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Laura Farris

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Laura Farris
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding
In office
13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byEdward Argar (Victims)
Sarah Dines (Safeguarding)
Succeeded byJess Phillips (Safeguarding)
Alex Davies-Jones (Victims)
Member of Parliament
for Newbury
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byRichard Benyon
Succeeded byLee Dillon
Personal details
BornLaura Rose McNair-Wilson
(1978-06-13) 13 June 1978 (age 48)
London, England
PartyConservative
Spouse
Henry Farris
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
Parent
RelativesPatrick McNair-Wilson (uncle)
EducationLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Profession
  • Barrister
  • journalist
WebsiteOfficial website

Laura Rose Farris[1] (née McNair-Wilson; born 13 June 1978)[2] is a British former Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury from 2019 until 2024. Prior to her parliamentary career, she worked as a journalist and later as a barrister. She was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding from November 2023 until July 2024. After losing her seat in the 2024 general election, Farris became a partner and Head of UK Litigation Communications at the public affairs consultancy FGS Global in 2025.

Early life and career

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Laura McNair-Wilson was born on 13 June 1978 at London's Westminster Hospital to Michael McNair-Wilson and Deidre Granville (née Tuckett). She was an only child and grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire.[3][4][5] Her father Michael and her uncle Patrick McNair-Wilson were Conservative MPs.[6]

She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating in 2000 with an upper second class degree.[3][7] She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from City, University of London, graduating in 2006, and took the Bar Vocational Course at BPP Law School in 2007.[7] She qualified as a barrister in 2007, practising mainly in employment law. Farris was appointed to the panel of counsel operated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2015.[7]

Farris worked as a journalist for BBC and Reuters and also worked as a researcher for Hillary Clinton when she was a United States Senator for New York.[8][9]

Parliamentary career

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At the snap 2017 general election, Farris stood as the Conservative candidate in Leyton and Wanstead, coming second with 20.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP John Cryer.[10][11][12]

Farris was selected as the Conservative candidate for Newbury on 10 November 2019.[13] At the 2019 general election, Farris was elected as MP for Newbury, winning with 57.4% of the vote and a majority of 16,047 votes.[14] Her father had represented the constituency between 1974 and 1992.[15]

She was a member of the Justice Select Committee between June 2021 and November 2022 and the Privileges Committee and the Standards Committee from March to October 2022. Farris was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee from March 2020 to March 2022.[16] She identifies as a one-nation conservative.[17]

On 22 October 2021, Farris opposed a bill to prevent employers from firing employees and rehiring them on worse terms and conditions. She stated during the debate that the rules on fire and rehire needed to be tightened up, but the choice should be available as "an option of last resort" for companies facing insolvency.[18] In November 2021, a man was convicted of sending a malicious communication to Farris in 2020 and given a suspended sentence.[19][20]

Farris endorsed Rishi Sunak in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[21] She was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding between November 2023 and July 2024.[9][22] Farris lost her seat in the 2024 general election to the Liberal Democrats candidate Lee Dillon.[23]

Post-parliamentary career

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Farris was appointed in 2025 as a partner and the Head of UK Litigation Communications at the public affairs consultancy FGS Global.[24][25]

Personal life

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In 2011, Laura married Henry Farris in Taunton, Somerset.[26][27] The couple have two daughters and live in West Berkshire.[28][29][30]

References

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  1. ↑ "Members Sworn". parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. 1 2 Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "Births". The Daily Telegraph. 15 June 1978. p. 36. Retrieved 16 May 2025 – via Newspapers.com. McNair-Wilson.—On June 13, at the Westminster Hospital, to Deirdre, wife of Michael McNair-Wilson, a daughter.
  5. ↑ Cosgrave, Patrick (30 March 1993). "Obituary: Sir Michael McNair-Wilson". The Independent. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Introducing the six candidates shortlisted for Devizes". ConservativeHome. 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 "Laura Farris". Littleton Chambers. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Election 2019: the lawyers standing for parliament". The Lawyer. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.(subscription required)
  9. 1 2 Fraser, Tali (5 December 2023). "The Laura Farris interview: 'My politics were a little more left leaning when I was young'". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Leyton & Wanstead parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
  11. ↑ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  12. ↑ "Leyton and Wanstead". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Conservatives select Newbury candidate". Newbury Today. 11 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Newbury Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "Conservatives hold Newbury as Laura Farris elected". Newbury Today. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "Parliamentary career for Laura Farris". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  17. ↑ @Laura_Farris (13 December 2019). "It's a huge honour to have been elected MP for Newbury. I am so so grateful to my brilliant team @WestBerksTories. I will always put this wonderful community first & strive to be a proud One-Nation voice on the Conservative back benches" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 September 2020 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ "Fire-and-rehire: Government blocks law to curb the practice". BBC News. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  19. ↑ Kirk, Tristan (27 August 2020). "Conservative MP left 'in fear' after receiving email referencing samurai sword killing". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  20. ↑ "Man convicted of terrorising Newbury MP Laura Farris". Newbury Today. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  21. ↑ Ashby, Jonathan (11 July 2022). "I back Sunak, says Newbury MP". Newbury Today.
  22. ↑ "Laura Farris". Gov.UK. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Election result for Newbury". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  24. ↑ Crowther, Zoe (6 July 2025). "One Year After The General Election: Where Are Former MPs Now?". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  25. ↑ "FGS Global strengthens UK litigation practice with appointment of Laura Farris as Head of UK Litigation communications". FGS Global. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Laura McNair-Wilson and Henry Farris wedding". Jenks & Co. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  27. ↑ "Mr H. Farris and Miss L. McNair-Wilson". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.(subscription required)
  28. ↑ "Election 2017: Conservatives announce Remain-supporting barrister Laura Farris as candidate for Leyton and Wanstead". Ilford Recorder. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  29. ↑ "Farris". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.(subscription required)
  30. ↑ "Laura Farris". FGS Global. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
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