1. Mike Freer was first elected as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Finchley and Golders Green at the 2010 general election, and stood down in 2024.
22 Facts About Mike Freer
1. 2.
Mike Freer is a former leader of Barnet Council and a former councillor for the St Paul's and Finchley Church End wards.
3.
Michael Whitney Mike Freer was born in Manchester on 29 May 1960.
4.
Mike Freer read accountancy and business law at the University of Stirling but did not graduate with a degree.
5.
Mike Freer worked for a number of fast-food chains, including Pizzaland, Pizza Hut and KFC, prior to a management career in the financial sector.
6.
Mike Freer worked for Barclays Bank as an "Area Performance Manager".
7.
Mike Freer was first elected to Barnet Council in 1990 as a Conservative for the St Paul's ward, winning the seat from Labour.
8.
Mike Freer was re-elected to the council, for the Finchley Church End ward, in 2002.
9.
Mike Freer was unanimously elected leader of the council by his party on 11 May 2006, replacing Brian Salinger as Conservative group leader, having previously been Salinger's deputy.
10.
Mike Freer was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport following the 2015 general election, and served in this post until the 2017 general election.
11.
On 15 June 2017, Mike Freer was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip.
12.
On 16 September 2021, Mike Freer was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports at the Department for International Trade during the cabinet reshuffle.
13.
Mike Freer resigned on 6 July 2022 in protest over Boris Johnson's leadership.
14.
Mike Freer is a member of Conservative Friends of Israel.
15.
In 2014, Mike Freer resigned as parliamentary private secretary to Nick Boles in order to vote against a backbench motion recognising Palestine as a state alongside Israel, arguing "the two-state solution we all want to see should be the end not the start of the process".
16.
Mike Freer was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.
17.
Mike Freer was a vocal defender of the Prime Minister Theresa May after she and the Conservative Party received criticism for her role in the Windrush scandal in 2018.
18.
In October 2011, Mike Freer was the target of "a disturbance" at a constituency surgery in a mosque in his constituency of Finchley by members of Muslims Against Crusades.
19.
In October 2019, Mike Freer hosted a crocus planting ceremony in memory of the 1.5 million children who were murdered in the Holocaust, which was attended by around 100 members of the local community.
20.
Chair of the local constituency Labour Party Matt Staples subsequently claimed that Mike Freer had "politicised" the event by not inviting "representatives from across the political spectrum".
21.
Mike Freer is gay, which he revealed to fellow MPs during a speech in the debates over the Marriage Act 2013.
22.
Mike Freer entered into a civil partnership in January 2007.