Ben Bradley (politician)
Ben Bradley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Mansfield | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Alan Meale |
| Majority | 1,057 (2.1%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1989 (age 34–35) Ripley, Derbyshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University of Bath Nottingham Trent University |
| Website | Ben Bradley |
Benjamin David Bradley (born December 1989 in Ripley, Derbyshire) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mansfield since the 2017 general election.[1][2]
Early life
He was educated at Derby Grammar School, a selective independent school.[clarification needed][3] After briefly attending the University of Bath and the University of Salford, he graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2013.[4]
Prior to election Bradley was office manager for Mark Spencer, MP for nearby Sherwood constituency also in Nottinghamshire.[5][6] He has worked as a landscape gardener and bar man.[5]
Politics
He lives in Hucknall where he was the Hucknall North ward councillor on Ashfield District Council between 2015 and 2017.[7] Bradley stepped down in September, and an October by-election returned an Independent to the vacant seat.[8] He remains a Nottinghamshire county councillor for the Hucknall North seat, which he won in May 2017, a month earlier than the general election.[9]
At the 2017 election, Bradley unseated the long-standing Labour Party incumbent Alan Meale,[10][11] despite the acting Returning Officer wrongly announcing Meale as the victor.[12]
On 8 January 2018, during Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle, Bradley was appointed as the Vice Chair for Youth at CCHQ.[13]
Controversy
Shortly after his appointment Bradley attracted wide press-criticism for a 2012 blog post in which he wrote of a "vast sea of unemployed wasters" whom he suggested should have vasectomies in order to stop them having several children. He subsequently apologised for the remarks, saying that his "time in politics has allowed me to mature and I now realise that this language is not appropriate".[14] He again had to apologise after The Times on 18 January uncovered his comment apparently written on 9 August 2011 using the internet handle of bradders32,[15] which has been made private: "We need to come down hard on these morons before somebody gets killed! If we have any sense as a nation we’ll stay home tonight and make it easy for the police to find the ones hanging around town centres with their faces covered. For once I think police brutality should be encouraged!" The comment dates from three days after Mark Duggan was killed by the police, an event which led to the 2011 riots in London and other English cities.[16][17]
Bradley attracted further criticism for a 2011 blog post titled “Public sector workers: they don’t know they’re born!” Bradley suggested that Public Sector Workers should find alternative employment if they are unhappy with pay or working conditions, and implied that a £70K+ headteacher's salary was excessive.[15][18]
At their website, BuzzFeed stated that Bradley had been posting as Consbradders32, with an embedded screenshot showing a facsimile of an original.[19] Theresa May's press secretary stated Bradley will keep his job as Conservative vice-chair for young people.[15]
Brexit
Bradley is a supporter of Britain's exit from the European Union. Writing in an opinion piece for Brexit Central website in July 2017, Bradley described himself as originally a "reluctant Remainer" who turned into a "confident Brexiteer" after seeing the European Union's reaction to the 'leave' vote, consulting Conservative MEPs, and considering the views of the 72% of the town's voters who were in favour of exiting.[20][21]
References
- ^ "Mansfield Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Ben Bradley MP". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Bradley, Ben (26 June 2017). "Facebook". Facebook.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help)[better source needed] - ^ "Ben Bradley – Conservative candidate for Mansfield 2017". Ben Bradley – Conservative candidate for Mansfield 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b About Ben (Official website) Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ^ Ben Bradley at LinkedIn Retrieved 13 July 2017[better source needed]
- ^ "Who is new Mansfield MP Ben Bradley?". 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Conservatives beaten into third as Ashfield Independents win in MP Ben Bradley's old council seat Archived 13 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine Nottingham Post, 13 October 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017
- ^ Ben Bradley details at Notts County Council Archived 13 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12 November 2017
- ^ "FULL REPORT: Labour candidate Sir Alan Meale loses seat to Conservative Ben Bradley after 30 years as MP in Mansfield". www.chad.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "General election 2017: The winners and losers in pictures". Archived from the original on 15 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Watch the moment wrong name was called at Mansfield count". 9 June 2017.
- ^ Ben Bradley promoted during reshuffle Archived 9 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Notts TV, 8 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018
- ^ "MP 'sorry' for vasectomies blog post". BBC News. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Ben Bradley to stay Tory vice-chair after ‘vasectomies for unemployed’ row The Guardian, 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018
- ^ "New Tory vice chairman Ben Bradley apologises for 2011 London riots blog post 'encouraging police brutality'". The Daily Telegraph. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ Coates, Sam (18 January 2018). "Tory youth tsar Ben Bradley backed police brutality". The Times. Retrieved 18 January 2018. (subscription required)
- ^ "MP says public sector workers should quit if think they are not paid well enough". NursingNotes. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ The New Tory Vice Chair For Youth Said Public Sector Workers "Don't Know They're Born" BuzzFeed, 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018
- ^ My journey from reluctant Remainer to confident Brexiteer Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine Brexit Central, 23 July 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017
- ^ 'Astoundingly arrogant’ EU boss Juncker converted me from Remainer to Brexiteer, says MP Express, 25 July 2017, Retrieved 30 October 2017
External links
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
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