James Cleverly: who is Braintree MP named new Education Secretary, wife, voting record - will he run for PM?

James Cleverly, the new Education Secretary, has said he is looking forward to working with the sector to "realise people’s potential."

Cleverly’s appointment came as Boris Johnson began a reshuffle of his Cabinet shortly before he was set to announce his resignation.

He is now the third Education Secretary in a week, following Michelle Donelan’s resignation from the position less than 36 hours after assuming it following Nadhim Zahawi’s transfer to the Treasury.

After a wave of junior ministers resigned, the Department for Education underwent rapid change, leaving unfinished business including the passage of the Schools Bill in its report stage, decisions regarding teacher pay, and the conclusion of the special educational needs Green Paper.

So is Cleverly up to the job?

Here is everything you need to know about him.

What has James Cleverly said about his new role?

In a statement following his appointment to the role, he said: “As someone whose grandfather was a teacher and whose children are currently in the education system, I am incredibly passionate about education and proud to be appointed Secretary of State.

There is a "huge amount of work to do", he added, on everything from childcare and the impending GCSE and A-level results to the schools white paper and T-levels.

“I look forward to engaging with our brilliant nurseries, social workers, schools, colleges, universities and all the staff working across these sectors to realise people’s potential – whatever their backgrounds or wherever they come from,” he said.

Who is he?

Cleverly has been the MP for Braintree in Essex since 2015, and also served as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot from 2019 to 2020, and the Member of the London Assembly for Bexley and Bromley from 2008 to 2016.

He was born in Lewisham in 1969, and received a private education at Riverston School and Colfe’s School, both in London.

Following school, Cleverly underwent military training, which was cut short in 1989 due to a leg injury. He later graduated from Thames Valley University (now the University of West London) with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management.

In 2010, in reaction to Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes’ suggestion that backbench MPs should have the power to veto coalition policy, Cleverly posted a tweet in which he called Hughes a “dick”.

"We may be coalition partners but it doesn’t stop me thinking Simon Hughes is a dick," he said. He later apologised.

Cleverly married Susannah Sparks in 2000, and the couple have two sons. In 2019, he was alleged to have damaged another driver’s car while driving on the M11; according to the other driver, Cleverly was using his phone while speeding.

What is his voting record?

The Labour Party proposed an amendment in Parliament in 2016 requiring private landlords to make their properties "fit for human habitation," but they were unsuccessful.

Cleverly was one of 72 Conservative MPs who opposed the amendment and who also personally earned money from property rentals, according to the register of interests kept by Parliament.

The same year, Cleverly was asked to leave his position as patron of the South East England-based charity Advocacy for All.

Given that he had voted to reduce Employment and Support Allowance (the benefit paid to disabled people who are unable to work), the charity decided that he was no longer qualified for the position.

In 2018, Cleverly defended Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey against accusations that he had made anti-Hindu and anti-Islamic remarks in a pamphlet that also asserted that young black men were becoming more involved in crime as a result of learning more about religions other than "their own Christian culture."

In 2019, Cleverly posted a video to social media in which he falsely identified William Wilberforce, an independent MP and anti-slavery campaigner, as a "Tory."

Will he run for Tory leader?

As he walked out of Downing Street on Thursday (7 July), Cleverly ignored media questions about if he would run for leader.

However, he has since disqualified himself from the Tory leadership campaign owing to personal reasons, and has not yet endorsed any of his colleagues who are said to be running.

Cleverly told Sky News: “I put myself forward last time, I don’t regret that, I really enjoyed it.

“As you know, my wife has been going through cancer treatment and whilst that is progressing, well, it hasn’t concluded. It’s not the right time for me.”

Cleverly has said candidates to succeed Boris Johnson will need to “explain their rationale” for staying loyal to the Prime Minister or not.

Asked if it is tenable for someone who voiced their criticism of Johnson to become the next Prime Minister, he told BBC Breakfast: “Everyone that puts themselves forward we will need to explain the rationale for doing whatever they did and my colleagues will judge that.

“Some people will I’m sure want to support someone that remained part of the Prime Minister’s team over these last few days and there will be others who want perhaps to support someone that was critical of the Prime Minister.”

According to the Education Secretary, after stepping down as Tory party leader, Johnson has not given a "timeline" for how long he will remain in No 10.

He told Times Radio: “He said he will stay until the process is complete, he’s not put a timeline on this.

“The timeline on this will be defined by the 1922 committee in terms of the parliamentary stage and by the Conservative party in terms of the party stage.”