Darren Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Darren Jones
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Laura Trott |
| 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 13 November 1986) is a British politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. Since July 2024, he has been the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. This means he helps manage the country's money. Before that, he was the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He has also been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol North West since 2017. An MP is someone elected to represent people in Parliament. From 2020 to 2023, he led the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Darren Jones was born in Bristol on 13 November 1986. He grew up in an area called Lawrence Weston. He went to Portway Community School in Shirehampton. This was a state comprehensive school, meaning it was a public school for all students. He has spoken about growing up in a family with not much money.
Jones studied human bioscience at the University of Plymouth. He was then chosen to be 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 wrote a weekly column for the Plymouth Herald newspaper. Later, he studied law at the University of the West of England and the University of Law in Bristol. He then became a solicitor, which is a type of lawyer.
Career
Legal Work
Darren Jones is an expert in technology law. This means he understands the rules about technology. He first worked at a law firm called Womble Bond Dickinson LLP. After that, he worked for BT. He gave advice on things like data privacy and cyber-security. These are about keeping your personal information safe online. He also advised on phone and internet rules.
In Bristol, he started a program to help young people from his old school. He wanted to help them get into the legal profession. After the Brexit vote in 2016, he joined a group called UK Legal Futures. This group of lawyers advised politicians on legal questions about Brexit.
Starting in Politics
Darren Jones first ran for Parliament in 2010. He was the Labour candidate for Torridge and West Devon. He came in fourth place in that election. Later, he joined youth committees for the Co-operative Party and Unite the Union. He was also elected to Unite's Regional Political Committee in the South West.
In the 2015 election, Jones ran in Bristol North West. He came second to the Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie. After this election, 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 campaign for the UK to stay in the European Union. He led a group called the Young Lawyers' Network. This group campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU. Later in 2016, he went to the United States. He worked for the Clinton campaign in Miami.
Jones also led Labour Digital, which is a Labour Party think tank.
Parliamentary Career
First Term (2017 – 2019)
In the 2017 general election, Darren Jones was elected as the MP for Bristol North West. He won by a large number of votes. In his maiden speech (his first speech in Parliament), he joked that he was the first person named Darren to be elected as an MP.
From 2017 to 2020, Jones was part of two important groups. He was on the Science and Technology Committee. This group looks at science and technology issues. He was also on the European Scrutiny Committee. This group checks new laws from Europe.
In 2019, Tom Watson, who was then the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, asked Jones to lead the Future Britain Group. This group was set up to stop Labour Party members from leaving the party.
Second Term (2019-2024)
Jones was re-elected in the 2019 general election. He won with an even bigger lead.
After Keir Starmer became the Labour leader in 2020, Jones got a new role. He became a Parliamentary Private Secretary. This meant he helped two important Labour politicians: Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy and Shadow Attorney General Charlie Falconer. He held this role until he was chosen to lead the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
As the leader of this committee, Jones became well-known. He won awards and his committee meetings were watched by millions online. He worked on many important issues. These included problems with payments for AstraZeneca workers. He also worked to increase pensions for miners. He looked into the British Post Office scandal. He supported workers' rights to join a union at Amazon. He also helped with issues at Royal Mail.
In 2020, he helped create the UK's first citizens' assembly on net zero. A citizens' assembly is where ordinary people are chosen to discuss important issues. Net zero means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases released with the amount removed. He also led inquiries into how to make heating, electricity, and industry cleaner.
Jones was also on the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. This committee looks at national security. He also served on the Liaison Committee. This committee questions the Prime Minister. Jones had many important discussions with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jones started and led the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies. This is a group of politicians from different countries. They are interested in rules for new technologies. In 2021, he joined a committee looking at the Online Safety Bill. This bill is about making the internet safer. In 2021, he also helped pass the Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021. This law gives the Forensic Science Regulator powers to make sure forensic science companies do good work for the police.
In 2022, Jones became a member of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. This group helps the UK and EU work together.
In 2023, he joined the shadow cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The shadow cabinet is a group of opposition politicians who would be ministers if their party were in power. He is known as a good speaker. He was one of the most recognizable faces of the shadow cabinet during the 2024 general election campaign.
Third Term (2024-)
Darren Jones was re-elected again in the 2024 general election. He won with an even larger number of votes. This was the biggest win ever in Bristol North West.
Jones was then appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He now attends Cabinet meetings. The Cabinet is a group of senior government ministers. As the deputy to the Chancellor, he is in charge of public spending. He also helps deliver the government's plan for national infrastructure. This means things like roads, railways, and internet. He also leads on making public services more digital. From April 2025, he will also be responsible for the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).
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 known for speaking a lot about technology policy in Parliament. He has said he is a "techno-optimist". This means he believes technology can solve many problems. He supported the UK staying in the European Union in the 2016 referendum. He also supports changing the voting system to be more fair. He has said he would not support ending UK arms sales to Israel during the Israel–Hamas war. He believes this would not end the war.
Personal Life
Darren Jones is married to Lucy Symons-Jones. She works as a consultant for net zero and is a technology entrepreneur. She helped start a renewable energy company. They have three daughters. Jones became a vegan in 2014. He did this because of concerns about carbon emissions and farming. Sometimes, he is a vegetarian.
On 10 July 2024, Jones became a member of the Privy Council. This means he can use the title "The Right Honourable" for the rest of his life.
