Paul Maynard was first elected as the Conservative MP for Blackpool North & Cleveleys in 2010, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 8,596.
As its name suggests, the Blackpool North and Cleverleys constituency in Lancashire contains the north of the town of Blackpool and the town of Cleverleys. It is a relatively thin seat that stretches north from Blackpool along the coast. There are areas of notable deprivation in parts of this constituency. This area was held by Labour between 1997 and 2010. The Conservative Party won this seat more comfortably in 2019, but this should be viewed as ultra marginal seat in which the winning party would normally expect to hold the seat by small majorities. Some two thirds of the electorate here backed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
Maynard served as a junior Minister for Transport (2019-20) and as Under Secretary for Justice (2019). He was formerly in the government whips office (2018-2019).
Born in 1975, Paul Maynard was born in Cheshire and attended Oxford university where he obtained a first class degree. Prior to his election, he worked in management consultancy, and as an Adviser to Liam Fox and as a speechwriter for William Hague.
Paul Maynard has mild cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. He is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cerebral Palsy, and campaigns on disability rights.
Describing his cerebral palsy, Maynard has said, “It probably affects the way some people see me, and there will always be people who write you off because of it – but I’ve never let them stop me”, adding “Having had it all my life, I don’t know any different anyway, and I always believe we should take people as we find them”.
Maynard supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Paul Maynard is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Penal Affairs. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on the Future of Aviation.
According to the Register of Members Interests, Maynard is a consultant to LINK Scheme Ltd (the ATM network) as part of LINK’s independent Consumer Council.
Email: paul.maynard.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://paulmaynard.co.uk/
Twitter: PaulMaynardMP
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/paulmaynardBNC
Facebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/paul.maynard.9809?fref=ts
