Douglas Carswell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Douglas Carswell
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Carswell in 2009
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| Member of Parliament for Clacton Harwich (2005–10) |
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| In office 5 May 2005 – 3 May 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Ivan Henderson |
| Succeeded by | Giles Watling |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Douglas Wilson Carswell
3 May 1971 Africa |
| Political party | Reform UK (2024–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | Clementine Bailey |
| Children | 1 |
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Douglas Carswell (born 3 May 1971) is a British politician who used to be a Member of Parliament (MP). He served as an MP from 2005 to 2017. He also helped start a group called Vote Leave, which campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union. Since 2021, he has been the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
Carswell was first elected as an MP for Harwich in 2005. He was a member of the Conservative Party at that time. In 2010, he became the MP for Clacton. In 2014, he decided to join the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and stepped down as an MP. He then ran again in a special election and won, becoming the first elected UKIP MP. He said he joined UKIP because he wanted to see big changes in British politics.
In 2017, Carswell left UKIP and became an independent MP. He did not run for re-election in the 2017 general election. In 2021, he moved to the United States to lead the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
Contents
Early Life and School
Douglas Carswell's parents were both doctors. He was born in Africa and lived in Uganda until he was a teenager. His father, Wilson Carswell, was a Scottish doctor who helped identify the first cases of HIV/AIDS in Uganda in the 1980s. His father's experiences even inspired a character in a book called The Last King of Scotland. Carswell has said that living under the "arbitrary rule" of Idi Amin in Uganda helped him develop his belief in libertarianism, which is a political idea about freedom and limited government. His mother was also a doctor and studied birds.
Carswell went to two private boarding schools: St Andrews School in Kenya and Charterhouse in England. After school, he studied history at the University of East Anglia and then British imperial history at King's College London. Before becoming a politician, he worked in television broadcasting in Italy and later for an investment company.
Becoming a Politician
In 2001, Carswell ran for Parliament in the area of Sedgefield. This was the area represented by the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair. Carswell was the Conservative candidate.
Before the 2005 general election, Carswell worked for the Conservative Party's policy team, which was led by David Cameron.
Serving in Parliament
First Term (2005–2010)
Carswell was first elected to the House of Commons in 2005 for the area of Harwich. He won against the Labour MP, Ivan Henderson. He gave his first speech in Parliament in June 2005. He was part of committees that looked at education and public money.
In 2008, he visited Afghanistan with a special program for MPs. After his visit, he asked for more support for British soldiers serving there. In 2009, he suggested a law that would allow the public to vote on whether Britain should stay in the European Union (EU).
Second Term (2010–2015)
In the 2010 general election, Carswell ran in the new area of Clacton, which was created from parts of Harwich. He won by a large number of votes. UKIP, a party that wanted Britain to leave the EU, supported him in this election because of his strong views against the EU.
Carswell also strongly supported making changes to how elections work. He believed that people should be able to remove their MPs from office if they were not doing a good job. This idea later became a law called the Recall of MPs Act 2015.
On 28 August 2014, Carswell left the Conservative Party and joined UKIP. Even though he didn't have to, he resigned his seat as an MP. This caused a special election to be held in Clacton.
Clacton Special Election
After Carswell resigned, a special election was held in Clacton on 9 October 2014. Carswell ran again for UKIP and won by a large number of votes. He became the first elected UKIP MP.
Carswell later said that he felt it was important to let the voters decide if they still wanted him as their MP after he changed parties.
Third Term (2015–2017)
In the 2015 general election, Carswell won the Clacton seat again. He was the only UKIP MP elected in that general election.
Carswell believed that Britain should leave the European Union. He supported the "Vote Leave" campaign during the EU referendum in June 2016.
In March 2017, Carswell left UKIP and became an independent MP. He said he left because Britain was now definitely going to leave the EU, which was his main goal. On 20 April 2017, he announced that he would not run in the general election that year.
Carswell had a difficult relationship with Nigel Farage, who was the leader of UKIP at the time. They often disagreed, and Carswell sometimes called for Farage to step down as leader.
Rules for MPs
After being elected in 2005, MPs had rules about claiming expenses for a second home if they needed to live in London for work. Carswell claimed expenses for a flat in London and later for a rented house in Essex. An investigation into MPs' expenses found that he needed to repay some money. He said he believed his claims were justified.
After Politics
Douglas Carswell helped start a data analysis company called Disruptive. He left the company in 2019.
In November 2020, he was appointed as a non-executive director for the Department for International Trade, which helps with trade between the UK and other countries.
In January 2021, Carswell became the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy in the United States. He now lives in Jackson, Mississippi.
In June 2024, Carswell supported Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who ran for election in Carswell's old area of Clacton. Carswell said he was "thrilled" that Farage was running there.
Personal Life
Douglas Carswell is married to Clementine Bailey. They have one daughter named Kitty.
See also
In Spanish: Douglas Carswell para niños
