Mike Penning
Sir Michael Alan Penning (born 28 September 1957) is a British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemel Hempstead from 2005 to 2024.
Mike Penning
Penning was the Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 2016 to 2017, having previously served as the Minister of State for Justice and Minister of State for Policing from 2014 to 2016, the Minister for Disabled People from 2013 to 2014, the Minister of State for Northern Ireland from 2012 to 2013, and the Minister of State for Transport from 2010 to 2012.[1] Following his ministerial career he remained a backbencher until standing down in 2024.
Early life and career[edit]
Penning was born in Finchley, North London,[2] and raised in the county of Essex. He first went to school in South Benfleet before attending King Edmund School in Rochford.[3] After leaving school, Penning enlisted in the British Army as a Grenadier Guardsman, and served several tours in Northern Ireland, Kenya and Germany. During his time in the Grenadiers, an officer, Captain Robert Nairac, GC, was abducted and murdered by the IRA.[4]
After leaving the Army, Penning subsequently worked as a firefighter for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, before joining his family business and then becoming a political journalist.[5]
Political positions[edit]
Penning was a supporter of Brexit during the 2016 referendum.[32]
In May 2021, Penning tabled and was the sole signatory of an early day motion stating as the "UK has left the European Union, the UK should now leave the Eurovision Song Contest, calling on the BBC to no longer spend licence fee money on an event designed to humiliate the UK and notes that, if the winning song is to be broadcast on the public airwaves, it should be preceded by a public health warning."[33]
Penning resigned as vice chairman of the Conservative Party in order to publicly support Penny Mordaunt's campaign in the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[34]
Personal life[edit]
Penning lives in Hemel Hempstead with his wife Angela.[35] He employs his wife as his Office Manager on an annual salary up to £40,000. He has two daughters.[36]
He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.[37]
Media related to Mike Penning at Wikimedia Commons