Will Quince

William James Quince(born 27 December 1982) is a BritishConservative Partypolitician and former lawyer who served asMember of Parliament(MP) forColchesterfrom2015to2024. Quince was alsoMinister of State for Health and Secondary Carefrom September 2022 to November 2023.
Quince was born on 27 December 1982 in Buckinghamshire. He grew up inBerkshireand attendedThe Windsor Boys' School,a state comprehensive school inWindsor. He studied Law between 2001 and 2005 atAberystwyth University.
After graduating, Quince worked for Concur Technologies Ltd as a market development executive andBritvic plcas a customer development executive.Based inWareinHertfordshire, he was elected as one of two Conservative Party councillors for Ware Christchurch ward onEast Hertfordshire District Councilin May 2007, but stood down in April 2009 after he had won the nomination as Conservative Partyprospective parliamentary candidateforColchester.
He stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate at the2010 general electionfor the Colchester seat, coming second behind the incumbentLiberal DemocratMPSir Bob Russell. Following the electoral defeat, he had roles as a trainee solicitor with the law firm Asher Prior Bates, and as a solicitor with the law firm Thompson Smith and Puxon.Quince was elected as a Conservative councillor for PrettygatewardonColchester Borough Councilat the2011 local elections, and served as leader of the Conservative group on the council from 2011 to 2014, when he stepped down to focus on theforthcoming general election.
After his defeat in 2010, Quince was successful at the2015 general electionand was elected as theMember of Parliament(MP) forColchester, replacing the incumbent Liberal Democrat Sir Bob Russell.In May 2016, it was reported that Quince was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the2015 party spending investigation, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses.In May 2017, theCrown Prosecution Servicesaid that while there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns, it did not "meet the test" for further action.He campaigned for the UK to leave theEuropean Unionduring the2016 referendum.
On 6 September 2016, after a bet onTwitterby a local constituent, Quince auditioned for the TV showBritain's Got Talentin order to raise money for charity. £1,000 was raised for local charities.
In March 2017,The Daily Telegraphreported that Quince was one of nine MPs who had claimedAmazon Primesubscriptions on their parliamentary expenses. TheIndependent Parliamentary Standards Authority, responsible for handling expenses claims, told the paper subscriptions could be claimed but MPs must "justify the subscription is primarily used for parliamentary purposes". He responded that he had claimed the TV package in error and was repaying the cost.
In December 2017, he was one of three MPs warned by the UK's data privacy regulator about sharing work computer passwords. Quince has stated that his computer is routinely left unlocked to enable staff to use it.
In 2018, he was appointedparliamentary private secretary (PPS)to theSecretary of State for DefenceGavin Williamson.Quince has sat on the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion, on the Home Affairs Committee and on the Transport Committee.On 23 October 2018, he resigned from the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion citing lack of confidence in Bercow's ability to tackle bullying and sexual harassment problems in Parliament.Quince resigned as PPS on 8 December 2018, in opposition to theBrexit Withdrawal Agreementand Political Declaration.
In April 2019, Quince was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare Deliveryduring thesecond May ministry. At the formation of thefirst Johnson ministryin July 2019, he was retained in post by Prime MinisterBoris Johnson.
TheEssex County Standardnewspaper reported that Quince had accepted donations of two items in 2019 from the Russian-born businessmanAlexander Temerko. The items raised £5,750 in an auction to help fund Quince's re-election campaign as an MP. Quince said that Temerko was "a British citizen". The donated items were declared as part of the register of members' financial interests.
On 17 September 2021, Quince was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Familiesat theDepartment for Education, during the secondcabinet reshuffleof thesecond Johnson ministry.
On 6 July 2022, in the wake of theresignationsof ChancellorRishi Sunakand Health SecretarySajid Javid, Quince resigned from government after "accepting and repeating assurances to the media [from No 10] which have now been found to be inaccurate".The following day, after Johnson resigned, he accepted the role of Minister of State in the Department of Education.
On 7 September 2022, Quince was appointedMinister of Statein theDepartment of Health and Social Careas part ofLiz Truss's cabinet.On 26 October 2022, he was reappointed by Prime MinisterRishi Sunak.
On 9 June 2023, Quince announced he would not run as an MP at the2024 general election.
On 13 November 2023, Quince resigned from his post as part of Sunak's 2023 cabinet reshuffle.
Quince is married and has two daughters. He and his family live in Colchester.
In February 2017, a 40-year-old man fromSouthwarkwas arrested and received apolice cautionfor malicious communications after sending a series of abusiveTwittermessages to Quince.
In February 2021, Quince said that he hadlostsix and a half stone (41 kg) in 2020.