Lucy Frazer
Lucy Frazer QC (born 17 May 1972) is a British Conservative politician and barrister, who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cambridgeshire since the 2015 general election.
Lucy Frazer QC MP | |
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Frazer in 2020 | |
Minister of State for Prisons and Probation | |
Assumed office 25 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | Robert Buckland |
Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
In office 9 May 2019 – 25 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | Robert Buckland |
Succeeded by | Michael Ellis |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice | |
In office 9 January 2018 – 9 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | Dominic Raab |
Succeeded by | Paul Maynard |
Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire | |
Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Jim Paice |
Majority | 11,490 (17.9%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Yorkshire, England | 17 May 1972
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | David Leigh |
Alma mater | Newnham College, Cambridge |
Website | Official website |
She took silk in 2012, prior to being returned to Parliament. A former Solicitor General for England and Wales, she currently serves as Prisons Minister.
Early life
Born on 17 May 1972 in Yorkshire,[1] Frazer is descended from Jewish immigrants among whom was her grandfather Dr Hyman Frazer CBE, headmaster of Gateway Grammar School in Leicester.[2][3][4]
Education
Frazer was educated at Leeds Girls' High School,[5] and Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was elected President of the Cambridge Union.[6]
Career
Before entering politics, Frazer worked as a barrister in commercial law in London. She was appointed Queen's Counsel at the age of 40.[6] She was selected as the Conservative Party prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for South East Cambridgeshire in December 2013, over Heidi Allen. There was initially a controversy about a possible miscount of votes at the selection.[7] Frazer was reaffirmed as the candidate in January 2014,[8] while Allen was selected that October as PPC for neighbouring South Cambridgeshire. Frazer went on to be elected at the 2015 general election with 28,845 votes (48.5%), a majority of 16,837.[9] She was elected to sit on the Education Select Committee later that year.[10]
After her maiden speech,[11] in which she jokingly referred to Oliver Cromwell's sale of Scots into colonial slavery as "an answer to the West Lothian question – but not one, of course, that I would recommend",[4][12] she apologised were any offence to have been caused by such comment.
Frazer supported remaining within the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.[13] In July 2016, she became Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Ben Gummer.[10]
Frazer put forward a Bill to Parliament for making 'upskirting' an offence in England and Wales; this attained royal assent on 12 February 2019. Before this Act was passed, only the common law offence of outraging public decency could be prosecuted. The Act removes the common law requirement of at least two witnesses to the offence.
She was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in January 2018, and moved to become Solicitor General for England and Wales in May 2019.
On 25th July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Frazer to the position of Minister of State for Prisons. She succeeded Robert Buckland, who was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor.
Personal life
Frazer is married with two children.[14] On 18 March 2020, Frazer went into self-isolation during the coronavirus pandemic after a member of her family displayed coronavirus symptoms.[15][16]
References
- "Biography for Lucy Frazer". MyParliament. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- Staff writer (February 1965). "Home news: New Year Honours" (PDF). AJR Information. Association of Jewish Refugees in Britain. XX (2): 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2015.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Gillard, Derek. "Crowther Report 1959 Volume I - full text". educationengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- "Daily Hansard - Debate". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 4 June 2015. col. 826–827. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- "> South Square > London, England > Lawyer profiles > Lucy Frazer QC". The Legal 500. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- Jamieson, Sophie (29 April 2015). "Election 2015: Meet the future female front bench stars of the 2015 Parliament". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- Graham, Georgia (7 January 2014). "Voting miscount could mean wrong woman announced as Conservative parliamentary candiate [sic]". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
- Merrick, Jane (12 January 2014). "The battle of the Tory women: Farcical scenes after 'invalid' vote to select candidate for safe seat". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
- "Election 2015: Cambridgeshire South East parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- "About Lucy Frazer". Lucy Frazer. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ElyWeeklyNews (9 June 2015). "Calls for MP Lucy Frazer to resign following "joke" about Scots being sold into slavery". Ely News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- "Tory apologises over 'joke' about turning Scots into 'slaves'". Herald Scotland. 7 June 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- Day, Jordan (8 May 2015). "General election: South East Cambs MP Lucy Frazer says she feels 'honoured and extremely excited'". Ely News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- "South East Cambridgeshire MP Lucy Frazer self isolating". Cambridge Independent. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- Elworthy, John. "SE Cambs MP Lucy Frazer goes into self-isolation after family member 'has symptoms of the coronavirus'". Wisbech Standard. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
External links
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by Jim Paice |
Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire 2015–present |
Incumbent |