John Randall, Baron Randall of Uxbridge

The Right Honourable
The Lord Randall of Uxbridge
PC
Official portrait, 2020
Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Treasurer of the Household
In office
11 May 2010 – 6 October 2013
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byTommy McAvoy
Succeeded byGreg Hands
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 June 2018
Life peerage
Member of Parliament
for Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Uxbridge (1997–2010)
In office
31 July 1997 – 30 March 2015
Preceded bySir Michael Shersby
Succeeded byBoris Johnson
Personal details
Born (1955-08-05) 5 August 1955 (age 69)
Uxbridge, Middlesex, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseKate
Children3
Alma materUniversity College London
ProfessionBusinessman
WebsiteOfficial website

Alexander John Randall, Baron Randall of Uxbridge, PC (born 5 August 1955) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge from 1997 to 2010 and for Uxbridge and South Ruislip until 2015, before being awarded a life peerage in 2018. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Government Deputy Chief Whip from May 2010 and October 2013, as well as Environment Adviser to Theresa May from 2017 to 2019.

Lord Randall is a trustee and Vice-Chair of the Human Trafficking Foundation and in February 2016 was appointed Special Envoy on modern slavery to the Mayor of London, alongside Anthony Steen.[1]

Early life

Randall's of Uxbridge

Randall's family have lived in Uxbridge for many years. The family owned the major local department store Randalls of Uxbridge on Vine Street, which was founded by his great-grandfather Philip Randall in 1891, and closed in 2015.[2]

Born in Uxbridge, Randall was educated at Rutland House School, an independent school in Hillingdon in the west of Greater London and at Merchant Taylors' School in Moor Park, Hertfordshire. In 1979, he graduated from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (which is now part of University College London) with an Upper Second Class Honours BA degree in Serbo-Croatian language and literature.[3][4]

Randall later became managing director of Randall's and one of three shareholders in the business. In 1994, he became Honorary Treasurer of Uxbridge Conservative Association, which later elected him Chairman.

He announced in 2014 that the family store would close, citing decreased turnover and competition from online shopping as causes. Speaking about the closure, he criticised other employers for using zero-hours contracts to cut their costs.[5]

Parliamentary career

House of Commons

Randall was elected Member of Parliament for Uxbridge in a by-election following the death of Sir Michael Shersby in the wake of the Labour Party's 1997 landslide election victory. Randall had been an election agent for Shersby throughout the 1997 General Election campaign. He became the first Conservative candidate to win a parliamentary by-election since the party's recently elected leader William Hague's victory in Richmond in 1989.

During his political career he has sat on the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee and its Environment Sub-Committee. He is strongly against the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

In 1999 he was appointed as an Opposition Whip, but, due to his opposition to Britain's involvement in the Iraq War, he resigned as a matter of conscience in March 2003.[6] He was later reappointed as a Whip in 2003. At the end of 2005 he was promoted to Conservative Assistant Chief Whip. In 2010 he was appointed the joint Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of Her Majesty's Household in the Coalition Government.

He was appointed as a Privy Counsellor on 9 June 2010.[7]

He resigned from the government with praise to David Cameron on 6 October 2013, amid a cabinet reshuffle.[8] On 21 October 2013 it was announced that he was to receive a knighthood,[9] having the accolade bestowed by The Prince of Wales on 12 February 2014.[10] On 10 July 2014, Randall announced that he would not be standing as a parliamentary candidate for the seat at the 2015 general election.[11]

House of Lords

On 18 May 2018, it was announced he would be elevated to the House of Lords.[12] On 25 June, he was created a life peer as Baron Randall of Uxbridge, of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon.[13]

Outside Parliament

In February 2016 he was appointed Special Envoy on Modern Slavery to the Mayor of London, alongside Anthony Steen CBE.[1] He is President of the Colne Valley Regional Park.

Personal life

Lord Randall married Katherine Frances Gray in 1986; the couple have two sons and a daughter. Randall is a keen supporter of Uxbridge Football Club and Saracens Rugby Club.

References

  1. ^ a b "Mayor appoints special envoys in fight against human trafficking | London City Hall". www.london.gov.uk. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  2. ^ Hayes, Alan (11 December 2014). "End of an era as Randall's of Uxbridge closes". Get West London. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  3. ^ Robert Waller; Byron Criddle (2002). The Almanac of British Politics. Psychology Press. p. 817. ISBN 978-0-415-26833-2.
  4. ^ Prince, Rosa (16 January 2015). "Why I'm standing down from Parliament: Sir John Randall, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. ^ Mason, Rowena (30 January 2015). "Politician warns of 'brutal' retail working conditions as he shuts family shop". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Tory whip quits over Iraq concerns". BBC News. 10 March 2003. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Privy Council Orders for 9 June 2010". Privy Council Office. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Two Tories quit government posts". 6 October 2013 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Knighthoods conferred: Greg Knight MP and John Randall MP".
  10. ^ "No. 60966". The London Gazette. 20 August 2014. p. 16222.
  11. ^ "Sir John Randall to step down as Uxbridge MP – speculation grows over Boris Johnson as successor". Hillingdon and Uxbridge Times. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  12. ^ Sabbagh, Dan (18 May 2018). "May names nine new Tory peers to bolster party after Brexit defeats". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  13. ^ "No. 62339". The London Gazette. 29 June 2018. p. 11572.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Uxbridge
1997–2015 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of the Household
2010–2013 		Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Randall of Uxbridge 		Followed by