A strong local champion with a national voice
Steve Barclay has been the MP for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010, working as a strong voice both locally and nationally. This has helped change Fenland from being the Forgotten Fens of the past and delivered over £100 million in recent investment.
His key priorities are continuing to make it easier to access NHS services locally, upgrading infrastructure, delivering better local schools and skills, providing improved sports and arts facilities, protecting our rural landscape and backing local farmers.
Life before politics
Steve had a career outside politics before entering Parliament. He worked as an insurance company lawyer for AXA Insurance, as a regulator for the Financial Services Authority, and specialised in financial crime prevention as Director of Regulatory Affairs and then Head of Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions at Barclays Retail Bank. Steve grew up in Lancashire, read history at Peterhouse, Cambridge and undertook a short service limited commission in the army before qualifying as a solicitor.
A Conservative record of action in Government
Steve served as a government minister for over nine years, six of which in the Cabinet. From dealing with essential public services to high-stakes international issues he has been at the heart of some of the most consequential decisions of the last decade. As one journalist put it: “When the going gets tough, UK prime ministers send for Steve Barclay”.
After working as a government whip and in junior Treasury and Health and Social Care roles, he entered the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. As Brexit Secretary he represented the UK on the world stage, delivered the legislation that ended the control of EU law in the UK, and successfully oversaw Britain’s exit from the European Union.
He was then put in charge of public expenditure as Chief Secretary to the Treasury at one of the most challenging times during the Covid-19 pandemic. With little precedent he was one of the four ministers to work with the vaccine taskforce, ensuring that it had the funding it needed for its eventual success.
After this, he was given a cross-government brief leading the Cabinet Office as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Boris Johnson decided to make Steve the Downing Street Chief of Staff alongside his ministerial role. Holding this key position in No10 during the invasion of Ukraine, he played a vital role in shaping Britain’s response to Russia, and ensuring our steadfast support for Ukraine.
As Secretary of State for Health and Social Care he promoted the use of the latest technology, in particular massively scaling up the use of the NHS App to provide access to NHS services like appointments and test results, and rolling out AI such as in radiography. And he successfully fought bureaucracy to make sure taxpayers money was spent on the frontline by reducing the number of civil servants by one in six and halving the number of departmental offices whilst recruiting more clinical staff, and opening new diagnostic centres to provide local tests and scans and surgical hubs to increase productivity in operating theatres.
Finally, as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs he took a distinctly pro-farmer approach, recognising their essential role in protecting Britain’s food security, landscape, and environment. He increased payment rates, gave farmers more choice in how they access funding, and increased support for those hit by flooding. He also pushed forward improvements to nature, including making use of post-Brexit freedoms to protect iconic British species, such as seabirds by stopping foreign vessels sandeel fishing in our waters.
Core conservative values
What unites Steve’s approach in all of these roles are his core conservative values.
He believes that extending freedom and choice should be guiding principles in making policy, as individuals and families are usually better placed to decide than top down solutions from Whitehall. He is a strong advocate for a smaller state and lower-taxes wherever possible, and of defending our shared British heritage. Steve understands that we need to be a country where enterprise is encouraged and family businesses valued, all underpinned by a free-market economy as the most effective way to increase living standards. He strongly supports robust borders and a strong defence to keep our people safe from threats at home and abroad.
