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Paul HolmesMP
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 19 July 2024 – 4 November 2024
Leader	Rishi Sunak
Succeeded by	Wendy Morton
Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland
In office 19 July 2024 – 4 November 2024
Leader	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Fleur Anderson
Succeeded by	Alex Burghart
Opposition whip
In office 19 July 2024 – 8 October 2024
Leader	Rishi Sunak
Assistant Government Whip
In office 25 April 2024 – 30 May 2024
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Ruth Edwards
Member of Parliament for Hamble Valley
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 July 2024
Preceded by	New seat
Member of Parliament for Eastleigh
In office 12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded by	Mims Davies
Succeeded by	Liz Jarvis
Personal details
Born	(1988-08-25) 25 August 1988 (age 36) Southwark, London
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of Southampton

Paul John Holmes (born 25 August 1988) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hamble Valley since 2024. He was the Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2019 to 2024. Holmes currently serves as Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government having been appointed by Kemi Badenoch.

Early life and education

Paul Holmes was born on 25 August 1988 at Guy's Hospital in Southwark, to John Edward Holmes and Sandra Holmes. He grew up on the Bellingham council estate in Lewisham.

Holmes attended Elfrida Primary School in Bellingham and Kelsey Park Sports College in Beckenham. He then went on to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton.

Political career

While a second-year student at the University of Southampton, Holmes was elected as a Conservative councillor in the 2008 Southampton City Council election, representing the Redbridge ward. He served on Southampton City Council as Chair of the Planning Committee and Cabinet Member for Education and Social Services. Holmes stood down at the 2012 council election.

Holmes worked as a parliamentary researcher to Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond from 2011 to 2015. From 2015 to 2016, he was an account manager at Portland Communications.

He worked as a special adviser (SpAd) to Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Patrick McLoughlin between 2016 and 2017, before becoming Special Adviser to Damian Green, the first secretary of state and minister for the Cabinet Office. Holmes remained in this role until Green's resignation from Government. He then worked as SpAd to the secretary of state for education, Damian Hinds, in 2018, and became head of public affairs at Clarion Housing Group in the same year.

Parliamentary career

Holmes stood in Mitcham and Morden at the 2015 general election, coming second with 23.2% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh.

At the snap 2017 general election, Holmes stood in Southampton Test, coming second with 34.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Alan Whitehead.

At the 2019 general election, Holmes was elected to Parliament as MP for Eastleigh with 55.4% of the vote and a majority of 15,607.

He was elected to serve on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee until January 2021, and the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments, on which he continues to serve.

In January 2021, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Office ministerial team. On 20 September 2021, Holmes was promoted to PPS to the home secretary Priti Patel. He resigned from this position on 27 May 2022, over concerns around "toxic culture" at the heart of Government following the publication of the Sue Gray report.

Holmes was appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for policy in November 2022 following Rishi Sunak forming a Government, he left this position in September 2023 when Holmes was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. In November 2023 he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, David Cameron.

Following the suspension in February 2024 of former party deputy chair Lee Anderson for making Islamophobic remarks about the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who is a Muslim, Holmes defended Anderson. Holmes was quoted as saying his suspension "will drive the agenda that we can’t speak up on things. Especially after last Wednesday and the protests we saw," referring to protests regarding the Israel–Hamas war outside Parliament.

In April 2024, Holmes was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip.

At the 2024 general election, Holmes stood in Hamble Valley, and was elected to Parliament as MP for Hamble Valley with 36.4% of the vote and a majority of 4,802.

Holmes resigned as an opposition whip in October 2024 in order to publicly support James Cleverly in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election.

Personal life

Holmes currently lives in Hedge End. He lists his recreations as "real ale, cooking, aviation", and is a member of the Southern Parishes Conservative club.

References

1. ^ "PolicyMogul - Champions of public affairs".
2. ^ "About Paul". Paul Holmes. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
3. ^ "Holmes, Paul John, (born 25 Aug. 1988), MP (C) Eastleigh, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293903. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
4. "Paul Holmes". University of Southampton. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
5. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Redbridge Ward". andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
6. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". politicshome.com. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
7. "About Paul". Paul Holmes. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
8. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. Services, CS-Democracy (7 May 2015). "Councillors". democracy.merton.gov.uk.
10. "Paul Holmes - Candidate for Eastleigh in UK Parliament elections". candidates.democracyclub.org.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
11. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL" (PDF). 14 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
12. "Eastleigh parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
13. "MP Paul Holmes quits government role over Sue Gray report". BBC News. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
14. Edgley, Timothy (27 May 2022). "Eastleigh MP Paul Holmes quits role blasting Downing Street 'toxic culture' after Sue Gray report". Romsey Advertiser. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
15. Holl-Allen, Genevieve; Riley-Smith, Ben (25 February 2024). "Sunak's Red Wall backlash revealed in Tory WhatsApps". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
16. "Ministerial Appointments: 25 April 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
17. "Eastleigh MP selected to stand in new Hamble Valley constituency in next election". 13 May 2023.
18. "Election Restults of a Member of Parliament for Hamble Valley". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
19. Needs, Noni (5 July 2024). "Hamble Valley election results: First MP has admitted it was a difficult night after Conservatives win". Retrieved 5 July 2024 – via The Portsmouth News.
20. "Tugendhat knocked out of Conservative leadership race". BBC News. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

• 1988 births
• Living people
• Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
• UK MPs 2019–2024
• Councillors in Hampshire
• Alumni of the University of Southampton
• LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
• English gay politicians
• People from the Borough of Eastleigh
• UK MPs 2024–present