Jesse Norman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Jesse Norman MP
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 November 2024
Leader	Kemi Badenoch
Preceded by	Chris Philp
Minister of State for Decarbonisation and Technology
In office 26 October 2022 – 13 November 2023
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Lucy Frazer
Succeeded by	Anthony Browne
In office 12 November 2018 – 23 May 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Jo Johnson
Succeeded by	Michael Ellis
Minister of State for the Americas and the Overseas Territories
In office 7 September 2022 – 26 October 2022
Prime Minister	Liz Truss
Preceded by	Rehman Chishti
Succeeded by	David Rutley
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 23 May 2019 – 16 September 2021
Prime Minister	Theresa May Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Mel Stride
Succeeded by	Lucy Frazer
Paymaster General
In office 23 May 2019 – 24 July 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Mel Stride
Succeeded by	Oliver Dowden
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office 15 June 2017 – 12 November 2018
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Andrew Jones
Succeeded by	Andrew Jones
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Energy
In office 18 July 2016 – 14 June 2017
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Richard Harrington
Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
In office 18 June 2015 – 18 July 2016
Preceded by	John Whittingdale
Succeeded by	Damian Collins
Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Paul Keetch
Majority	1,279 (1.8%)
Personal details
Born	Alexander Jesse Norman (1962-06-23) 23 June 1962 (age 63) London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Kate Bingham ​ (m. 1992)​
Relations	Sir Mark Norman, Bt (uncle) Sir Torquil Norman (father)
Children	3
Residences	London Hereford
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Merton College, Oxford University College London
Scientific career
Thesis	Visual reasoning in Euclid's geometry : an epistemology of diagrams (2003)

Jesse Norman was born on June 23, 1962. He is a British politician. Since November 2024, he has been the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. He is a member of the Conservative Party. He has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hereford and South Herefordshire since 2010.

Before becoming an MP, Jesse Norman worked as a director at Barclays. He left this job in 1997. After that, he researched and taught at University College London. He also ran a charity that helped with education in Eastern Europe. This was during and after the time when the Soviet Union was a communist country.

He has held many important roles in the government. These include working in the Treasury, Foreign Office, and Department for Transport. He was also the Paymaster General and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. In 2024, he became the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. This happened after Kemi Badenoch became the leader of the Conservative Party.

Jesse Norman's Early Life and Education

Jesse Norman was born in London on June 23, 1962. His father is Sir Torquil Norman. His mother is Lady Elizabeth Montagu. She is the daughter of the 10th Earl of Sandwich.

He went to Eton College for his schooling. Later, he studied at Merton College, Oxford. He earned a degree in Classics from Oxford.

Jesse Norman's Career Journey

Academic Work and Research

Jesse Norman continued his studies at University College London. There, he became an Honorary Research Fellow in philosophy. He earned a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 1999. In 2003, he received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. His PhD research was about how we use diagrams to think in Euclid's geometry.

He also taught philosophy at University College London. He lectured at Birkbeck, University of London too. In 2016, he was a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. He returned as a Two-Year Fellow in 2022. His research often focuses on thinkers like Edmund Burke and Adam Smith.

Charity Work and Community Support

For many years, Jesse Norman was a trustee for The Roundhouse. This is an arts venue and charity in North London. His father, Sir Torquil Norman, started it.

He has also been on the board of the Hay Festival. This is a famous literature festival. He also helped the Kindle Centre in Hereford. And he supported the Friends of St Mary's church in Ross-on-Wye.

Writing and Think Tanks

Jesse Norman has been a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange. This is a research group that suggests ideas for public policy. He often writes articles for national newspapers.

His book Compassionate Conservatism (2006) was written with Janan Ganesh. It was called "the guidebook to Cameronism" by The Sunday Times. His book Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why It Matters (2018) won an award. It was named the Parliamentary non-fiction book award in 2018.

In June 2023, his first novel, The Winding Stair, was published. It is about the competition between Francis Bacon and Edward Coke.

Jesse Norman's Political Career

Becoming a Member of Parliament

In the 2010 general election, Jesse Norman was elected as an MP. He won the seat for Hereford and South Herefordshire. He received 46.2% of the votes.

From 2010 to 2015, he was part of the Treasury Select Committee. This committee looks at how the government spends money. He also leads a group in Parliament that supports employee ownership.

In 2013, Jesse Norman talked about why many people from Eton College were in government. He said Eton teaches a strong sense of public service. He later clarified his comments. He said he was defending Eton, not criticizing other schools.

He was removed from Downing Street's Policy Board in 2013. This happened after he disagreed with the government. He opposed military action in Syria.

In 2014, he spoke in Parliament about rules for football club ownership. He supported a campaign to remove the chairman of Hereford United. The club was later closed down.

Roles in Government and Opposition

After the 2015 general election, Jesse Norman was re-elected as an MP. His share of the vote increased to 52.6%. In June 2015, he became the Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

In 2016, he was appointed as a minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He was responsible for industry and energy.

He was re-elected again in the 2017 general election. After this, he became a minister in the Department for Transport. In November 2018, he was promoted to a higher role in the same department.

In May 2019, he became Paymaster General and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. He stayed in the latter role until September 2021. During this time, he helped manage the UK's financial support schemes during the pandemic. He also worked on making the tax system more digital.

He was re-elected for a fourth time in the 2019 general election. His vote share increased to 61.2%.

In June 2022, Jesse Norman wrote a letter expressing his concerns about Boris Johnson's leadership. He disagreed with some policies, like the Rwanda plan. He also felt that Parliament was being ignored. After Boris Johnson resigned, Jesse Norman supported Liz Truss for the leadership.

In September 2022, he returned to government. He became the Minister of State for the Americas and the Overseas Territories. This role was given to him by Liz Truss. In October 2022, he moved to the Department for Transport. He became the Minister of State for Decarbonisation and Technology. He held this role until November 2023.

In November 2023, he decided to step down from his ministerial role. He said he wanted to spend more time working in his local area.

After the 2024 general election, Jesse Norman was re-elected as an MP. In July 2024, he supported Kemi Badenoch in the Conservative Party leadership election. After she won, he was appointed Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.

Jesse Norman's Political Ideas

Jesse Norman is seen as part of the One-Nation wing of the Conservative Party. He is known as one of the main thinkers behind Cameronism. He supports the idea of the Big Society. This idea focuses on people's abilities and local groups. It also emphasizes human responsibility.

He has never publicly said how he voted in the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership in the European Union. He said his vote was private because a referendum is different from representative government.

Jesse Norman's Personal Life

In 1992, Jesse Norman married Kate Bingham. Her father was The Lord Bingham of Cornhill, a well-known judge. Kate Bingham led the UK's COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce under Boris Johnson's government. They have two sons and one daughter.

In November 2019, he became a member of the Privy Council. This is a group of advisors to the King.

Jesse Norman's Books

• The Achievement of Michael Oakeshott (editor) (1993)
• Breaking the Habits of a Lifetime: Poland's First Steps Toward the Market (editor) (1994)
• After Euclid: Visual Reasoning and the Epistemology of Diagrams (2006)
• Compassionate Conservatism (with Janan Ganesh) (2008)
• The Big Society: The Anatomy of the New Politics (2010)
• Edmund Burke: The Visionary Who Invented Modern Politics (2014)
• Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters (2018)
• The Winding Stair (2023)

See also

In Spanish: Jesse Norman para niños