Robert Jenrick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Jenrick
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024
|
|
| Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Shadow Lord Chancellor |
|
| Assumed office 4 November 2024 |
|
| Leader | Kemi Badenoch |
| Preceded by | Edward Argar |
| Minister of State for Immigration | |
| In office 25 October 2022 – 6 December 2023 |
|
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Tom Pursglove |
| Succeeded by | Michael Tomlinson (Countering Illegal Migration) Tom Pursglove (Legal Migration and the Border) |
| Minister of State for Health | |
| In office 7 September 2022 – 25 October 2022 |
|
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss |
| Preceded by | Gillian Keegan |
| Succeeded by | Helen Whately |
| Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government | |
| In office 24 July 2019 – 15 September 2021 |
|
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | James Brokenshire |
| Succeeded by | Michael Gove |
| Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 9 January 2018 – 24 July 2019 |
|
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Andrew Jones |
| Succeeded by | Simon Clarke |
| Member of Parliament for Newark |
|
| Assumed office 5 June 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Patrick Mercer |
| Majority | 3,572 (6.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Edward Jenrick
9 January 1982 Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Michal Berkner |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Wolverhampton Grammar School |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge University of Pennsylvania The College of Law |
Robert Edward Jenrick (born 9 January 1982) is a British politician. He is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Newark since 2014.
Jenrick has held several important roles in the government. These include Minister of State for Immigration and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
Contents
Robert Jenrick's Life and Career
Robert Jenrick was born in Wolverhampton, England, in 1982. He grew up in Shropshire and Herefordshire.
Early Life and Education
Jenrick went to Wolverhampton Grammar School. He then studied history at St John's College, Cambridge. He graduated from Cambridge in 2003.
He also studied political science at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. Later, he studied law and became a solicitor in 2008. Before becoming an MP, he worked as a director at Christie's, a famous auction house.
Starting in Politics
Jenrick first tried to become an MP in 2010 but was not elected. In 2014, he was chosen to run for the Newark seat in a special election. He won this election and became an MP.
After becoming an MP, he joined the Health and Social Care Select Committee. He also worked as a special assistant (called a Parliamentary Private Secretary) to several senior politicians. These included Michael Gove and Liz Truss.
In 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May appointed him as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. This role involved helping with the country's money matters.
Important Government Roles
Housing Minister
In July 2019, Boris Johnson became Prime Minister. He appointed Jenrick as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. This made Jenrick the youngest member of Johnson's team of top ministers.
In this role, he was in charge of housing and local councils. He said that tackling antisemitism was a key goal for him. He also wanted universities and local councils to adopt a specific definition of antisemitism.
During his time as Housing Secretary, there were concerns about building safety after the Grenfell Tower fire. Many buildings still had unsafe materials. People felt the government needed to do more to fix these issues.
Jenrick also faced questions about his decisions on building projects. For example, he approved a large housing project in London. This decision was later found to be unlawful because of concerns about fairness. The project was eventually refused permission in 2021 but approved again in 2024.
He also faced criticism for travelling to his family home during the COVID-19 lockdown. He said he was going to his main family home and delivering essentials to his parents.
In September 2021, Jenrick left his role as Communities Secretary.
Health and Immigration Minister
In September 2022, Jenrick returned to government as Minister of State for Health. A month later, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed him Minister of State for Immigration. This was a very important role.
As Immigration Minister, he worked on issues related to people coming to the UK. He visited immigration centres and spoke about how to manage people seeking asylum. He suggested using basic places like disused army bases or ships for housing asylum seekers. He believed this would save money and discourage illegal immigration.
He also supported the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. He resigned from his role in December 2023 because he felt the plan did not go far enough.
After Government
After resigning, Jenrick continued to be an MP. In July 2024, he announced he would run to become the new leader of the Conservative Party. He won the most votes in the first two rounds of voting among MPs.
However, he lost the final vote to Kemi Badenoch. After the leadership election, Jenrick was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Justice. This means he is the main spokesperson for the Conservative Party on justice matters while they are not in power.
His Ideas and Beliefs
Jenrick is a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel group. He has spoken about his connection to the Jewish community, as his wife's family are descendants of Holocaust survivors.
He believes that Albania is a safe country for asylum claims. He also thinks that the current number of people coming to the UK is too high.
Personal Life
Robert Jenrick is married to Michal Berkner. She is a corporate lawyer from Israel. They have three daughters, and they are raising them in the Jewish faith.
In 2022, his family welcomed a Ukrainian refugee family into their home. He was the first British MP to do this.
Jenrick owns several homes. He has two homes in London and a historic building called Eye Manor in Herefordshire. He also rents a property in his Newark constituency.
Images for kids
-
Official portrait, 2017
-
Westferry Road, Isle of Dogs, in 2012.
-
Logo for Jenrick's 2024 leadership bid
