Chris Grayling

Christopher Stephen Grayling, Baron Grayling, (born 1 April 1962), is a British politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015, Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Ewell from 2001 to 2024. Before entering politics, Grayling worked in the television and film industry.

Grayling was born in London and studied history at Cambridge University. He wrote a number of books as well as working for the BBC and Channel 4 before going into politics. A member of the Social Democratic Party until 1988, he then joined the Conservatives. First elected to Parliament in the 2001 general election for Epsom and Ewell, he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron in 2005 as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. In 2007, he became the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and in 2009 he was appointed Shadow Home Secretary.

Following the 2010 general election and the formation of the Cameron–Clegg coalition, Grayling was made Minister of State for Employment. In September 2012, he was appointed to the Cabinet as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and served until 2015. He was the first non-lawyer to have served as Lord Chancellor for at least 440 years. He was Leader of the House of Commons and the Lord President of the Council from 2015 to 2016. In the majority and minority May governments, Grayling served as Secretary of State for Transport.

Grayling stood down from the Cabinet when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019. Johnson hoped for Grayling to become Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee by being voted in by the Conservative majority on the committee. However, fellow Conservative Julian Lewis defeated Grayling in the ballot by using opposition votes to secure a majority, in what was seen as a blow to Johnson and his adviser Dominic Cummings. Six weeks later, Grayling resigned from the committee apparently due to his failure to become chair. He stood down at the 2024 general election and was appointed to the House of Lords. Provided by Wikipedia