Chris Clarkson is the Conservative Party MP for Heywood and Middleton, having first been elected to Parliament in 2019, gaining the seat with a majority of 663 over the Labour Party.
As its names suggests, the constituency cover the towns of Heywood and Middleton on the edge of Greater Manchester. Previously a Labour seat which had never been won by the Conservatives prior to 2019, the constituency was nearly won by UKIP in a 2014 by-election.
Born in 1982, Chris Clarkson was educated at the University of Dundee. He initially trained as a lawyer, and worked as a corporate development manager and a consultant at Virgin and IRIS Legal before being elected to Parliament.
Politically, Clarkson is found on the left of the Conservative Party and is a member of the Tory Reform Group. He is open to the concept of electoral reform.
He previously served as a Salford city councillor for 8 years. He is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Local Government.
In 2020 Clarkson came to public attention after being called “scum” by the Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, after Clarkson had suggested that Greater Manchester’s Mayor, Andy Burnham, was guilty of opportunism.
Clarkson is openly gay. He speaks French and German, and enjoys long distance running.
He is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, the Peak District,
Website – www.chrisclarkson.org.uk
Email – chris.clarkson.mp@parliament.uk
Twitter – @ToryMemo
