Jamie Wallis

Jamie Hamilton Wallis (born 2 June 1984)[1][2] is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Bridgend in Wales since the 2019 general election.[3] Wallis defeated incumbent Labour MP Madeleine Moon, who had represented the constituency since 2005.

Jamie Wallis
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Bridgend
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byMadeleine Moon
Majority1,157 (2.8%)
Personal details
Born (1984-06-02) 2 June 1984
Bettws, Bridgend, Wales
Political partyConservative
EducationBrynteg School
Alma mater

He has been described in some media reports as the first openly transgender MP in the House of Commons and the first transgender member of Parliament, following his statement in March 2022 that "I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be".[4][5]

Wallis has been convicted of several driving offences and his business dealings have come under scrutiny.

Early life and education

Wallis was born in Bettws and attended St Robert's Catholic School in Aberkenfig, St Clare's School in Porthcawl and Brynteg School in Bridgend.[6] He then read chemistry at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 2006 with an upper second class degree.[7] In 2014, he was awarded a doctorate in astrobiology from Cardiff University, focusing on evidence for cometary panspermia, supervised by Chandra Wickramasinghe.[8][9]

Career before politics

Wallis is one of the owners of a company called Fields Holdings Limited, the parent company of Action Direct (UK) Limited, a former claims management company of which Wallis was a director in 2011[10] when the Ministry of Justice banned it from taking on any further employment claims work, following an investigation into the company's conduct. He remained a director until February 2012.[11][12]

In July 2010, a Freedom of Information request (2417) was made to Bridgend County Borough Council asking how many complaints or referrals to Trading Standards had been made about companies linked to him. According to the FoI response, Trading Standards had received 137 complaints about Action Direct (UK) Ltd, 166 about Fields Data Recovery Ltd, 151 about Quickie Divorce Ltd, 26 about Rapid Data Recovery Ltd, seven about Field Associates Ltd and 12 about Injunction Direct UK. The response also listed enforcement visits by Trading Standards against several of Wallis' companies. In January 2020, after being elected to Parliament, Wallis threatened to take legal action against the council over the matter under the Freedom of Information Act.[13] In January 2022, the council stated that it had heard nothing from his lawyer since then.[14]

Political career

Wallis was a member of Pencoed town council, representing the Hendre ward, until 2018, when he was disqualified for non-attendance. He later stated that he had resigned from the council by letter, but the council had not received the letter.[15] He said that his reason for resigning was that he had relocated to Cowbridge, where he joined the town council.[16]

Before he was elected as MP for Bridgend in 2019, he had stood unsuccessfully in Ogmore in the 2017 United Kingdom general election and Ogmore in the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election. At the 2019 general election he defeated incumbent Labour MP Madeleine Moon, who had represented Bridgend since 2005.

An investigation by BuzzFeed in January 2020 found that Wallis had been a co-owner of a 'sugar daddy' dating website, "which offered students financial relationships with wealthy 'sponsors'". Although Wallis initially denied links to the company, Buzzfeed found that he had been a director and shareholder of the site's parent company.[17] The Labour MP Jess Phillips called for Wallis to have the Conservative party whip removed.[18][19] Since the 2019 election, Wallis has quit as director of at least seven companies.[20]

On the day of the second ballot of MPs in the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, Wallis said that he was backing the campaign of Penny Mordaunt.[21] Wallis later called for party leader and prime minister Liz Truss to resign, citing her failure to challenge anti-transgender rhetoric in the election.[22]

Personal life

At the time of the December 2019 general election, Wallis was married and had two daughters, then aged six and three.[23][24]

On 30 March 2022, Wallis came out as transgender, becoming the first openly transgender MP in the House of Commons.[4][25] Wallis has stated that he will continue to use he/him pronouns "for the time being".[5] He said an individual had outed him to his father and attempted to blackmail Wallis in April 2020; Wallis said the individual was prosecuted, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months imprisonment.[26]

Criminal convictions

In February 2022, Wallis was fined £270 and received three points on his driving licence after pleading guilty to an offence in August 2021 of "failure to comply with solid white line road markings" on the A48.[27]

On 28 November 2021, Wallis was arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit after a car collided with a lamppost in Llanblethian, Vale of Glamorgan.[28] On 30 March 2022, he said that he had "fled the scene" of the car collision due to having a form of post-traumatic stress disorder after being raped in September 2021.[29] In April 2022, Wallis was charged with failing to stop following a road traffic collision, failure to report a road traffic collision, careless driving and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.[30] In May he pleaded not guilty to the offences.[31] On 11 July 2022 Wallis was found guilty of failing to stop and report an accident, leaving his car in a dangerous position, but cleared of driving without due care and attention. The court heard that Wallis was wearing "a black leather PVC miniskirt, tights, dark shoes and a pearl necklace" when he fled the scene of the crash, and that police "forced entry into the Wallis' family home address which was described as a 'mansion' and 'absolutely colossal', out of concern for the MP".[32] Wallis said he was frightened of a group of people who came to help him. He was picked up by his father and fell asleep at home without reporting the crash to police.[33] Wallis was fined £2,500 and disqualified from driving for six months. District Judge Tan Ikram said he "didn't find the defendant credible".[32] Following the conviction, the Conservative Party said it "will not be taking any further action".[33]

References
  1. "Jamie Wallis". Who Can I Vote For?. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  2. Brunskill, Ian (2020). The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. Glasgow: Times Books. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. "Election 2019 - Bridgend". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. "Jamie Wallis MP comes out as trans and speaks of rape ordeal". BBC News. 30 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  5. Jamie Wallis (30 March 2022). "Follow-up statement from Jamie Wallis MP". Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  6. Bolter, Abby (17 May 2017). "General Election 2017: Who are the candidates standing in Ogmore?". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  7. Christ Church, Oxford (2007). Christ Church 2006. Oxford: Christ Church, Oxford. p. 133.
  8. Evidence of panspermia : from astronomy to meteorites (Thesis). 2014. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.620115
  9. "The New Boys and Girls No. 5: Jamie Wallis". Private Eye (1516): 12. 21 February 2020.
  10. "ACTION DIRECT (UK) LIMITED". Companies House. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  11. Shipton, Martin (10 January 2020). "Bridgend Conservative MP's companies prompted more than 800 complaints to trading standards, says council". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  12. "Ministry of Justice 'prevents Welsh claims firm from taking new clients'". WalesOnline. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  13. Irwin, Philip (16 January 2020). "New MP threatens legal action against council". Cowbridge Today. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
    - Wickham, Alex; Nardelli, Alberto (9 January 2020). "A New Tory MP's Companies Were Subject To Hundreds Of Trading Standards Complaints". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  14. Shipton, Martin (31 January 2022). "No action taken yet on council's FOI figures". Western Mail. Retrieved 2 August 2022 – via PressReader.
  15. Elizabeth Bradfield (3 December 2019). "Bridgend Conservative election candidate was kicked off town council for not going to meetings". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  16. Daniel Bond (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". The House. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  17. Wickham, Alex (13 January 2020). "A New Tory MP Claimed He Wasn't Involved With A "Sugar Daddy" Service His Website Promoted. He Actually Co-Owned It". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  18. Duffy, Nick (11 January 2020). "Jess Phillips urges Tories to suspend new MP linked to 'sugar daddy' website". i. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  19. "Call for whip to be removed from new Tory MP". BBC News. 11 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. Shipton, Martin (10 January 2020). "New Tory MP's firms had 800 complaints to trading standards, says council". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  21. Nishan Sampreeth Chilkuri on Twitter, 14 July 2022
    - "Full list: Tory endorsements for next leader". The Spectator. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  22. Smith, Reiss (16 October 2022). "Tory MP Jamie Wallis demands Liz Truss quit over budget fiasco and calls out anti-trans 'hostility'". PinkNews. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  23. Mosalski, Ruth; Bradfield, Elizabeth (13 December 2019). "Conservatives win Bridgend from Labour in huge election upset". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  24. "Conservative candidates selected for Ogmore". The Cowbridge GEM. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  25. "Statement from Jamie Wallis MP – 30th March 2022". Jamie Wallis MP. 30 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  26. Parekh, Marcus; Penna, Dominic (30 March 2022). "Jamie Wallis MP comes out as trans and reveals he was a victim of rape". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  27. "Bridgend MP Jamie Wallis fined after car hit lamppost". BBC News. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  28. "Bridgend MP arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit". BBC News. 19 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  29. "Jamie Wallis MP comes out as trans and speaks of rape ordeal". BBC News. 30 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  30. "Jamie Wallis: Bridgend MP charged over car crash". BBC News. 28 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  31. "Jamie Wallis: Bridgend Tory MP denies traffic offences". BBC News. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  32. "Jamie Wallis: MP found guilty of driving offences". BBC Wales. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  33. Morris, Steven (11 July 2022). "Tory MP Jamie Wallis banned from driving for failing to stop after crash".
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