Rory Stewart | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Stewart in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for International Development | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 May 2019 – 24 July 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Theresa May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Penny Mordaunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Alok Sharma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Roderick James Nugent Stewart 1973 (age 51–52) British Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Independent (from 2019) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent |
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| Residence(s) | South Kensington,London, England Dufton,Cumbria, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | rorystewart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  British Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1991–1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank |  Second Lieutenant (on probation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit |  Black Watch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 1973)[1] is a British academic, broadcaster, writer, and former diplomat and politician. He has taught atHarvard University and atYale University, where he is the Brady-Johnson Professor of the Practice of Grand Strategy atYale University'sJackson School of Global Affairs.[2]
Stewart served asMember of Parliament (MP) forPenrith and The Border between2010 and2019, representing theConservative Party. Stewart served in theUK Government asMinister of State forEnvironment (2015–16),International Development (2015–16),Africa (2016–18) andPrisons (2018–19) and then asSecretary of State forInternational Development (2019). In2019, Stewart stood forLeader of the Conservative Party andPrime Minister following the resignation ofTheresa May. Since 2022, Stewart has co-hostedThe Rest Is Politics podcast withAlastair Campbell, the inauguralPrime Minister's Official Spokesperson underTony Blair.
Born inHong Kong, Stewart was educated at theDragon School,Eton College, and theUniversity of Oxford as an undergraduate student ofBalliol College, Oxford. Stewart worked forHer Majesty's Diplomatic Service as a diplomat inIndonesia and as British Representative toMontenegro. He left the diplomatic service to undertake a two-year walk acrossAfghanistan,Iran,Pakistan, India, andNepal. He later wrote a best-selling book,The Places in Between, about his experiences. He subsequently served as Deputy Governor inMaysan andDhi Qar for theCoalition Provisional Authority following the2003 invasion of Iraq and wrote a second book covering this period,Occupational Hazards or The Prince of the Marshes. In 2005, he moved toKabul to establish and run theTurquoise Mountain Foundation. He was the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights and the director of theCarr Center for Human Rights Policy atHarvard University from 2008 to 2010.
In 2010, Stewart was elected to theHouse of Commons and in 2014 was elected chair of theDefence Select Committee. He served underDavid Cameron asMinister for the Environment from 2015 to 2016. He was a minister throughoutTheresa May's government: asMinister of State for International Development,Minister of State for Africa, andMinister of State for Prisons. He ultimately joined the Cabinet andNational Security Council as Secretary of State for International Development.
After May resigned, Stewart stood as a candidate to beLeader of the Conservative Party andPrime Minister of the United Kingdom in the2019 leadership contest. His campaign was defined by his unorthodox use of social media and opposition to ano-deal Brexit. He stated at the beginning of his campaign that he would not serve underBoris Johnson. When Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Stewart resigned from the cabinet.
On 3 September 2019, Stewart had the Conservative Whip removed after voting to back a motion paving the way for a law seeking to delay the UK's exit date from theEuropean Union. On 3 October 2019, Stewart announced he had resigned from the Conservative Party and that he would stand down as an MP at the2019 general election. He initially announced that he would stand as an independent candidate in theLondon mayoral election but withdrew on 6 May 2020 on the grounds of the election being postponed a year to 2021 on account of theCOVID-19 pandemic. In 2023 his book,Politics on the Edge, was published byJonathan Cape.
Stewart was the president ofGiveDirectly from 2022 to 2023 and was a visiting fellow at Yale Jackson from 2020 to 2022, teaching politics and international relations. In March 2022, Stewart andAlastair Campbell launchedThe Rest Is Politics podcast.[3][4]
Stewart was born inHong Kong, thenunder British rule, the son ofBrian Stewart and his wife, Sally Elizabeth Acland Nugent (née Rose).[5] His family is from Broich House (built in 1770), nearCrieff inPerth and Kinross,Scotland.[6] Stewart's father, born inEdinburgh, Scotland, was a colonial official and diplomat who, in the 1970s, was reportedly a candidate to become the Chief of the UK'sSecret Intelligence Service or MI6.[7] Stewart's maternal grandfather wasJewish.[8] His younger sister hasDown syndrome.[9]
Stewart spent his early years inSouth Kensington, London,[10] before his family moved toMalaysia and then back to Hong Kong. He returned to Britain forboarding school from Malaysia at the age of 8, being educated at theDragon School, in Oxford, andEton College.[7] He was taughtmartial arts andfencing by his father inHyde Park.[10] As a teenager, he was a member of theLabour Party.[11][12][13] During hisgap year in 1991, he served a short service limited commission in theBlack Watch for five months assecond lieutenant on probation.[14][15] He was taughtmedieval history byMaurice Keen andphilosophy, politics and economics (PPE) byJonathan Barnes at theUniversity of Oxford as a student ofBalliol College, Oxford.[7] While a student at Oxford, Stewart was a private tutor toPrince William andPrince Harry during the summer.[7] He attended a single meeting of theBullingdon Club[16] before resigning after witnessing the behaviour of other members.[10]
After graduating, Stewart joined theForeign Office.[5][17] In Indonesia, he served as the Political & Economic Second Secretary in theBritish embassy in Jakarta from 1997 to 1999, during theAsian Financial Crisis and thefall of Suharto, working on issues related toEast Timor independence. He was appointed at the age of 26 as the British Representative toMontenegro in the wake of theKosovo campaign.[7]
Some have suggested that Stewart was an employee of theSecret Intelligence Service (MI6) during his time as a British Representative to Montenegro – allegedly being recruited to MI6 shortly after he graduated from theUniversity of Oxford.[7][18] Stewart has said that his career progression and his father's work for MI6 might "give the appearance" that he worked for MI6,[19] but says he did not work for MI6 while a diplomat.[18] Stewart has acknowledged that due to theOfficial Secrets Act, even if he had worked for MI6, he would not be able to admit it.[20] A former aide toSeema Kennedy reported that, as an MP, Stewart climbed out of her fifth-floor window in theNorman Shaw Buildings to enter his locked office next door despite the outside wall being bare; "[t]o this day I have no idea how he managed to do it".[21]
Following the2003 invasion of Iraq, Stewart was appointed as theCoalition Provisional Authority Deputy Governorate Co-ordinator inMaysan and Deputy Governorate Co-ordinator/Senior Advisor inDhi Qar in 2003, both of which are provinces in southernIraq.[7] He was posted initially to the KOSB Battlegroup then to the Light Infantry.[22] His responsibilities included holding elections, resolving tribal disputes, and implementing development projects.[22] He faced growing unrest and an incipientcivil war from his base in aCivil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) compound inAl Amarah, and in May 2004 was in command of his compound inNasiriyah when it was besieged bySadrist Movement militia.[7] He was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services during this period.[23] While Stewart initially supported theIraq War, theinternational coalition's inability to achieve a more humane, prosperous state led him in retrospect to believe the invasion had been a mistake.[24]
In 2000, Stewart took leave from theForeign Office to walk acrossAsia. This journey on foot involved Stewart walking for more than eighteen months, across much ofIran,Pakistan, and the Indian and NepaliHimalayas in 2000 and 2001, finishing with a 36-day solo walk acrossAfghanistan in the early months of 2002. He typically walked 20–25 miles a day, staying in village houses every night. He has also walked across sections ofWestern New Guinea[25] and much of the United Kingdom. Stewart was awarded theRoyal Scottish Geographical Society's Livingstone medal in 2009 "in recognition of his work in Afghanistan and his travel writing, and for his distinguished contribution to geography".[26] His subsequent travel in the United Kingdom, and his writing ongeography, was recognised by theRoyal Geographical Society, which awarded him theNess Award in 2018.[27]
His book describing his walk across Afghanistan,The Places in Between, was aNew York Times bestseller.The Places in Between[28][29] was named byThe New York Times as a "flat-out masterpiece" and listed as one of its 10 notable books of 2006.[7] It won theRoyal Society of LiteratureOndaatje Prize,[30] the Spirit of Scotland award,[31] and the Premio de Literatura de Viaje Caminos del Cid.[31] It was short-listed for aScottish Arts Council prize,[32] theGuardian First Book Award[28] and theJohn Llewellyn Rhys Prize.[28] The book was adapted into a radio play byBenjamin Yeoh broadcast in 2007 onBBC Radio 4.[33]
According toThe Daily Telegraph,Brad Pitt bought the rights to make a film about Stewart in 2008, withOrlando Bloom tipped to play the leading role.[34]
His book about his 1,000-mile walk in the borderlands separating England and Scotland, also known as theScottish Marches (in part with his father) –The Marches: Border Walks With My Father – became aSunday Times top ten bestseller.[35][36]The Marches was long-listed for theOrwell Prize, won the Hunter Davies Lakeland Book of the Year,[37] and was aWaterstones Book of the Month.[38]
He has also written about theory and practice of travel writings in prefaces toWilfred Thesiger'sArabian Sands (edition 2008),[39]Charles Doughty'sArabia Deserta (edition 2013),[40] andRobert Byron'sThe Road to Oxiana.[41]
Stewart's bookThe Prince of the Marshes: and other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq, also published asOccupational Hazards: My Time Governing in Iraq, describes his reflections on the intervention in Iraq, based on his experiences as the Deputy Governorate Co-ordinator.[7] TheNew York Times criticWilliam Grimes commented that for him the "real value of the new book is Mr. Stewart's sobering picture of the difficulties involved in creating a coherent Iraqi state based on the rule of law".[42] The book was the subject of a play at theHampstead Theatre, written byStephen Brown.[43]
Stewart's book oninternational intervention,Can Intervention Work?, co-authored withGerald Knaus, was published byW. W. Norton as part of theAmnesty International Global Ethics Series in 2011.[44] It distilled Stewart's reflections on the lessons of theBalkans,Iraq andAfghanistan for the practice of international intervention.
Stewart has also written longer essays on 1920sIraq,South Sudan andISIS (for theNew York Review of Books),[45] onWest Papua,counterinsurgency theory and early modernAleppo (for theLondon Review of Books),[46] on the politics of the centre ground (for theNew Statesman), and onIran andAfghanistan (forProspect magazine). He has frequently appeared on television and radio, includingBBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs.[47]
In September 2023 his bookPolitics on the Edge was published byJonathan Cape (retitled in the US asHow Not to Be a Politician). A personal account of Stewart's years in politics, starting with his attempts to be selected as aMember of Parliament, it describes his experiences as an MP, as a junior and then a senior minister, and his Conservative leadership bid. It was an instant number oneSunday Times bestseller in the UK.[48]
He was a columnist forThe New York Times,[49][50] and also for his local constituency newspaper, theCumberland and Westmorland Herald, contributing a monthly column up until 2022.[51]
In January 2010, Stewart presented theBBC Two documentary miniseriesThe Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia.[52]
In 2012, he wrote and presented theBBC'sAfghanistan: The Great Game – A Personal View by Rory Stewart, a documentary in two parts telling the story of foreign intervention by Britain, Russia and the United States in Afghanistan from the 19th century to the present day, which aired on BBC Two and won aScottish BAFTA.[53]
In 2014, Stewart wrote and presented a two-part documentary on BBC Two about the cross-border history of what he called "Britain's lost middleland",[54] covering the kingdoms ofNorthumbria andStrathclyde and theDebatable Lands of theScottish Marches on theAnglo-Scottish border.[54] Its full title wasBorder Country: The Story of Britain's Lost Middleland and it investigated the rift created byHadrian's Wall and the issues of identity and culture in a region divided by the fabricated border.[54]
In March 2022, Stewart launched a podcast,The Rest Is Politics, with the formerLabour Party communications directorAlastair Campbell. The pair discuss current political news stories.[55]
Stewart also hosted the BBC Radio 4 PodcastThe Long History Of Argument where he discussed the history of debates.[56]
In late 2005, Stewart set up theTurquoise Mountain Foundation in Afghanistan, a human developmentNGO established byKing Charles III andHamid Karzai.[57] For this role he relocated toKabul for the next three years, working to restore historic buildings in its old city, managing its finances, installing water supply, electricity, and establishing a clinic, a school and an institute for traditional crafts.[7] Stewart stepped down as executive chairman of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in May 2010.[58] Stewart also served for a time on the board of governors of the International Development Research Centre of Canada.[59]
In 2021, Stewart and his family moved toJordan for two years to work for the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, setting up a project to restore a Roman site near theGolan Heights to create employment in the area. During this time, Stewart was also travelling to Yale University for lecture commitments.[9]
In August 2022,GiveDirectly announced that Stewart would be president of the organisation.[60][61]
In July 2008, Stewart was appointed to the faculty of theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government as Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights atHarvard University and director of theCarr Center for Human Rights Policy,[7] having previously been a fellow at the Carr Center from 2004 to 2005.[7] He left his position to campaign for Parliament.[62] He returned to academia as a senior fellow atYale University'sJackson Institute in 2020.[63]
Stewart has frequently been called on to provide advice on Afghanistan and Iraq to policy-makers, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.[7] In an article inThe Daily Telegraph, he was described as an advisor on Afghan issues toU.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, and theU.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan and PakistanRichard Holbrooke.[64] In 2009, he appeared before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, arguing that Obama's strategy on Afghanistan was "trying to do the impossible". He suggested, in an argument that he would later expand in hisTed Talk, that a heavy American military footprint would be counterproductive, alienating Afghans, and that it would be better to reduce the size of the American military in Afghanistan. This smaller force, he suggested, would be able to handleal-Qaeda while helping achieve the West's long-term objectives in the country.[65] His ideas were rejected by senators, including futureSecretary of StateJohn Kerry.[65] He also briefedGordon Brown andDavid Miliband.[66]
In September 2020, he became a fellow at Yale University'sJackson Institute for Global Affairs, teaching politics, grand strategy and international relations toundergraduate andgraduate students.[67][68]
In January 2024 he became the inaugural Brady Johnson professor of the practice of Grand Strategy at Yale University'sYale Jackson School of Global Affairs[69]
On 7 February 2024,The Daily Telegraph reported that Stewart had emerged as a possible candidate in the2024 University of Oxford Chancellor election.[70]
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Stewart had considered a parliamentary career in the past but only decided to stand when, in the aftermath of theUnited Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, David Cameron decided to "reopen theConservative candidates' list to anybody who wants to apply". Stewart has said that his experience in Afghanistan made him a "Burkean conservative".[71] Having never voted for the Conservatives before (though, against his will, his parents cast hisproxy vote for them in the2001 United Kingdom general election when he was abroad),[72] he joined the party in summer 2009.[73] Stewart tried for selection for theBracknell constituency in the2010 general election,[74] but the place went toPhillip Lee.[75] Stewart was then shortlisted for thePenrith and The Border constituency and, at an opencaucus, selected as the candidate on 25 October 2009.[76] He was returned as the MP for the constituency on 6 May 2010.[77] At the2015 general election, Stewart almost doubled his majority in Penrith and The Border from 11,241 to 19,894, the highest majority since the seat was created.[78] At the2017 general election, he received 60.4% of the vote and saw his majority cut to 15,910.[79][80]
In July 2010, Stewart apologised after blogging about his constituents usingtwine to hold their trousers up.[81] He was quoted in theScottish Sun as saying that "some areas around here are pretty primitive, people holding up their trousers with bits of twine".[81] He later said that he was making the point that Cumbria's beauty hides its "pockets of poverty".[82] A light-heartedGuardian article, "In praise of ... binder twine", whilst acknowledging the "serious effort" Stewart had made by "walking hundreds of miles" to get to know his constituency, concluded that he had simply underestimated the importance of the "ubiquitous and indispensable" twine to the rural community.[83]
Stewart was successful in securing theCumbrian broadband pilot in 2011,[84] and in November 2013, broadband providerEE cited the support of government and regulatory policy in announcing that over 2,000 residents and businesses in rural Cumbria were to have access to superfast home and office broadband for the first time.[85] In February 2015, Stewart secured more funding to continue the broadband roll-out inCumbria.[86] He was also part of the successful campaigns against the closure of thePenrith cinema[87] and fire station,[88] and helped to secure agreement and funding for disabled access at Penrith Station,[89] and the dualling of theA66 road,[90] and for flood defence funding for Cumbria.[91]
Upon joining theHouse of Commons, Stewart was elected a member of theForeign Affairs Select Committee, serving until 2014. During his tenure on the committee, he was also chair of the trans-Atlantic groupLe Cercle but did not declare his membership.[92] Stewart also served as the chair of theAPPG forMountain Rescue[93][94] and theAPPG for Local Democracy,[95][96] and was an officer of the APPG for Rural Services.[97] He was elected chair of theDefence Select Committee in May 2014. He left these positions on his appointment as environment minister.
His speech abouthedgehogs in Parliament in 2015 was named byThe Times andThe Daily Telegraph as the best parliamentary speech of 2015 and described by the deputy speaker as "one of the best speeches [she] had ever heard in Parliament".[98][99][100]
Stewart led the first backbench motion for expandingbroadband andmobile coverage, securing what was then the largest number of cross-party endorsements for a backbench motion.[101] In a report published in 2011, Stewart won support from the House of CommonsCulture, Media and Sport Committee in calling for mobile phone companies to be forced to provide coverage to 98% of the population,[102] and in 2012, his campaign achieved its goal when regulatorOfcom announced its plans for the auction of fourth generation (4G) bandwidth for mobile phone services.[103] In March 2018, Ofcom announced that the 98% target had been met.[104]
In January 2014, Stewart was asked byChris Grayling,Secretary of State for Justice, to lead a government review into the reasons why a number of Britishveterans become criminal offenders after returning to civilian life.[105] The review looked at ways in which support and prevention for veterans in the justice system can be improved.[106] Following his election to chairman of the Defence Select Committee, Stewart handed over the lead for the review toStephen Phillips.[107]
In May 2014, Stewart was elected by MPs from all parties as chairman of the Defence Select Committee. He was the youngest chair of a select committee in parliamentary history, as well as the first MP of the 2010 intake to be elected to chair a committee.[108][109][110] In this capacity, Stewart argued strongly for a more vigorous response toRussian aggression in Ukraine.[111] The committee also argued that Britain's commitments to Iraq and Syria were "strikingly modest" and that more should be done.[112] Under Stewart's chairmanship, the committee produced a report in favour of the proposals for a Service Complaints Ombudsman and also secured an amendment extending the powers of the ombudsman.[113]
In July 2014, Stewart launchedHands Across The Border, a project to construct acairn called 'The Auld Acquaintance' as "a testament to theUnion".[114] Built by members of the public, it is close to theScotland–England border nearGretna. During the run up to theScottish independence referendum,[115] Stewart said of the project: "We wanted to come up with a lasting marker of our union, something that future generations will look back at and remember, with deep gratitude, the moment we chose to stay together."[116] The campaign received support from several notable public figures in the UK, including actressJoanna Lumley, explorer SirRanulph Fiennes, mountaineersAlan Hinkes andDoug Scott, and historiansSimon Schama andDavid Starkey.[117] Approximately 100,000 stones were laid on the cairn, many with personal messages.
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Following the Conservatives' return with an outright majority at the2015 general election, Stewart was appointedParliamentary Under Secretary of State at theDepartment for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), with responsibilities including the natural environment, national parks, floods and water, resource and environmental management, rural affairs, lead responsibility for theEnvironment Agency,Natural England and theForestry Commission, and acting as the secretary of state's deputy on theEnvironment Council.[118]
In July 2015, in his capacity as resource minister, he announced a review into the regulatory and enforcement barriers to growth and innovation in the waste sector.[119] Stewart as 'floods minister' joined the National Flood Resilience Review, formed in 2016 and chaired by theChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,Oliver Letwin.[120] Stewart initiated the Cumbria Floods Partnership in response toStorm Desmond, with a focus on long-term flood defence.[121] TheHouse of Commons cross-party Environment Audit Committee criticised the statement by Stewart that the extra £700m for flood defence was the result of a "political calculation" and that it might not be spent according to the strict value-for-money criteria currently used.[122]
As environment minister, he introduced the 5 pence a bag plastic bag tax for England from 5 October 2015 (designed tophase out lightweight plastic bags), expected to reduce the use of personal bags take from supermarkets by up to 80%[123] (in fact, usage reduced in England by 85%);[124] and he was responsible for producing the first draft of the 25-year environment plan in which he emphasised, alongsidebiodiversity and ecosystems, the importance of human cultural features in the landscape, and particularly the conservation of small family sheep farms.[125] As minister responsible for the national parks, Stewart secured five years of increased funding fornational parks andAONBs.[126] He also ensured the extension of theLake District andYorkshire Dales National Park and supported theUNESCO World Heritage bid for theLake District.[127]
As floods minister, Stewart oversaw the government's response to the2015–16 Great Britain and Ireland floods, including the post-Storm Desmond floods,[128] including the reopening of theA591 and the bridge atPooley Bridge in theLake District.[129]
AfterTheresa May replacedDavid Cameron asPrime Minister, Stewart was promoted toMinister of State for International Development – the second most senior figure in the department – responsible for the UK development programs in theMiddle East andAsia, and its multilateral programs on 17 July 2016.[130][131] In this role, he travelled widely, meeting in country withSheikh Hasina thePrime Minister of Bangladesh,Prachanda thePrime Minister of Nepal,Ashraf Ghani thePresident of Afghanistan, and Myanmar'sAung San Suu Kyi.[132]
In 2017, Stewart was promoted to a joint position as aminister of State in both theForeign Office and theDepartment for International Development taking over responsibility for the Foreign Office and its embassies in Africa, as well as theDepartment for International Development (DfID) programs in Africa. In this capacity, he visited a number of countries in Africa,[133][134][135] as well as theUnited National General Assembly in New York City (UNGA).[136] During these trips, he held personal meetings withPresident Kagame ofRwanda,[137]President Kabila of theDemocratic Republic of Congo,[138]President Lungu of Zambia,[139]President Magufuli ofTanzania,[140]President Kenyatta ofKenya, andPresident Mnangagwa ofZimbabwe.[141] In this role, Stewart was the driving force behind the British Government's new Africa strategy and pushed for more resources to go into the Foreign Office network in Africa. His most notable trip was to Zimbabwe where he was the first foreign dignitary to be received by President Mnangagwa.[142] His Zimbabwe policy pressed for political reform, and free and fair elections.[143]
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Stewart was appointedMinister of State for Prisons with responsibility for prisons andprobation inEngland andWales in January 2018.[144] He was appointed in the aftermath of a highly critical leaked report on the state ofHMP Liverpool, in which the inspector described it as the "worst prison he had ever seen" with piles of rubbish, rats, soaring violence and drug use and poor health provision.[145] Stewart immediately visited the prison and, testifying before theJustice Select Committee, announced his determination to clean up prisons in England and Wales.[146] This advocacy of a "back to basics" approach was recorded inThe Guardian, with Stewart writing an opinion piece entitled "I strongly believe we can improve our prisons and make progress".[147]
In April 2018, Stewart took theAssaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Private Member's Bill through theHouse of Commons, on behalf of the government, which doubled the maximum sentences for those who attack emergency services personnel and introducedsexual assault as an aggravating factor in sentencing.[148]
In August 2018, during an interview withBBC Breakfast, Stewart announced the launch of the Ten Prisons Project. He argued that, despite five years of continuous rise in violence in prisons, it was possible to turn it around. Stewart argued that it could be done through improving perimeter gate security and by improving training and support of staff. The key, he said, was to get the basics right. He undertook to create a new prison officer handbook and a new course at the training college for prison officers. Stewart pledged, in the same interview, that he would resign if this project was not successful within the next 12 months.[149] The twelve months statistics showed a continuing positive trend when, in August 2019, the results from the Ten Prisons Project were published. These showed a 16% drop in the rate of assaults, and a 17% drop in the number of assaults, almost 10% greater than the national trend. At the same time, the percentage of positive results from random mandatory drug tests dropped by 50%.[150]
In May 2019, Stewart was promoted to the cabinet after the dismissal ofGavin Williamson, replacing the newDefence SecretaryPenny Mordaunt in theDepartment for International Development. The position included full membership of theUK Cabinet, and theNational Security Council. It also saw Stewart serve as a governor of theWorld Bank, theAfrican Development Bank, and theCaribbean Development Bank. He was also an alternative governor to theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development.[151]
Stewart's three priorities asSecretary of State for International Development were to double the UK government's international investment in the environment and in climate change, to radically increase the number of UK development staff on the ground (developing language and area expertise), and to focus on the response toEbola. He was able within a month of taking up the role to enshrine these priorities in his new single departmental plan.[152] He committed in theHouse of Commons 'to double spending onclimate change prevention because the world faced a "climate cataclysm" and double "the effort that the department puts into that issue".[153]
Concerned about the increase in Ebola cases in theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2019,[154] Stewart increased the UK's contribution to theWHO and Ebola programs, led international meetings to mobilise international donor support for Ebola inParis andGeneva, working withUSAID administratorMark Green and flew toGoma,Beni andButembo in Eastern DRC to visit the outbreak sites,[155] and then toKinshasa where he met withPresident Tshisekedi.[citation needed]
Other international visits took Stewart to environmental programs inKenya (from wind turbine projects inLake Turkana in the north to Mangrove Protection inLamu on the east coast), and UK aid funded programmes inJordan (holding meetings with Prime MinisterOmar Razzaz).[156]
Stewart felt that he could not serve under his fellowOld EtonianBoris Johnson, who was elected prime minister after the resignation ofTheresa May, and so resigned from cabinet on 24 July 2019.[10][157]
Stewart was a candidate in the2019 Conservative leadership election, announcing his intention to stand in an interview inThe Times.[158][159] His candidacy was not initially taken seriously, with a piece in theNew Statesman's diary stating that he had a single supporter: himself.[160] AsThe Guardian noted: "his campaign benefited at the start from low expectations, and for days leading up to the first vote his tally of supporters was in single figures. When he met the threshold he looked like the insurgent because so many had assumed he would be knocked out".[161]
Adopting an unconventional campaigning style, Stewart did not focus his attention on Westminster but, instead, went on a series of filmed walkabouts (dubbed 'RoryWalks'), which saw him take to the streets of Britain, talking to voters, to understand their priorities and concerns. These were then uploaded onto social media, with significant success.[162]
On 29 May, Stewart admitted he had smokedopium during awedding in Iran.[163] Several other candidates admitted to previous illegal drug use during the election.[164]
On 1 June,Kenneth Clarke was announced as one of Stewart's MP backers, with other supporters includingDavid Lidington,David Gauke,Nicholas Soames,Tobias Ellwood,Gillian Keegan andVictoria Prentis.[165] Against expectations, on 13 June he made it through the first parliamentary ballot, gaining 19 votes, two more than the elimination threshold.[166] On 16 June, he appeared, as one of the six remaining candidates, in a televised debate onChannel 4.[167] He was widely judged to have won the debate, withMichael Deacon writing inThe Daily Telegraph that "If you were to judge it by the response of the studio audience, Channel 4's debate had only one winner. Rory Stewart got more rounds of applause than any other candidate – and, at the end, when each took turns to sum up, he was the only candidate to get a round of applause at all".[168]
On 18 June 2019, he also made it through the second parliamentary ballot, with 37 votes from a threshold of 33, surpassingHome SecretarySajid Javid by four votes; however, following a lacklustre performance in that evening'sBBC debate, he polled just 27 votes in the next day's ballot and was eliminated as the last-placed candidate.[169][170] It was revealed on the same day that Stewart was in talks withMichael Gove to stopBoris Johnson becoming prime minister.[171] However, inhis podcast with co-hostAlastair Campbell, Stewart claimed that Gove was intentionally wasting his time in order to better position Boris Johnson in the leadership race.[172]
On 3 September 2019, Stewart and 20 other Conservative MPs voted in favour of MPs taking control of the order paper, as the first step to table a bill to stop ano-deal Brexit, in the process rebelling against the Government Whip.[173] It had been widely reported in the media that any such action would lead to a withdrawal of the Conservative whip, and all 21 were told that they had lost it,[174] expelling them as Conservative MPs and requiring them to sit asindependents.[175][176] Stewart stated that he was informed of this decision by text message, while collecting hisGQ Politician of the Year Award.[177]
At aLetters Live event on 3 October, Stewart announced he had resigned from the Conservative Party and would stand down as an MP at thenext general election. He read out a letter in which a housemaster atEton College describedBoris Johnson as being guilty of "a gross failure of responsibility". The next day, Stewart confirmed his resignation onTwitter, saying: "It's been a great privilege to servePenrith and The Border for the last ten years, so it is with sadness that I am announcing that I will be standing down."[178]
In October 2019, Stewart announced that he was to stand as an independent in theupcoming London mayoral election against incumbentLabour mayorSadiq Khan and Conservative candidateShaun Bailey.[179] He planned during his candidacy to walk through each of the 32London boroughs.[10] In November 2019, he appeared onBBC One'sHave I Got News for You.[180] Labelled by the Scottish publication,The National, as a "bizarre campaign trick", in February 2020, as a part of his campaign, he sought invitations from "Londoners to invite him into their homes and let him stay the night".[181] The objective, he tweeted was for them to "show me the city through their eyes. I want to know your concerns and your ideas."[182] By 14 February,The Guardian tweeted, "2,000 Londoners [had taken] up Rory Stewart's offer".[183]
Stewart's use of social media later became the subject of controversy when, at a talk at the Emmanuel Centre, in the course of discussing his use of social media during the contest, he referred to an encounter inBrick Lane with three "sort of minor gangsters". Two of the men were members of an Irish rap group,Hare Squead.[184] This drew accusations ofracism from many politicians, includingDawn Butler,David Lammy andDiane Abbott.[185] Stewart apologised the next day, tweeting "I am very sorry towards the guys and towards everyone else. I was wrong".[186]
Initially scheduled to be held in 2020, the mayoral election was postponed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[187] On 6 May 2020, Stewart ended his mayoralty bid, saying he could not maintain a campaign for another year against the large budgets of theLabour and Conservative campaigns.[188] He stated theCOVID-19 pandemic in London had made it "impossible" to campaign and that he could not ask his unpaid volunteers to continue in their roles for another year.[189]
Stewart has described himself as acentre-right,[190]one-nation conservative and firm ally of former prime minister,Theresa May. He is often aligned with the moderate wing of the Conservative Party and has expressed distaste towards subsequent prime ministers,Boris Johnson andLiz Truss, although was generally supportive ofRishi Sunak's tenure.[191]
As an MP, Stewart expressed his support forfox hunting, and was marked as a "For" voter to keep the traditional sport if it were voted on. He has been seen at hunt meets in his local area.[192] He said, "I'm in favour. It's an important cultural tradition inCumbria going back many hundreds of years, and hunts likeBlencathra andUllswater are a very important part of rural tradition. It's not something I've ever done myself but it's something I think people should have the right to do."[193]
In a 2024 interview with David Remnick of the New Yorker, Stewart described himself as a "passionate monarchist and strong friend of the king."[194]
Before the2024 United States presidential election, despitemost polling suggesting the contest was extremely close, Stewart predicted thatKamala Harris would "win comfortably" againstDonald Trump.[195][196][197] After Trump's victory became apparent, Stewart said he had been "completely wrong" and that he was "guilty of massivewishful thinking".[198][199][200]
Stewart supportedremain in the2016 referendum on the UK's continued membership of the European Union.[201] Following the result of the referendum, he tried to argue for what he called a "sensible, moderate deal"[202] that could act as a compromise between Remain and Leave voters. He argued that although the referendum made it necessary to leave the EU, Britain should seek "to stay very close toEurope diplomatically and politically and economically".[203] He was initially a prominent advocate for theBrexit withdrawal agreement negotiated by the prime ministerTheresa May, arguing that the agreement respects the result of the referendum "by leaving EU political institutions...and by taking back control overimmigration" while also addressing "the concerns of the more than 16 million who voted remain" andprotecting the British economy.[204][205][161]
He then became an advocate for the UK remaining in aCustoms Union with theEuropean Union, and voted with theLabour Party for a Customs Union amendment in theHouse of Commons. He continued to argue, following that defeat, that following the outcome of the referendum "the Customs Union option was the best available – the only way of achieving the substantial separation desired by Brexit voters while remaining close to the EU diplomatically and economically."[206] He proposed, however, following the failure of parliament to reach any positive agreement – that the issue could be passed to acitizens' assembly, chaired by theArchbishop of Canterbury to find a compromise on Brexit.[207]
Although he accepted the result of the Brexit referendum,[208] he remained opposed to the idea of ano-deal Brexit – even as a bargaining position in the negotiation with the EU. He voted against a no-deal Brexit in parliament. He was formally stripped of the Conservative whip, and expelled from the Conservative Party after voting with 21 Conservative colleagues to try to block a no-deal Brexit.[209]
In 2012, Stewart married Shoshana Clark, an American and former employee.[210][211] Their first child, a son, was born in November 2014, whom Stewart delivered in the absence of medical assistance.[212] Their second son was born in April 2017.[213][214][10]
Stewart lives inSouth Kensington,London,[10][215][216] as well asDufton, Cumbria.[217] He is a member of theAthenaeum Club and theSpecial Forces Club.[16] He is said to be proficient in 11 languages, though he claims to be "mediocre" in several of them.[10] From 2021 to 2023, Stewart and his family lived inJordan while he worked on a Turquoise Mountain Foundation project.[9]
In January 2025 Stewart became embroiled in an argument with US vice presidentJD Vance, who accused Stewart of believing he had anIQ of 130 "when it is really 110." Stewart had commented on Twitter describing Vance's political views as a "bizarre take" on the Bible.[218][219]
He had been a member of the Labour Party in his late teens. (A few pounds a year; occasional meetings.)
Churchill has been replaced by Bertie Wooster
"The experience of running this thing in Afghanistan made me a Burkean conservative," Stewart said.
Stewart had never voted Conservative, except against his will; in 2001, when he was walking in India, his parents cast his proxy vote for the Conservatives, to his dismay.
In Penrith and the Border, Rory Stewart is one of those stars who is almost certain of election – an Etonian Harvard professor with an extraordinary life story and lively media career who joined his party only last summer.
This summer, a minor tabloid scandal broke after Stewart was quoted in a paper saying, of his constituency, "Some areas around here are pretty primitive, people holding up their trousers with bits of twine and that sort of thing." (His point, he later said, was that Cumbria's beauty is misleading; there are "hidden pockets of poverty.")
MPs back move to allow bill to block no-deal Brexit by majority of 27
Rory Stewart has said he wants to set up a Citizens' Assembly to thrash out a Brexit compromise, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as mediator.
the decision is made, and we should be energetic and optimistic [about it]
I live in the same house in London that I lived in when I was one.
And finally, the former Conservative, who has had a family home in Kensington all his life, revealed that he has decided who he's voting for on December 12, but wasn't saying any more.
This day Rory Stewart OBE was, by Her Majesty's command, sworn of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council and took his place at the Board accordingly.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPenrith and The Border 2010–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the Defence Select Committee 2014–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for International Development 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Office created | Minister of State for Africa 2017–2018 | |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Prisons 2018–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for International Development 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | British GQ Politician of the Year 2019 | Incumbent |
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* Served as Minister for (Overseas) Development as aminister of state at theForeign Office | ||
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