Sir Ranil Jayawardena | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |
| In office 6 September 2022 – 25 October 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss |
| Preceded by | George Eustice |
| Succeeded by | Thérèse Coffey |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade | |
| In office 5 May 2020 – 6 September 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | James Duddridge |
| Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 13 February 2020 – 5 May 2020 | |
| Leader | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Paul Scully |
| Succeeded by | Lee Rowley |
| Member of Parliament forNorth East Hampshire | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | James Arbuthnot |
| Succeeded by | Alex Brewer |
| Councillor of the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane | |
| In office 5 May 2008 – 11 May 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena (1986-09-03)3 September 1986 (age 39) London, England |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Bramley, Hampshire, England |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Website | Official website |
Sir Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena[1] (born 3 September 1986) is a BritishConservative politician who served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forNorth East Hampshire from2015 until2024. He served under Prime MinisterLiz Truss asSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2022. He previously served under Prime MinisterBoris Johnson asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2022.
Ranil Jayawardena was born on 3 September 1986 inLondon.[2][3] His father, Nalin Jayawardena, is of Sri Lankan origin and moved to the United Kingdom in 1978 to pursue a career in accountancy.[4][5] His mother, Indira Das Jayawardena, has Indian heritage; he has a brother and sister.[6][5]
His early education was at Hook Infant School and Hook Junior School inHook,[7]Robert May's School, a state comprehensive school inOdiham,[8] andAlton College inAlton.[9] Jayawardena then studied at theLondon School of Economics, where he graduated with a BSc in government in 2008.[10]
After university, Jayawardena worked for theLloyds Banking Group and, according toThe Guardian, was involved in lobbyingMembers of the European Parliament on imminent legislation affecting the European banking sector. He also worked on a voluntary basis in the office ofNorth East Hampshire MPJames Arbuthnot.[11]
Jayawardena served as a councillor onBasingstoke and Deane Borough Council from 2008 to 2015.[12] During his time as a councillor, he was also the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, before being made Deputy Leader of the council.[13] He invested in "community safety patrollers" to target anti-social behaviour and littering[14] and provided half an hour free parking in "short stay car parks in Top of the Town".[15]
At the2015 general election, Jayawardena was elected to Parliament as MP forNorth East Hampshire with 65.9% of the vote and a majority of 29,916.[16] During the election, the candidate for theUK Independence Party was suspended after making a death threat towards Jayawardena.[17]
In his maiden speech, Jayawardena outlined his belief in the rule of law, in human rights and in equality before the law being matched by equality in opportunity, and that rights must be balanced by responsibilities.[18] He set out that "human rights were not conceived in 1998" referencing Britain's long-standing protections for individuals dating back to the Magna Carta, to which his constituency had a connection.[19]
In December 2015, he voted to support Prime MinisterDavid Cameron's plans to carry out airstrikes againstISIL targets in Syria.[20] In the 2015–17 parliament, he was part of theHome Affairs Committee and theInternational Trade Committee.[21]
Jayawardena supportedBrexit in the2016 Brexit referendum.[22]
Jayawardena in February 2017 publicly continued to support local issues that he had supported as a councillor such as protecting weekly bin collections.[23][24]
At the snap2017 general election, Jayawardena was re-elected as MP for North East Hampshire with a decreased vote share of 65.5% and a decreased majority of 27,772.[25][26] After the election, in June 2017, he shut down hisTwitter account after labelling it as "a platform full of trolls, extremists – and worse".[27]
In January 2018, Jayawardena was madeParliamentary Private Secretary to theDepartment for Work and Pensions.[28] He was madeParliamentary Private Secretary to theMinistry of Justice in September 2018, but resigned from this post in November 2018 in protest at the government's proposed Brexit deal.[29] In March 2019, he sought to protect parental rights to withdraw children from compulsory relationship and sex education in English schools.[30]
Jayawardena supportedBoris Johnson in the2019 leadership election.[31] In the same year, he was appointed as a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party.[32] At the2019 general election, Jayawardena was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 59.5% and a decreased majority of 20,211.[33][34]
In May 2020, he was appointedDeputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.[35] In May 2020, he was appointed asMinister for International Trade, at theDepartment for International Trade, by Boris Johnson following the resignation ofConor Burns.[36]
In November 2020, theBasingstoke Gazette reported that, prior to serving in government, Jayawardena earned £40,000 inshare options from eight days consulting for PepTcell, a pharmaceuticals company and £1,400 plus free travel fromGreat Western Railway. This information was publicly available and fully declared on the Register of Members' Interests.[37]
In September 2022, he was appointed asSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by Prime MinisterLiz Truss. Jayawardena was considered a close ally of Truss, and was one her earliest supporters during the2022 leadership election.[38]Farmers Weekly noted at the time that he was "relatively unknown" in agriculture and had no direct experience.[39] He was sworn in as a member of thePrivy Council on 13 September 2022 following his appointment.[40]
During his final years in Parliament, he spoke up on topical issues from the backbenches, such as protecting the rights of women and girls, including single-sex spaces;[41][42] and banning mobile phones in schools.[43] In the2024 general election, Jayawardena lost his seat when Liberal DemocratAlex Brewer won the seat by 634 votes.[44]
Jayawardena wasknighted in the2025 New Year Honours for "political and public service".[45]
Jayawardena lives inBramley, Hampshire.[46] He has been married to Alison (née Roberts), a solicitor, since 2011.[5][47] The couple have two daughters and a son.[48] His wife worked part-time as a senior researcher for his parliamentary office.[37] He is aChristian.[2]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth East Hampshire 2015–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Cabinet members | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Also attended meetings | ||
| Departures | ||
