MP for Eastleigh in Hampshire Paul Holmes has resigned from the Government in the wake of the Sue Gray report.
Up until this morning, he was the parliamentary private secretary to Priti Patel.
He released a statement in which he cited the “disappointing and unacceptable” treatment of staff and cleaners during the Downing Street parties as one of the key reasons he has felt the need to resign.
Who is Paul Holmes?
Born in 1988, Holmes is originally from a council estate in Lewisham. He went onto study politics at the University of Southampton.
His first big break in politics came in 2008 when he was elected to the Southampton City Council, where he served as the cabinet member for children’s services and learning but stood down at the 2012 council election.
He went onto work as a parliamentary researcher for Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond from 2011 to 2015 before working as an accounts manager for a year.
He was elected as the MP for Eastleigh in 2019 with a sizeable majority of 15 607.
What kind of work has he done?
Holmes was a supporter of Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
He sat on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee up until January 2021.
He is also a part of the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments which scrutinises various pieces of legislation put forward in the House of Commons.
What did his statement say?
Holmes’ statement read: “Revelations from the Sue Gray report that staff and cleaners were not treated properly is both disappointing and unacceptable, it is right that the Prime Minister apologised to staff.
“It is clear to me that a deep mistrust in both the Government and the Conservative Party has been created by these events, something that pains me personally as someone who always tries to represent Eastleigh and its people with integrity.”
He went onto talk about the “toxic culture” which exists in Number 10 and how the “distress” caused by the last few weeks led him to reconsider his position.
