Summary
Aaron Stuart Bell (born 25 February 1980) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme in the 2019 general election.[1][2]
Aaron Bell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| Assumed office 14 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Member of
Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Farrelly |
| Majority | 7,446 (16.6%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Aaron Stuart Bell 25 February 1980 Dulwich, Greater London, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | St. John's College, Oxford (BA) |
Early life edit
Bell was born in Dulwich, south east London, to parents Stuart and Janet Bell. He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School in Greater London, and in America at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He then studied at St John's College, Oxford, where he read PPE.[3][4] Bell graduated with a BA in 2001.[2]
Before his political career, Bell was a successful quizzer: he was part of the St John's College, Oxford team that were runners up in the 2000–01 series of University Challenge; he won the Krypton Factor in 2009; he was part of the Epicureans team that won Only Connect in 2010; he also won £25,000 on Deal or No Deal in 2006.[5][3]
Bell worked as a trading development manager from 2003 to 2006, being employed by Ladbrokes. He was a senior trading performance analyst from 2006 to 2019 for the online betting company Bet365, and co-founded DivideBuy, a financial technology firm which employs 40 staff in Newcastle.[6][7]
Political career edit
Bell stood in the Labour-held seat of Don Valley in South Yorkshire at the 2017 election, but was unsuccessful.[8] Bell was elected as MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme at the 2019 general election being the first Conservative MP for the constituency in modern times.[9]
As of 21 January 2020, he has been an unpaid member of the board of Town Deal Newcastle-under-Lyme.[10]
Bell has benefitted from hospitality worth thousands of pounds, provided on behalf of the gambling industry.[11][12][13][14] He is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling, has spoken out against tougher regulation of gambling and criticised measures taken by the gambling industry regulator to reduce addiction.[15]
In November 2021, he was one of 13 Conservative MPs who voted against a government-supported amendment to defer the suspension of Conservative MP Owen Paterson who was found to have breached lobbying rules.[16]
Bell was elected Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group in 2021.[17] He became the secretary in 2022.[18]
In January 2022, in the wake of the Partygate controversy, Bell publicly criticised Boris Johnson by asking: "Does the Prime Minister think I'm a fool" for properly following COVID-19 regulations during his grandmother's funeral the year before.[19]
Personal life edit
Bell lives in Newcastle-under-Lyme [20] with his wife Emily, whom he married in 2008. They have three children.[21][8]
Bell appeared on the fourth series of TV Quiz show Only Connect as a member of the Epicureans, scoring the highest score of 41.[22]
References edit
- ^ "Newcastle-under-Lyme parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Bell, Aaron Stuart, (born 25 Feb. 1980), MP (C) Newcastle-under-Lyme, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293961. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ a b Ault, Richard (13 December 2019). "He's appeared on Deal or No Deal and the Krypton Factor – everything you need to know about Newcastle's new Tory MP Aaron Bell". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ Aaron Bell LinkedIn profile
- ^ Teale, Andrew (12 December 2019). "Previewing the 12th December council by-elections". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "About Aaron Bell". Aaron Bell MP. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ PoliticsHome.com (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ a b Ault, Richard (13 December 2019). "Everything you need to know about Newcastle's new Tory MP Aaron Bell". stokesentinel. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Newcastle-under-Lyme parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Deal". Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "House of Commons – The Register of Members' Financial Interests (1 November 2021: Bell, Aaron )". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ Dubas-Fisher, David; Corrigan, Phil (22 November 2021). "Newcastle MP enjoyed £6.9k hospitality from gambling firms at Euro 2020". The Sentinel.
- ^ Davies, Rob (15 November 2021). "Almost £225,000 in wages and freebies taken from gambling industry by 28 MPs". The Guardian.
- ^ Davies, Rob (23 January 2022). "MPs criticise UK gambling regulator for trying to reduce addiction". The Guardian.
- ^ "MPS criticise UK gambling regulator for trying to reduce addiction". The Guardian . 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Committee on Standards – in the House of Commons at 12:49 pm on 3rd November 2021". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "'Harassed. Attacked. Arrested.' Humanists in Parliament hear about global worrying rise in non-religious persecution". Humanists UK. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "New officers elected by All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group". Humanists UK. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Emily Atkinson (31 January 2022). "Tory backbencher asks if Boris Johnson 'thinks I'm a fool' for following Covid rules at grandmother's funeral". The Independent. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ Castle, Richard (2 November 2022). "BBC Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell 'proud' of North Staffordshire MP for blasting Boris Johnson". Stoke Sentinel. Reach PLC. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Aaron Bell MP". West Midlands. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/0f7f6734-640c-4473-bfd7-3f46f783bfe6
External links edit
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou