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 | Conservative (before 2014, 2017–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | Clementine Bailey |
| Children | 1 |
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John Douglas Wilson Carswell (born 3 May 1971) is a British former politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2005 to 2017. An MP is a person elected to represent people in the House of Commons, which is part of the UK Parliament.
Carswell helped start a group called Vote Leave. This group wanted the UK to leave the European Union. Since 2021, he has also been the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
He was first elected as an MP for Harwich in 2005. At that time, he was a member of the Conservative Party. In 2010, he became the MP for Clacton.
In August 2014, he decided to join the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He then resigned as an MP. This meant there had to be a special election, called a by-election. He won this by-election and became the first elected UKIP MP. He said he joined UKIP because he wanted to see big changes in British politics. He felt that many top Conservatives were not serious about the changes Britain needed.
In 2016, Carswell explained that he joined UKIP to help improve its image. He wanted the party to be seen as helpful for the EU referendum campaign. He left UKIP in March 2017 and became an independent MP. He did not run for election again in 2017. In 2021, he became the head of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
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Early Life and Education
Douglas Carswell's parents were both doctors. He was born in Africa in 1971. He lived in Uganda until he was a teenager. His father, Wilson Carswell, was a Scottish doctor. He was one of the first to find cases of HIV/AIDS in Uganda in the 1980s. His father's experiences helped inspire a character in the novel The Last King of Scotland.
Carswell later said that his experiences in Uganda helped him believe in libertarianism. This is a political idea that supports a lot of freedom and less government control. His mother was also a doctor and studied birds.
He went to two boarding schools for boys. These were St Andrews School in Kenya and Charterhouse in England. He then studied history at the University of East Anglia. He graduated in 1993. After that, he earned a master's degree in British imperial history from King's College London.
Before becoming a politician, Carswell worked in television broadcasting in Italy. He also worked for a company called Invesco.
His Time in Politics
Carswell first tried to become an MP in 2001. He ran for the Conservative Party in Sedgefield. This was the area represented by the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair. Carswell helped the Conservatives gain more votes there. Before the 2005 election, he worked for the Conservative Party's policy team.
Becoming an MP
Carswell was elected to the House of Commons in the 2005 general election. He won the seat for Harwich. He beat the Labour MP, Ivan Henderson. He gave his first speech in Parliament in June 2005. He was part of the Education Select Committee and the Public Accounts Committee. These committees check how the government spends money and makes decisions.
In 2008, he visited Afghanistan with a special program for MPs. After his visit, he asked for more support for British troops there.
In 2009, Carswell suggested a new law. This law would have allowed the public to vote on whether Britain should stay in the European Union (EU). Many people praised him for this idea.
Changing Parties
In the 2010 general election, Carswell ran for the new area of Clacton. He won by a large number of votes. UKIP did not run a candidate against him in 2010. They supported him because he strongly believed Britain should leave the EU.
Carswell also strongly supported changing how elections work. He wanted people to be able to remove MPs from office if they were not doing a good job. This idea later became law in 2015.
On 28 August 2014, Carswell left the Conservative Party to join UKIP. He resigned his seat as an MP, which meant a by-election had to be held. He won this by-election on 9 October 2014. He had a very large lead over the other candidates.
Carswell later said that he felt it was important to let the public vote again. He believed that if his local voters did not support his change, there was no point in staying an MP.
Working for Brexit
In the 2015 general election, Carswell won the Clacton seat again. This time, his lead was smaller. He was the only UKIP MP elected in that general election.
Carswell believed that Britain should leave the EU. This idea is called Euroscepticism. He supported the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum in June 2016. The referendum was a public vote on whether the UK should stay in or leave the EU.
In March 2017, Carswell left UKIP. He became an independent MP for Clacton. This meant UKIP no longer had any MPs in Parliament. He said he left because he was sure that Brexit would now happen.
In April 2017, the Prime Minister announced a new general election. Carswell decided not to run for election again.
His relationship with the UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, was often difficult. They disagreed on many things. Carswell often asked Farage to step down as leader. Farage called Carswell "irrelevant" at times. After Farage resigned as UKIP leader, Carswell posted a happy emoji online. He said he was always optimistic. He also said that Farage's resignation was a "huge opportunity" for the party.
His Ideas and Influence
Some people say that Carswell, along with another politician named Daniel Hannan, had a big impact on the Conservative Party. They suggested ideas like the "Great Repeal Bill." This bill would cancel EU laws in the UK. They also pushed for ideas like allowing voters to remove MPs and letting local people choose election candidates.
Many of their ideas became part of the Conservative Party's plans. Even before the government was formed, Carswell's ideas were seen in speeches by David Cameron, who later became Prime Minister.
One expert, Stephen Bush, said that Carswell was right that the Brexit campaign needed to be supported by many different people, not just Farage. However, he also noted that Carswell's specific ideas about less government control might not be popular with most British voters.
Bush also suggested that Carswell won his seat because UKIP was popular in Clacton. He felt it was less about Carswell's personal influence.
After Parliament
After leaving politics, Carswell helped start a data analysis company called Disruptive. He left this company in 2019.
In November 2020, he was appointed as a non-executive director for the Department for International Trade. This department helps the UK trade with other countries.
In January 2021, Carswell became the president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He then moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in the United States.
In June 2024, Carswell supported Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Farage was running for election in Clacton, Carswell's old seat. Carswell said he was "thrilled" Farage was running there.
Personal Life
Douglas Carswell is married to Clementine. They have a daughter named Kitty.
See also
- In Spanish: Douglas Carswell para niños
