John Baron MP has been reselected in Basildon & Billericay
John will fight the next election
At a meeting of the Basildon & Billericay Conservative Association held on Friday night at the Chantry Centre in Billericay High Street, John Baron MP was reselected to fight the next General Election as the Conservative Candidate.
John is a former Army officer, who served in Northern Ireland and later worked as a merchant banker before being elected to Parliament.
He was first elected to the House of Commons as MP for Billericay in 2001 and has represented the current Basildon & Billericay constituency since boundary changes in 2010. He succeeded the late Teresa Gorman and, like his predecessor, has been a prominent Eurosceptic with a reputation for being fiercely independent. He first resigned from the frontbench in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq War and resigned again in 2010 in opposition to military intervention, being the only Conservative MP to vote against Libya and, later, opposing intervention in Syria.
"I am delighted that John Baron has been reselected to fight the next General Election, whenever that may come." ~ Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Council
John Baron was one of the leading advocates for a referendum on our membership of the European Union, most notably tabling an almost unprecedented amendment to the Queen's Speech to "express regret" that a referendum on the EU could not be held sooner. This was backed by over 100 MPs. He was chosen as BBC 'Parliamentarian of the Year' in 2015.
He is a former long-serving member of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee and currently serves on the European Scrutiny Committee and the influential Treasury Select Committee. He is married with two daughters.
Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Borough Conservatives and Deputy Chairman of the Basildon & Billericay Conservative Association, who chaired the meeting, said: "I am delighted that John Baron has been reselected to fight the next General Election, whenever that may come. We thank John for his past service and look forward to continue working with him, as he champions our interests in Parliament."
"I greatly enjoy my work as a Member of Parliament and serving the people of Basildon and Billericay." ~ John Baron MP
On being reselected, John Baron said: "I am very grateful to the Association for their continued support. I greatly enjoy my work as a Member of Parliament and serving the people of Basildon and Billericay. It is a tremendous honour and I look forward to fighting the next election, which I believe the Conservative Party can win, and I will continue to fight for the constituency and assist my constituents to the best of my ability."
This will be John's sixth re-election battle. He was last re-elected in 2019 with a 67% share of the vote and a majority of 20,412.