Summary
Frederick Matthew Thomas Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton (born 27 October 1958), is a British peer and Labour Party politician.[1]
The Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | The Lord Bellamy |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
| In office 14 June 1990 – 11 November 1999 as a hereditary peer | |
| Preceded by | The 3rd Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished [a] |
| Assumed office 19 April 2000 as a life peer | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick Matthew Thomas Ponsonby 27 October 1958 |
| Political party | Labour |
| Relations | Ponsonby family |
| Parents |
|
Lord Ponsonby serves as a UK Government Minister in the Ministry of Justice since 2024.[2]
Early life and education
editThe only son of Thomas Ponsonby, 3rd Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, and Ursula née Fox-Pitt, he attended Holland Park School, before going up to read Physics at Cardiff University, graduating BSc 1980. He then pursued post-graduate studies in Engineering at Imperial College London, CEng 1997.[3]
Lord Ponsonby was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) in 1996.[4]
Political career
editSucceeding as Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede upon his father's death in 1990, he took his seat in the House of Lords as a hereditary peer in 1991, sitting on the Labour benches.[5]
Lord Ponsonby represented Roehampton Ward as a councillor on Wandsworth London Borough Council from 1990 to 1994.
Along with all but 92 of his fellow hereditary peers, Lord Ponsonby was ejected from the upper house following the enactment of the House of Lords Act 1999. Having sat on the Lords Opposition frontbench as a spokesman on Education from 1992–1997 as well as on various parliamentary sub-committees, in 2000 he was created a life peer, in addition to his hereditary title, as Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton, of Shulbrede in the County of West Sussex, thus enabling to resume sitting in Parliament.
Having served as an Opposition spokesperson for Justice from April 2020 and Home Affairs from May 2021, on 9 July 2024, Lord Ponsonby was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and as a Lord-in-Waiting.[6]
A justice of the peace (JP) for Westminster since 2006, Lord Ponsonby was admitted as a Freeman of the City of London in 2024.
Family
editOn 5 July 1995, he married Sarah Catriona Pilkington Jackson OBE (born 1957), chief executive of the charity Working Families,[7] and daughter of Richard d'Orville Pilkington Jackson (1921–2008).
Lord and Lady Ponsonby live in London and have two children:
- The Hon. Eve Ponsonby (born 1991), an actress;[8]
- The Hon. Cameron Ponsonby (born 1995), educated at University of Southampton (BSc) and City, University of London (MA), a sports journalist and heir apparent to the hereditary barony.[9]
Arms
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Notes
edit- ^ Seat abolished by the House of Lords Act 1999.
References
edit- ^ "Lord Frederick Ponsonby appointed Crown dependencies minister". BBC News. 8 August 2024.
- ^ "Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede". gov.uk.
- ^ "Burke's Peerage". Burke's Peerage.
- ^ "Chartered status". Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
- ^ "Parliamentary career for Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - MPs and Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". gov.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Homepage". Working Families.
- ^ "Curtis Brown". Curtis Brown.
- ^ "Cameron Ponsonby | Wisden Contributors". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage. 2019.
Sources
edit- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom