Bernard Jenkin, English businessman and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin (born 9 April 1959) is a British Conservative politician serving as Chairman of the Liaison Committee and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich and North Essex since 2010. He was first elected to represent Colchester North in the 1992 general election, and went on to represent North Essex before the current Harwich and North Essex constituency was created.He was elected Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee in May 2010. He was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, and had responsibility for candidates until 7 November 2006 when this role was given to John Maples. Jenkin's Deputy chairman role came to an end when, during a cabinet reshuffle, he was offered another frontbench position, which he declined, reportedly saying to David Cameron that only a return to the shadow cabinet would interest him.He is a long-standing critic of the European Union, believing that the European Union undermines the United Kingdom's national sovereignty, and he was one of the Maastricht Rebels during the premiership of John Major. In the 2016 EU Referendum, he supported Brexit and since 2017 has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.He is in favour of marriage equality and was nominated for a Stonewall award in 2013. The environment is one of his main policy concerns: The Climate Coalition awarded him the Green Heart Hero Award for his eco-friendly lifestyle choices. In 2018, he was awarded with a knighthood honouring his political and public service.