Stephen Parkinson

Stephen Parkinson

This article is part of the Revolving Door project of Spinwatch.

Stephen Parkinson was appointed as a political secretary to British prime minister Theresa May in July 2016.

Parkinson was previously a special adviser to May when she was home secretary and minister for women and equality , for which Parkinson was paid a £69,200 salary. He left this role in December 2015 to work as a strategic and media adviser to the 'Vote Leave' campaign.

He is a former lobbyist for Quiller Consultants. He previously worked at Conservative Central Office and on the team briefing Prime Minister David Cameron on media and political appearances.

Parkinson is well thought of for 'combining policy experience with political nous'. He is an experienced campaigner who is widely regarded as having helped to deliver the victorious No vote in the AV referendum. The referendum wanted to change the way MPs are elected but Parkinson, amongst others, campaigned hard in favour of a 'no' vote.

Removed from prospective parliamentary candidates' list

The Daily Mail reported that Parkinson had applied to run in the May 2015 election as a prospective parliamentary candidate, but had his name, unbeknown to him, removed from the candidate list. The Public Administration Committee reported on the incident, concluding that it is unacceptable for ministers or civil servants to be “complicit” in the matter, and that the special advisers in question should not have been refused the ruling they asked for.

Following the incident, the Conservative Party apologised to Parkinson for not reinstating him on to the list.

Career

This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch.

In May 2012 David Cameron was reportedly looking at leading members of PR companies and think tanks to join the UK Conservative Party in an attempt to freshen up its image. Parkinson was rumoured to be one of these figures. By October 2012, he had been appointed a special adviser to minister Theresa May.

From Parkinson's previous biography on Quiller's website:

Stephen Parkinson brings a breadth of experience in campaigning, policy-making and research, having worked at a senior level for the Conservative Party and on cross-party campaigns.

Before joining Quiller, he was National Organiser of the victorious cross-party NO to AV campaign for the referendum in May 2011. As well as overseeing the campaign’s research, he was one of its principal spokesmen, appearing on the BBC, Sky News, the Daily Politics and the Today programme.

Previously, Stephen had been at Conservative Central Office, where he worked at the heart of the party’s target seats campaign for the 2010 general election, which helped to deliver the party’s largest number of gains in any election since 1931. Before this, he had been Director of Research at the Centre for Policy Studies, the free market think-thank.

Stephen first worked in the Conservative Research Department, covering the home affairs desk during the 2005 general election, then moving to the Political Section, where he was responsible for briefing Shadow Ministers ahead of high-profile media appearances such as the BBC’s Question Time and Any Questions. He was also part of the small team which briefed David Cameron as leader of the opposition for Prime Minister’s Questions.

Originally from Tyneside, he was the Conservative candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne North at the 2010 general election.

Education

Parkinson holds a Masters degree in History from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was elected President of the Cambridge Union (his first book, a history of the famous debating society, was published in 2009).