John Redwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir John Redwood
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Official portrait, 2020
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| Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation | |
| In office 6 May 2005 – 5 December 2005 |
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| Leader | Michael Howard |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions | |
| In office 15 June 1999 – 2 February 2000 |
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| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Gillian Shephard |
| Succeeded by | Archie Norman |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | |
| In office 11 June 1997 – 15 June 1999 |
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| Leader | John Major William Hague |
| Preceded by | Michael Heseltine |
| Succeeded by | Angela Browning |
| Secretary of State for Wales | |
| In office 27 May 1993 – 26 June 1995 |
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| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | David Hunt |
| Succeeded by | William Hague |
| Minister of State for Local Government | |
| In office 15 April 1992 – 27 May 1993 |
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| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Michael Portillo |
| Succeeded by | David Curry |
| Minister of State for Corporate Affairs | |
| In office 26 July 1989 – 15 April 1992 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | Francis Maude |
| Succeeded by | Neil Hamilton |
| Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit | |
| In office 5 May 1982 – 12 November 1987 |
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| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Ferdinand Mount |
| Succeeded by | Brian Griffiths |
| Member of Parliament for Wokingham |
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| In office 11 June 1987 – 30 May 2024 |
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| Preceded by | William van Straubenzee |
| Succeeded by | Clive Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Alan Redwood
15 June 1951 Dover, Kent, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Gail Chippington
(m. 1974; div. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Kent College, Canterbury |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford (BA) St Antony's College, Oxford (MPhil) All Souls College, Oxford (DPhil) |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | The fear of atheism in England, from the Restoration to Berkeley's Alciphron |
Sir John Alan Redwood (born 15 June 1951) is a British politician and academic. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham in Berkshire from 1987 until 2024. An MP is a person elected to represent a specific area (constituency) in the House of Commons, which is part of the UK Parliament.
Sir John is a member of the Conservative Party. He served as Secretary of State for Wales in the government led by John Major. He also tried twice to become the leader of the Conservative Party in the 1990s. Later, he was part of the Shadow Cabinets under William Hague and Michael Howard. A "Shadow Cabinet" is made up of leading members of the main opposition party who challenge the government's policies.
Before becoming an MP, John Redwood earned a special doctorate degree from All Souls College, Oxford. He also led the Number 10 Policy Unit for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This unit helped the Prime Minister develop new ideas and policies. He is known for being a Eurosceptic, which means he has doubts or strong opposition to the idea of closer ties with the European Union. He strongly supported Brexit, which was the UK leaving the European Union.
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Early Life and Education
John Redwood was born in Dover, England, on 15 June 1951. He was the second child of William Redwood, an accountant, and Amy Emma, a shoe shop manager. His family bought their own home, which he described as a "big breakthrough."
He went to a private school called Kent College in Canterbury. After that, he studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in modern history in 1971. He continued his studies at St Antony's College, Oxford, and then became a special Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. In 1975, he completed his DPhil (a high-level research degree). His DPhil looked into the fear of atheism (not believing in God) in England during a certain historical period.
Political Career
Before Becoming an MP
John Redwood started his political journey early. He was elected as a Oxfordshire county councillor for the Conservative Party when he was just 21 years old, serving from 1973 to 1977. A county councillor helps make decisions for a local area.
In 1983, he began working for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as the head of her policy unit. In this role, he was a strong supporter of privatisation, which means moving services or industries from government control to private companies.
As a Member of Parliament
In 1987, John Redwood was elected as the MP for Wokingham. He won with a large number of votes.
In 1989, he became a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for corporate affairs. This is a junior minister role. In 1990, he was promoted to Minister of State, which is a more senior minister position. After the 1992 election, he became the Minister for Local Government. In this role, he helped replace the unpopular "poll tax" with the new Council Tax.
He was re-elected as MP for Wokingham in 1992, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2019. This shows he was a popular choice for his local area for many years.
After the 1997 election, when the Conservative Party lost power, John Redwood became the Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. He also served as the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. These roles involve challenging the government's actions in those areas.
He often appeared on television, including the BBC's Question Time, where politicians discuss current events.
In 2011, he did not vote on the military intervention in Libya. He also supports the idea of having a separate devolved English parliament to make decisions for England, similar to how Scotland and Wales have their own parliaments.
In 2021, he had a public discussion on Twitter with climate activist Greta Thunberg about the UK's climate emissions.
On 24 May 2024, John Redwood announced that he would not stand for re-election as MP for Wokingham. He said he wanted to pursue "other things."
As a Government Minister
In May 1993, John Redwood joined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales. The Cabinet is a group of senior ministers who lead government departments. As Secretary of State for Wales, he was responsible for Welsh affairs. He delayed some road projects in Wales because of concerns about the environment.
In 1993, he made a mistake during a conference when he tried to sing along to the Welsh national anthem but didn't know the words. He later learned the anthem.
Leadership Contests
In 1995, the then-Prime Minister John Major faced criticism and decided to resign as party leader to allow a new election. John Redwood resigned from the Cabinet and ran against Major for the leadership of the Conservative Party. He received 89 votes, but Major won.
After the 1997 General Election, when the Conservative Party lost power, John Major resigned again. John Redwood ran for the leadership once more but was defeated.
Views on Brexit
John Redwood has always been a strong Eurosceptic. This means he has long believed that the UK should have less involvement with the European Union. Before the UK joined the Euro currency, he was against it.
In 2011, he suggested that the Eurozone (countries using the Euro) should "break up." He also proposed that the UK should be able to opt out of EU laws.
Before the Brexit referendum in 2016, he wrote that leaving the EU was more important to him than which party won the next election. He was a member of the group called Leave Means Leave, which campaigned for the UK to leave the EU.
After Brexit, he suggested that the UK didn't need to rush into a new deal with the EU. He also wrote investment advice that some people thought suggested investors should move money out of the UK, but he denied this.
John Redwood consistently argued that the UK should not pay the "Brexit bill," which was a payment the EU said the UK owed after leaving. However, in December 2019, he voted for the Withdrawal Agreement, which included the UK agreeing to pay its financial commitments to the EU.
In 2021, he criticised the way the G7 group of leading countries is set up, saying it gave the EU too much influence.
Business Career
Before and during his political career, John Redwood also worked in finance. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was an investment analyst, manager, and director for companies like Robert Fleming and NM Rothschild.
In 2007, he helped start a financial management company called Evercore Pan-Asset Capital Management Ltd. This company was later sold to Charles Stanley. Today, he is the Chief Global Strategist at Charles Stanley & Co Ltd, which means he helps plan how the company invests money around the world.
In January 2023, it was reported that since the 2019 election, John Redwood had earned over £600,000 in addition to his MP salary from his business activities.
Personal Life
John Redwood married Gail Felicity Chippington, who was a barrister (a type of lawyer), on 20 April 1974. They had two children, Catherine (born 1978) and Richard (born 1982). They divorced in July 2003.
Blog
John Redwood writes a regular blog called John Redwood's Diary. In this blog, he shares his thoughts and opinions on political topics. Copies of his blog posts are kept at the British Library.
Honours
- He was made a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1993. This gave him the special title "the Right Honourable" for life.
- He was made a Knight in the 2019 New Year Honours List. This means he can use the title "Sir" before his name.
