34 Facts About Ed Vaizey

Ed Vaizey was born in June 1968 in St Pancras, London.

Ed Vaizey is the son of the late John Vaizey, a Labour life peer, and the art historian Marina Vaizey.

Ed Vaizey was educated at St Paul's School, London before reading history at Merton College, Oxford.

Ed Vaizey practised as a barrister for several years, in family law and child care.

Ed Vaizey first stood for Parliament at the 1997 general election, when he was the Conservative Party candidate for Bristol East.

Ed Vaizey unsuccessfully stood at the 2002 local elections for the safe Labour ward of Harrow Road in the City of Westminster.

Ed Vaizey is regarded as a moderniser within the Conservative Party, contributing in both policy and image terms.

Ed Vaizey was a speechwriter for Michael Howard, the then Leader of the Conservative Party, until December 2004, and editor of the Blue Books series which looked into new approaches to Conservative policy in areas such as health and transport.

In 2002, Ed Vaizey was selected by Wantage Conservative Association to be its candidate for the 2005 general election to succeed the sitting MP, Robert Jackson, who subsequently crossed the floor to Labour.

Ed Vaizey won a two-thirds majority in the final ballot of members and was elected as MP in that election, receiving 22,394 votes.

When first elected to the House of Commons, Ed Vaizey became a member of the Standing Committee on the Consumer Credit Bill.

In November 2006, Ed Vaizey was appointed to the Conservative frontbench as a Shadow Minister for Culture, overseeing Arts and Broadcasting policy.

In 2009, Ed Vaizey was reported to have claimed expenses for high-end furniture initially delivered to his London home, but intended for his constituency residence in Wantage.

Ed Vaizey later repaid the costs, acknowledging that some items were of higher quality than necessary, and stated he had not made similar claims before or since.

Ed Vaizey was one of the group of 21 MPs who had the Conservative Whip removed in September 2019, sitting as an independent politician until having the whip restored on 29 October 2019.

On 6 November 2019 Ed Vaizey announced his decision not to stand for re-election in the 2019 general election.

In 2010, Ed Vaizey was appointed as Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries with responsibilities in the Departments for Culture, Media and Sport and for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Ed Vaizey was the longest serving Minister of Culture since the post was created in 1964, serving a total of 2,255 days, exceeding the total set by the first incumbent, Jennie Lee, by 186 days.

Ed Vaizey supported continued membership of the European Union in the 2016 referendum and is supportive of the European Atomic Energy Community.

Ed Vaizey held responsibility for the creative industries and ensured the continuance of the film tax credits, as well as the introduction of tax credits for video games, television and visual effects.

Ed Vaizey was dismissed as a minister by Theresa May on 14 July 2016, and returned to the backbenches.

Ed Vaizey was appointed a member of the Privy Council in July 2016.

Ed Vaizey has been a regular commentator for the Conservative Party in the broadcast and news media.

Ed Vaizey wrote regular comment pieces for The Guardian between 1998 and 2005 and has contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Times and The Daily Telegraph.

Ed Vaizey is a regular broadcaster, having appeared on Fi Glover's and Edwina Currie's shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, as a regular panelist on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff, BBC Radio 4's Despatch Box and Westminster Hour, and occasionally presented People and Politics on the BBC World Service.

Ed Vaizey is a regular contributor on ITV's Good Morning Britain, and since December 2022, Ed Vaizey has been a regular presenter on Times Radio.

On 24 September 2010, Ed Vaizey was named tenth in the 2010 Guardian Film Power 100 list.

Ed Vaizey played a cameo role as an Oxfordshire MP in the 2012 film Tortoise in Love.

Subsequent to leaving office as Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey became a trustee of the National Youth Theatre and the international charity BritDoc, which supports long-form documentary making, both of which roles are unpaid.

Ed Vaizey is a trustee of London Music Masters, a charity which provides children from disadvantaged backgrounds access to a high quality music education.

Ed Vaizey was appointed the unpaid chairman of Creative Fuse NE, a programme overseen by five universities in North East England to look at the importance of fusing creativity and technology.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments approved his application to work for the investment bank, which specialises in media and technology mergers and acquisitions, despite Ed Vaizey's having met the firm on "official business" three times in his final months as minister.

Ed Vaizey is a past president of the Old Pauline Club, the alumni association of St Paul's School which he attended as a pupil.

Ed Vaizey married Alexandra Mary-Jane Holland on the 17 September 2005 in the chapel of the House of Commons.