Laura Farris

Laura Rose Farris[1] (née McNair-Wilson) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury since the 2019 general election. Prior to her parliamentary career, she worked as a journalist and later as an employment law barrister.

Laura Farris

MP
Member of Parliament
for Newbury
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byRichard Benyon
Majority16,047 (26.8%)
Personal details
Born
Laura Rose McNair-Wilson

Bucklebury, West Berkshire, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Henry Farris
Children2
Alma materLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionJournalist, barrister
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Farris was born and grew up in Bucklebury, West Berkshire, England.[2] Both her father Michael McNair-Wilson and uncle Patrick McNair-Wilson are former Conservative MPs.[3] She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating in 2000 with an upper second class degree.[2][4] Farris worked as a journalist for BBC and Reuters and also worked for Hillary Clinton when she was US Senator for New York.[5]

She retrained as a barrister and qualified in 2007, specialising in employment and discrimination law.[4]

Parliamentary career

Farris was selected as the Conservative candidate for Newbury on 10 November 2019.[6] She had previously stood as a candidate in the notionally safe Labour seat of Leyton and Wanstead in London.[7] Farris was elected as Newbury MP with a majority of 16,047 in the 2019 general election. Her father had previously represented the constituency between 1974 and 1992.[8] She has been a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee since March 2020.[9]

Personal life

She is married to Henry Farris and they have two daughters.[10][11][12]

References
  1. "Members Sworn". parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  3. "Introducing the six candidates shortlisted for Devizes". ConservativeHome. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  4. "Laura Farris". Littleton Chambers. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. "Election 2019: the lawyers standing for parliament". The Lawyer. 30 October 2019.(subscription required)
  6. "Conservatives select Newbury candidate". Newbury Today. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. "Leyton and Wanstead". parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  8. "Conservatives hold Newbury as Laura Farris elected". Newbury Today. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  9. "Membership". parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  10. "Election 2017: Conservatives announce Remain-supporting barrister Laura Farris as candidate for Leyton and Wanstead". Ilford Recorder. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. "Mr H. Farris and Miss L. McNair-Wilson". The Daily Telegraph.(subscription required)
  12. "Farris". The Daily Telegraph.(subscription required)
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Richard Benyon		 Member of Parliament
for Newbury
2019–present		 Incumbent
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