Gareth Bacon
Gareth Andrew Bacon (born 7 April 1972) is a British Conservative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington since 2019. He was a member of the London Assembly, but stood down at the 2021 election after his election as an MP in 2019. Early life and career. Bacon was born in Hong Kong in 1972, the son of Robert and Helen Bacon. He studied at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's School in Sidcup, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts honours degree  in Politics and Government in 1996. This was followed by a Master of Arts degree in European Studies in 1997. He worked as head of the public sector division of Martin Ward Anderson from 2004 to 2012. Political career. Bacon joined the Conservative Party in 1987. Prior to his election as the Member of Parliament for Orpington, he had a long career in local government, serving as a London Assembly Member since 2008 and as a local councillor since 1998. Following his election as a Member of Parliament in 2019, Bacon announced that he would stand down from Bexley Council  and the London Assembly ahead of the upcoming local elections. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the English local elections were postponed for a year. Member of the London Assembly. Bacon stood for Greenwich and Lewisham on the Greater London Authority in 2004, but was unsuccessful. In the 2008 London Assembly election, he was elected as the third Conservative London-wide Assembly Member. In 2012, Bacon was ranked second on the Conservative party top-up list, and went on to be re-elected to the London Assembly. In June 2010, Bacon was appointed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to  serve on the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority. He became Chairman of the authority in 2015, and held this position until the following year, remaining a member of the authority until 2018. In September 2015, Bacon was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the London Assembly constituency of Bexley & Bromley. At the following election, he was duly elected to the London Assembly with 87,460 votes (46.1%) and a majority of 41,699. In October 2015, he succeeded Andrew Boff as the Leader of the GLA Conservative Group at City Hall, and held this position until 2019. On the London Assembly , Bacon was Chairman of the London Assembly's Budget and Performance Committee (from 2016 onwards), Chairman of the Budget Monitoring Sub-Committee, and Vice-Chairman of the Oversight Committee. Bexley Council. Bacon was a long-standing councillor on Bexley Council, representing Sidcup West from 1998 to 2002, and then Longlands ward, centred on the area of the same name, from 2002 to 2021. He was Deputy Mayor of the borough from 2001 to 2002. After the Conservatives won control of Bexley Council in 2006, Bacon served as the Cabinet Member for the Environment from 2006 to 2014. In 2012, his  portfolio was widened to include the Public Realm. Bacon was elected Deputy Leader of Bexley Council in 2014, a position he left in January 2015 after his appointment to the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority. Bacon stood down from Bexley Council on 15 March 2021. Member of Parliament. On 8 November 2019, Bacon was selected by Orpington Conservatives to be their candidate for the upcoming general election, after incumbent Jo Johnson, the younger bother of Boris Johnson, chose not to seek re-election. On 12 December 2019, Bacon was elected as the Member of Parliament for Orpington. Despite a fall  in his numerical vote share, Bacon was elected with the highest Conservative vote share in the seat since 1955, winning the seat with 30,882 votes, a majority of 22,378. Bacon made his maiden speech in Parliament on 5 February 2020. He became a member of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on 2 March 2020. Bacon was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Department of Work and Pensions in September 2021. On 15 March 2022, he was appointed as PPS to the Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, within the  Cabinet Office. Personal life. In 2004, he married Cheryl Cooley, a fellow Conservative councillor in Bexley. She also works for Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative MP for Saffron Walden. Bacon and his wife have a daughter. He is a former rugby player, a current squash player and a season ticket holder at Manchester United Football Club.