53 Facts About Chris Grayling

Chris Grayling was born in London and studied history at Cambridge University.

Chris Grayling wrote a number of books as well as working for the BBC and Channel 4 before going into politics.

Chris Grayling was the first non-lawyer to have served as Lord Chancellor for at least 440 years.

Chris Grayling was Leader of the House of Commons and the Lord President of the Council from 2015 to 2016.

Chris Grayling stood down from the Cabinet when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019.

Johnson hoped for Chris Grayling to become Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee by being voted in by the Conservative majority on the committee.

Six weeks later, Chris Grayling resigned from the committee apparently due to his failure to become chair.

Chris Grayling stood down at the 2024 general election and was appointed to the House of Lords.

Chris Grayling then went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated with an upper-second class Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1984.

Chris Grayling joined BBC News in 1985 as a trainee, becoming a producer in 1986.

Chris Grayling left the BBC in 1988 to join Channel 4 as an editor on its Business Daily television programme.

Chris Grayling rejoined the BBC in 1991 as a business development manager on BBC Select.

Chris Grayling ran several television production companies from late 1993, including managing the corporate communications division of Workhouse Ltd from 1992 to 1995 and SSVC Group in Gerrards Cross from 1995 to 1997.

Chris Grayling became a public relations consultant in 1997 with Burson Marsteller, where he remained until his election to Parliament.

Chris Grayling was selected to contest the Labour-held marginal seat of Warrington South at the 1997 general election, but was defeated by Labour candidate Helen Southworth by 10,807 votes.

Chris Grayling was elected as a councillor for the Hillside ward in the London Borough of Merton in 1998 and remained on the council until 2002.

Chris Grayling was elected to the House of Commons to represent the Surrey seat of Epsom and Ewell at the 2001 general election following the retirement of the veteran Tory MP Archie Hamilton.

Chris Grayling held the seat with a majority of 10,080 and has been returned as MP there since.

Chris Grayling made his maiden speech on 25 June 2001.

In 2019, Chris Grayling announced that Stoneleigh train station was to be given step-free access.

Chris Grayling served on the Environment, Transport and the Regions Select committee from 2001 until he was promoted to the Opposition Whips' Office by Iain Duncan Smith in 2002, moving to become a Spokesman for Health later in the year.

Chris Grayling became a Spokesman for Education and Skills by Michael Howard in 2003.

Chris Grayling became known as a national politician through his "attack dog" pressure on leading Labour politicians.

Chris Grayling was heavily involved in the questioning of David Blunkett, the then Work and Pensions Secretary, over his business affairs, which led to Blunkett's resignation in 2005.

Chris Grayling challenged Tony Blair and his wife Cherie over the money they made from lectures while Blair was Prime Minister.

Chris Grayling challenged minister Stephen Byers over his handling of the Railtrack collapse.

Between 2001 and 2009, Chris Grayling claimed expenses for his flat in Pimlico, close to the Houses of Parliament, despite having a constituency home no further than 17 miles away.

Chris Grayling's comments received an angry response from some Manchester locals and criticism from the police.

Chris Grayling came under criticism as Shadow Home Secretary over the Conservative Party's use of statistics on violent crime.

The chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir Michael Scholar, said that the figures Chris Grayling was using were "likely to mislead the public" and "likely to damage public trust in official statistics" as the way in which crime was calculated had been changed in 2002.

In March 2010, Grayling was recorded at an open meeting of the Centre for Policy Studies think tank saying that during the debates on civil liberties under the Labour Government, he had felt that Christians should have the right to live by their consciences and that Christian owners of bed and breakfasts should have the right to turn away gay couples.

On 13 May 2010, Chris Grayling was appointed Minister of State for Employment and was sworn into the Privy Council on 28 May As minister at DWP he was responsible for jobcentres.

Chris Grayling announced work programmes for prisoners, encouraged an end to the "something for nothing culture".

Chris Grayling was promoted to the Cabinet on 4 September 2012, as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.

Chris Grayling was the first non-lawyer to have served as Lord Chancellor for at least 440 years.

Chris Grayling's appointment was widely seen as a return to a more hard line approach than that of his predecessor, Clarke.

Chris Grayling pursued a "tough justice" agenda, including ending automatic early release for terrorists and child rapists, ending simple cautions for serious offences, and introducing greater protections for householders who defend themselves against intruders.

Chris Grayling's proposed cuts to legal aid were widely criticised by the legal profession.

In October 2014, Chris Grayling unveiled the Conservative Party's proposals for reforms to human rights in order to curb the European Court of Human Rights' influence over British court rulings, whilst honouring the text of the original Convention on Human Rights in a British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.

Chris Grayling led Theresa May's campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party, and thus as successor to David Cameron as Prime Minister, following Cameron's resignation in June 2016.

Chris Grayling was appointed as Secretary of State for Transport when Theresa May became Prime Minister in July 2016.

In December 2016, Chris Grayling blocked a move by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to give control of the metro services run by Southeastern to Transport for London.

The leak led to Chris Grayling being accused of putting his party's political interests over those of the public and commuters, as well as members of his own party calling for his resignation.

In January 2018, Chris Grayling was criticised by railway passengers and by Transport Select Committee members for his decision.

In March 2018, it emerged that National Audit Office records showed Chris Grayling to have made the decision several months earlier in 2017 than previously acknowledged, but had suppressed the decision during the 2017 United Kingdom general election and for the remainder of the parliamentary session.

On 13 February 2019, Chris Grayling's department said that, following the collapse of the Seaborne Freight contract, it had "run out of time" to secure the substantial additional cross-channel transport capacity that could be needed in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Chris Grayling travelled on the first Class 800 train, operated by Great Western Railway.

Chris Grayling declined to travel on the first Class 800 to run on the East Coast Main Line.

Boris Johnson reportedly hoped for Chris Grayling to be voted in as Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee by the narrow Conservative majority sitting on the committee.

In October 2023, Chris Grayling announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would therefore not seek re-election at the 2024 general election.

Chris Grayling said: "Earlier this year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and although the treatment has been successful, it has prompted me to think that after 22 years it is time for a change".

Chris Grayling was created Baron Grayling, of Ashtead in the County of Surrey, on 20 August 2024.

Chris Grayling is married to Susan Dillistone and they have two children.