Andrea Jenkyns | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills[a] | |
| In office 9 July 2022 – 25 October 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson Liz Truss |
| Preceded by | Michelle Donelan[b] |
| Succeeded by | Robert Halfon |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| In office 20 September 2021 – 8 July 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Maria Caulfield |
| Succeeded by | Julie Marson |
| Member of Parliament forMorley and Outwood | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Ed Balls |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member ofLincolnshire County Council for Boston North West | |
| In office 4 June 2009 – 2 May 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Bakewell |
| Succeeded by | Tiggs Keywood-Wainwright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1974-06-16)16 June 1974 (age 51) Beverley,Humberside, England |
| Political party | Reform UK (from 2024) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (until 2024) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence(s) | Lincolnshire, England |
| Education | University of Lincoln (BA) Open University (Dip) |
| Website | Official website |
Dame Andrea Marie Jenkyns (born 16 June 1974) is a British politician who has been theMayor of Greater Lincolnshire since May 2025. A member of theReform UK party, she was previously theConservative Party Member of Parliament forMorley and Outwood inWest Yorkshire, England from 2015 to May 2024.
Jenkyns was first elected as theMember of Parliament for Morley and Outwood at the2015 general election, defeating Shadow ChancellorEd Balls.[2][3] She was an advocate for the Eurosceptic organisationLeave Means Leave and a strong critic ofTheresa May's handling ofBrexit during her leadership of theConservative Party.[4][5] Jenkyns served asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills from July to October 2022, as part of the governments ofBoris Johnson andLiz Truss. She was later dismissed by the following Prime Minister,Rishi Sunak. She failed to win re-election to the successor seat ofLeeds South West and Morley at the2024 general election.[6]
Jenkyns was appointed aDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2023 in theResignation Honours List of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
She left the Conservative Party forReform UK in November 2024, announcing her candidacy for Reform in the 2025 election for the newly createdMayor of Greater Lincolnshire.[7]
In August 2025, Jenkyns was chosen byNigel Farage to be part of Reform UK's decision-making board.[8]
Jenkyns was born on 16 June 1974 in Beverley, Humberside, and moved to Lincolnshire aged seven. She attended primary school in New Holland and later Matthew Humberstone School in Cleethorpes.[9]
She left school at 16, initially holding a Saturday job atGreggs, before spending around eighteen years in retail and progressing to senior management roles.[10][11] She also worked in sales and as a music tutor.[12]
As a mature student she completed a diploma with the Open University, followed by a degree in international relations at the University of Lincoln.[13] Outside politics she is a trained soprano and recorded a pop album in 2006; as a teenager she also reached the final of Miss United Kingdom.[14]
Following an open primary in 2013, Jenkyns was selected to contest theMorley and Outwood parliamentary seat as the Conservative candidate. In the2015 general election, she was elected with a slim majority of 422 votes, unseatingShadow Chancellor of the ExchequerEd Balls.[15] From July 2015, she sat on theHealth Select Committee.
Jenkyns supportedBrexit in the2016 EU membership referendum[16] and was a member of theExiting the European Union Select Committee from 2016 to 2019.[17] Jenkyns stated that she was willing to vote against the government if it brought forward to theHouse of Commons theChequers plan on Brexit.[18]
In the2017 general election, Jenkyns increased her vote share by 11.8%, though only increased her majority to 2,104 as Labour's vote share also increased. Both were helped by the lack of a UKIP candidate in her constituency.[19]
Jenkyns is a Trustee and the voluntary Regional Representative for the charity MRSA Action UK, having joined following the death of her father fromMRSA.[20][21]
In May 2018, Jenkyns quit her role as aPPS in theMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in order to focus on fighting forBrexit.[22] In July 2018, afterDavid Davis resigned from theCabinet, Jenkyns called for the Prime MinisterTheresa May to be replaced, saying: "Theresa May's premiership is over."[23][24] Jenkyns called on May to return to herLancaster House speech, stating "Prime Ministers keep their jobs when they keep their promises".[25]
She submitted a formal letter to the1922 Committee requesting a vote of no confidence in Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party; at that time letters from 48 MPs were required to trigger a vote of no confidence.[26] Following this,Iain Dale put her on his annual Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2018 List.[27]
In May 2019, Jenkyns received media attention for her appearance on theBBC'sPolitics Live show, as she was unable to name any countries that trade solely with the EU usingWorld Trade Organization (WTO) terms.[28]
Jenkyns has received a number ofdeath threats, largely as a result of her stance onBrexit.[29] In 2018, she received a threatening and sexually explicit email calling for her to be cut withbarbed wire and die.[29] In the summer of 2019, a person was taken to court for threatening to "rip" her face off.[29] In October 2019 she discoveredgraffiti on the wall of her office calling for her to kill herself.[29]
In October 2019, Jenkyns stated her opposition to Britain'ssugary drink tax, arguing instead for "better education, better labelling [and] parental responsibility".[30]
In November 2019, Jenkyns received a campaign donation declared at £2,000 from the Brexit advocate andLeave.EU funderArron Banks.[31] Banks was barred from membership of theConservative Party at the time, on the grounds that he had advocatedentryism.[31]
Jenkyns held her seat at the2019 general election with an increased majority of 11,267.[15] Jenkyns said she had experienced a considerable amount of abuse and intimidation during the campaign.[32] After the election, she was elected Vice-Chair of theEuropean Research Group, replacingSteve Baker, who became the Chair.[33]
In February 2020, Jenkyns defended her decision to provide a character reference for the court case of a Conservative Party activist who made violent threats to Labour MPYvette Cooper and was subsequently jailed for nine weeks. The statement described the activist as a "decent and honest person whose heart is in the right place". Jenkyns said that the activist hadmental health issues and she wanted his emotional and mental well-being to be taken into consideration as part of the judicial process.[34]
On 17 September 2021, Jenkyns was appointed anAssistant Government Whip in the secondcabinet reshuffle of thesecond Johnson ministry.[35]
In September 2021, Jenkyns was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chief Whip, a position she held until July 2022.[36]
In July 2022, Jenkyns was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education.[37] On the way to attending Boris Johnson's resignation speech in Downing Street, Jenkyns was filmed making a"middle finger" gesture at protesters.[38] Jenkyns said she made the gesture after being provoked by a "baying mob", stating she had received "huge amounts of abuse from some of the people who were there over the years". She said she should have shown more composure "but is only human". Her gesture was criticised by teaching representatives and by Conservative MPsMark Spencer andGeorge Freeman.[39] On 12 July 2022, her portfolio was confirmed asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills, Further and Higher Education.
Jenkyns endorsedLiz Truss in theJuly–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[40] She was reappointed a minister by Truss when Truss became prime minister in September 2022,[41] but left her role whenRishi Sunak replaced Truss 49 days later.[42]
Following theNovember 2023 British cabinet reshuffle, Jenkyns submitted a public letter of no confidence in Sunak.[43]
At the 2024 general election, her constituency of Morley and Outwood was abolished. Jenkyns stood instead for the newly created seat ofLeeds South West and Morley, where she came second with 9,258 votes to Labour candidate Mark Sewards, who received 17,681.[44]
On 20 September 2024, Jenkyns posted onX from theReform UK party conference, "I'm a former Tory MP, I'm not defecting. I'm on a press pass and I'm keen to find out what it's all about. Is this the true home of conservatism and why have we lost so many members to the Reform party."[45]
On 28 November 2024, Jenkyns announced at a press conference with Reform leaderNigel Farage that she had left the Conservatives to join the party, and that she would stand as the Reform candidate for the new mayorship ofGreater Lincolnshire.[46][47][48]
During the election campaign, a formal complaint was lodged with theElectoral Commission that Jenkyns did not meet the residence requirement to be a registered voter in Lincolnshire and that she was therefore ineligible to be a candidate. A hearing was due to be held prior to the 1 May election day.[49] On 25 April, the allegations were dismissed.[50]
Jenkyns stood as the Reform UK candidate in the2025 Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election and won with 42% of the vote.[51][52]
Between 2023 and 2025 Jenkyns was an unpaid director ofNet Zero Watch, a campaign group she characterised as "[highlighting] the serious implications of expensive and poorly considered climate change policies on the British Taxpayer".[53][54] She rejects the scientific consensus onclimate change, stating onTimes Radio in July 2025, "Do I believe that climate change exists? No".[55] When challenged that this is contrary to evidence, she responded that it "depends what evidence you look at" and that she thinks it is a "way to actually make money".[56]
In August 2025, Jenkyns was chosen by Nigel Farage to be part of Reform UK's decision-making board.[8]
On 5 September 2025, at the opening of Reform UK's party conference, Jenkyns walked onto the stage singing a self-written song entitled 'Insomniac'.[57]
Jenkins married Conservative MPJack Lopresti, inSt Mary Undercroft in thePalace of Westminster on 22 December 2017,[58] two years after it had been reported that she was in a relationship with him while he was still married to his first wife, Lucy.[59][60] They divorced in 2023.[61]
Jenkyns suffers fromfibromyalgia andglossopharyngeal neuralgia, which cause bouts of debilitating pain.[62] She also hasADHD.[43]
She supports keeping the ban onfox hunting.[21] In 2015, her dogs Lady and Godiva won top prize in the Westminster Dog of the Year show.[63]
Jenkyns is also an amateursoprano singer.[64]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrea Jenkyns | 18,776 | 38.9 | +3.6 | |
| Labour Co-op | Ed Balls | 18,354 | 38.0 | +0.4 | |
| UKIP | David Dews | 7,951 | 16.5 | +13.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Taylor | 1,426 | 3.0 | −13.8 | |
| Green | Martin Hemingway | 1,264 | 2.6 | New | |
| Yorkshire First | Arnie Craven | 479 | 1.0 | New | |
| Majority | 422 | 0.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 48,250 | 63.3 | −2.5 | ||
| Conservativegain fromLabour Co-op | Swing | +1.6 | |||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrea Jenkyns | 26,550 | 50.7 | +11.8 | |
| Labour Co-op | Neil Dawson | 24,446 | 46.7 | +8.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Craig Dobson | 1,361 | 2.6 | −0.4 | |
| Majority | 2,104 | 4.0 | +3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 52,357 | 68.0 | +4.7 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +1.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrea Jenkyns | 29,424 | 56.7 | +6.0 | |
| Labour | Deanne Ferguson | 18,157 | 35.0 | −11.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Craig Dobson | 2,285 | 4.4 | +1.8 | |
| Green | Chris Bell | 1,107 | 2.1 | New | |
| Yorkshire | Dan Woodlock | 957 | 1.8 | New | |
| Majority | 11,267 | 21.7 | +17.7 | ||
| Turnout | 51,930 | 65.9 | −2.1 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +8.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Mark Sewards | 17,681 | 44.0 | +7.2 | |
| Conservative | Andrea Jenkyns | 9,258 | 23.0 | −30.1 | |
| Reform | James Kendall | 8,187 | 20.4 | +18.6 | |
| Green | Chris Bell | 2,522 | 6.3 | +3.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Michael Fox | 1,798 | 4.5 | +1.7 | |
| Yorkshire | Howard Graham Dews | 664 | 1.7 | −0.5 | |
| SDP | Nigel Perry | 99 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,423 | 21.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 40,209 | 56.0 | −5.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,854 | ||||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing |  18.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Andrea Jenkyns | 104,133 | 42.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Rob Waltham | 64,585 | 26.1 | N/A | |
| Labour | Jason Stockwood | 30,384 | 12.3 | N/A | |
| Lincolnshire Independent | Marianne Overton | 19,911 | 8.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Sally Horscroft | 15,040 | 6.1 | 'N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Trevor Young | 13,728 | 5.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 39,548 | 15.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 249,792 | 30.15 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 828,613 | ||||
| Reformwin (new seat) | |||||
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Ilyis[70] |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK Indie | LTU | SWI | |||
| "Insomniac" | 2025 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
Jenkyns was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 9 June 2023 as part of the2022 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours,[71][72] the honours awarded following the September 2022 resignation of Boris Johnson.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMorley and Outwood 2015–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| New office | Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire 2025–present | Incumbent |
