John Penrose

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = John Penrose
honorific-suffix = MP


caption =
constituency_MP = Weston-super-Mare
parliament =
term_start = 5 May 2005
term_end =
majority = 2,079 (4.2%)
predecessor = Brian Cotter
successor =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1964|06|22|df=yes
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse = Diana Harding
party = Conservative
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Columbia University
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

John David Penrose (born June 22, 1964) is the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare.

Early life

Born in Sudbury, Suffolk, he went to Ipswich School. He studied at Cambridge University, receiving a BA in Law in 1986. He received an MBA from Columbia University in 1991. He was a Bank Trading Floor Risk Manager at JP Morgan from 1986-90, then a management consultant at McKinsey & Company from 1992-4. He was Commercial Director of the Academic Books Division at [http://www.thomsonpublishingservices.co.uk Thomson Publishing] in Andover from 1995-6, then Managing Director of Schools Book Publishing at Longman (Pearson PLC), publishing school textbooks for the UK and parts of Africa. He was chairman of [http://www.logo.com Logotron Ltd] in Cambridge. (also owned by Pearson). In 1998, he was in charge of research at the Bow Group.

Parliamentary career

He was elected in the 2005 general election, winning the seat from the Liberal Democrat Brian Cotter. He had previously contested Weston-super-Mare unsuccessfully in 2001, and Ealing Southall at the 1997 general election.

His 2005 general election promises were:
*Fewer drug addicts and more Police
*Lower taxes and higher pensions
*Disciplined schools
*Bigger hospital with more GPs
*A better local environment

He serves on the Work and Pensions Committee. In 2006, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Oliver Letwin MP. He was also appointed joint chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Further Education & Lifelong Learning.

Personal life

John Penrose married the former Tesco International Support Office Director who attended St Antony's Leweston from 1978-85, the Hon. Dido (Diana) Harding in October 1995 in Kensington. From early 2008 on the Board of Directors at Sainsbury's as Convenience Director. They have two young daughters.

External links

* [http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/John+Penrose ePolitix.com - John Penrose]
* [http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.person.page&personID=34321 John Penrose MP] biography at the site of the Conservative Party
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6182,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: John Penrose MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/john_penrose/weston-super-mare TheyWorkForYou.com - John Penrose MP]
* [http://www.weston-conservatives.co.uk Weston-Super-Mare Conservatives]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/629.stm BBC Politics page]