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Theo Clarke

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Theodora Roosevelt Clarke[1] (born 4 August 1985)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stafford from 2019 to 2024. Prior to her political career, she worked in the arts industry and founded the campaign group Coalition for Global Prosperity.

Theo Clarke
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Stafford
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJeremy Lefroy
Succeeded byLeigh Ingham
Personal details
Born
Theodora Roosevelt Clarke

(1985-08-04) 4 August 1985 (age 39)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Henry Coram-James
​
(m. 2021)​
Children1
Parent
Relatives
EducationDowne House School
Alma materNewcastle University
Courtauld Institute of Art

Early life and career

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Clarke grew up in the village of Bibury in Gloucestershire.[3][4] She is the daughter of Sir Charles Mansfield Tobias Clarke, 6th Baronet and his second wife Teresa de Chair, a daughter of Somerset de Chair. Her younger brother is former athlete Sir Lawrence Clarke, 7th Baronet.[4][5] Clarke also has a younger sister, Augusta.[4] She is the niece of the wife of the former Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg.[6][7] Clarke is a distant relative of US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.[5][8]

She was privately educated at Downe House School in Newbury, Berkshire.[9] She studied art history at Newcastle University[8] and the Courtauld Institute of Art, specialising in Russian Art. Clarke worked for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the British auction house Christie's before founding Russian Art and Culture, an online arts magazine in 2011.[10][11] She was also a co-founder of the Association of Women in the Arts,[12] and later founded the Coalition for Global Prosperity.[13][14] As part of her work at the campaign group she volunteered in Sierra Leone in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak.[15]

In February 2023, Channel 4's Dispatches reported Clarke went on an all expenses paid trip to Russia in 2012 as part of the Conservatives Friends of Russia group, organised by the Russian government of Vladimir Putin.[16]

Parliamentary career

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Clarke contested the Bristol East seat at the 2015 and 2017 general elections as the Conservative Party candidate but was unsuccessful.[17] The party selected her as the candidate for Stafford on 26 September 2019.[18] The incumbent Conservative MP Jeremy Lefroy had previously announced that he would be standing down at the next election.[19] She was elected as Stafford's MP in the 2019 general election with a majority of 14,377 (28.1%),[20] the largest in the constituency's history.[15]

Clarke has been a member of the International Development Committee since March 2020 and the Women and Equalities Committee since September 2020.[21]

On 5 October 2020, Clarke was appointed as the Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Kenya. She helped implement the UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement which continued the duty-free access to the UK market for Kenyan businesses after Brexit. The agreement carried forward arrangements agreed by the European Union and the East African Community.[22][23] Clarke resigned this role in July 2022 in protest at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership.[24]

Clarke endorsed Penny Mordaunt during the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[25]

Clarke took maternity leave following the birth of her first child in August 2022.[26][27]

In February 2023, Clarke stated she was unable to be re-selected as Conservative candidate for Stafford, further stating she intended to appeal to local members in an attempt to stay on as candidate.[28]

In March 2023, Clarke was re-adopted as the Conservative candidate for Stafford having won the wider membership vote.[29]

In the 2024 general election, she lost her seat to Leigh Ingham from Labour.[30]

Personal life

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Clarke married Henry Coram-James, son of John Coram-James and The Countess of Harrowby (formerly Caroline Coram-James) and stepson of the Earl of Harrowby,[31] on 14 August 2021 at the Church of St Mary, Bibury.[32] In March 2022, she announced that the couple were expecting their first child.[33] Their daughter was born in August 2022.[34]

In a speech to the House of Commons in October 2023, Clarke revealed she had been rushed into emergency surgery following the birth of her daughter, calling on the government to do more to help women who had been through "birth trauma".[35]

References

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  1. ^ "Members Sworn". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Theo Clarke". Stafford Conservatives. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Lawrence Clarke's Christening". Tatler. 14 December 1990. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Team GB captain Lawrence Clarke's near-death experience inspires him on the track". The Daily Telegraph. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. ^ Perraudin, Frances (14 November 2019). "Unexpected candidates: from Count Binface to Rees-Mogg's niece". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Minister of State (Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  8. ^ a b Daly, Patrick (25 May 2017). "Tory candidate Theo Clarke claims to live 'near Stockwood' - she actually lives on 'Uncle' Jacob Rees Moggs' estate in North East Somerset". Bristol Post. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Our Year". Downe House School Magazine. p. 153. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Theodora Clarke". Russian Art and Culture. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. ^ "About us". Russian Art and Culture. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Founding Members". Association of Women in the Arts. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  13. ^ Clarke, Theo (11 July 2018). "Theo Clarke: Our army and our aid workers are both essential to the UK's security". ConservativeHome. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Our Team". Coalition for Global Prosperity. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  15. ^ a b Madeley, Peter (6 March 2020). "New Stafford MP Theo Clarke: Time for actions, not words". Express & Star. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Strippers, Spies & Russian Money: Dispatches | All 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Bristol East". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Tories select election candidate to replace Jeremy Lefroy in Stafford". Express & Star. 26 September 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy to step down at next general election". BBC News. 14 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Stafford". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Parliamentary career for Theo Clarke". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Trade envoys". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  23. ^ "UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement enters into force". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  24. ^ @theodoraclarke (5 July 2022). "I am very sad to be resigning as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Kenya with immediate effect" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 July 2022 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Madeley, Peter (12 July 2022). "Tory leadership race: Early favourite among region's MPs as nominations deadline looms". Express & Star. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  26. ^ Madeley, Peter (28 December 2022). "Senior politicians back Stafford MP over 'get back to work' abuse after she gave birth". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Tory MP dismayed by abuse received for taking maternity leave". BBC News. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  28. ^ "My statement following tonight's selection meeting in Stafford". Twitter. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  29. ^ "MP readopted as Tory candidate at second attempt". BBC News. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Stafford - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Announcements". The Times. 26 January 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.(subscription required)
  32. ^ "Village Life July/August 2021" (PDF). Bibury Parish Council. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  33. ^ "Stafford MP Theo Clarke announces she is expecting her first child". Express & Star. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Tory MP dismayed by abuse received for taking maternity leave". BBC News. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  35. ^ "MP breaks down as she recalls 'terrifying' traumatic birth". BBC News. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
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