September 1, 2025, Jones received new appointments in a government change. He became the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. James Murray took over his previous role. On September 5, he was also appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Darren Jones's Political Views
Some people describe Darren Jones as being on the "Labour right." He has said that Tony Blair, a former Prime Minister, is one of his political heroes.
He is very interested in how technology affects society. He calls himself a "techno-optimist," meaning he believes technology can solve many problems. He supported the UK staying in the European Union during the 2016 referendum. He also supports changing how elections work to make them fairer.
Regarding an international conflict, he has stated his view on UK arms sales. He believes stopping these sales would not end the conflict. In 2025, Jones also commented that the time of "globalisation" had changed. He linked this to new trade rules introduced by Donald Trump.
About Darren Jones's Life
Darren Jones is married to Lucy Symons-Jones. She is from Australia and works with renewable energy. They have three daughters. In 2014, Jones became a vegan, often choosing plant-based foods. He made this choice because of concerns about carbon emissions and farming.
On July 10, 2024, Jones became a member of the Privy Council. This is a group of important advisors to the King.
