After graduation, Cleverly worked for publishing company Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen, and joined Informa as international sales manager in 2002. In 2004, he joined Crimson Publishing as an advertising manager. He became online commercial manager for Caspian Publishing in 2006. The following year, he co-founded web publishing company Point and Fire.[2]
In March 2007, Cleverly was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Bexley and Bromley constituency of the London Assembly. The London Assembly election was held on 1 May with the count and declaration on 2 May, where he received 105,162 votes (52.6% of the vote) and a majority of 75,237.[12]
In January 2009, Cleverly was appointed as the Mayor of London's youth ambassador, a newly created role which was seen as being a replacement post for the deputy mayor for young people, a post left vacant after the resignation of Ray Lewis. The creation of the role caused some controversy as it was not filled by a mayoral appointment but by a member of the Assembly whose formal role was to scrutinise the Mayor. The decision was defended because of the precedent set by the appointment of Kit Malthouse as Deputy Mayor for Policing.[13]
In February 2010, Cleverly was appointed as the chairman of the London Waste and Recycling Board, replacing Boris Johnson who had stood down.[14]
In August 2010, Cleverly posted a tweet saying: "We may be coalition partners but it doesn't stop me thinking Simon Hughes is a dick," in response to a suggestion by Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, that backbench MPs should be able to veto Coalition policies.[15] He later apologised.[16]
In November 2010, Cleverly was re-selected to be the Conservative candidate for Bexley and Bromley at the 2012 London Assembly election, going on to win the seat with 88,482 votes (once again 52.6% of the votes) and a majority of 47,768.[17] After the defeat of Brian Coleman at the election, Cleverly was appointed to the chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.
Parliamentary career (2015–present)
Backbenches (2015–2019)
In January 2015, Cleverly was selected to be the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Braintree, after the sitting Conservative MP Brooks Newmark stood down following controversy over sending sexually suggestive messages to an undercover reporter.[18] His selection came after the initial selection process was quietly suspended by Conservative Campaign Headquarters, after the local party chose someone not on the approved candidates list and was told to "think again".[19]
At the 2015 general election, Cleverly was elected to Parliament as MP for Braintree, winning 53.8% of the vote and a majority of 17,610.[20] Following the election, Cleverly did not defend his seat at the 2016 London Assembly election.[21]
In November 2015, Cleverly was criticised for pushing through the closure of 10 fire stations in London after the death of an elderly man in Camden following delays in the arrival of fire crews. In response, Cleverly said: "It is impossible for them to say that with certainty. I think it would be much wiser for the FBU to wait for the details of that fire investigation to come out before they start making these opportunistic allegations."[22]
In January 2016, the Labour Party proposed an amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill 2016[23] that would have required private landlords to make homes which they put up for rent "fit for human habitation". According to Parliament's register of interests, Cleverly was one of 72 Conservative MPs who voted against the amendment and who personally derived an income from renting out property. The Conservative Government had responded to the amendment by saying that they believed homes should be fit for human habitation but did not want to pass the new law that would explicitly require it.[24]
In March 2016, Cleverly was asked to step down as patron of Advocacy for All, a charity supporting disadvantaged people in South East England. The charity felt he was no longer a suitable person for the role, given that he had voted to cut Employment and Support Allowance (the benefit paid to disabled people who are unable to work).[25][26]
In October 2018, Cleverly defended Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey over potentially Islamophobic and Hinduphobic comments made in a pamphlet and suggested that black boys were drifting into crime as a result of learning more about faiths other than "their own Christian culture".[30]
In September 2020, he expressed concern about a "looming" famine in Yemen.[35] In March 2021, Cleverly described the situation in Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.[36] In March 2022, he said that attempts to compare Saudi Arabia to Russia were "ridiculously distasteful", describing Saudi Arabia as an "incredibly influential country in the region" and a "significant oil and gas producer."[37]
On 20 October 2022, he announced that the United Kingdom would pursue sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to attack civilian targets in Ukraine. Cleverly stated that "Iran cannot be allowed to violate UN resolutions".[40]
In October 2022, due to doubts raised that British homosexual football fans would be safe at the 2022 Football World Cup taking place in Qatar, Cleverly suggested that they should show "a little bit of flex and compromise",[42] adding that he thought it was "important when you're a visitor to a country that you respect the culture of your host nation." He described Qatar as "an Islamic country with a very different set of cultural norms to our own [those of Britain]".[43] Labour called his advice "shockingly tone-deaf",[44] due to the fact that gay activity is illegal in Qatar and that Cleverly had known that if gay people expressed their homosexuality openly in Qatar they would be arrested. Earlier in 2022, LGBT organisations stated that "progress has been slow" in attempting to ensure the safety of LGBT football fans with FIFA in Qatar – and additionally that reassurances from Qatar had "not been adequate".[45] In Qatar sex between men carries a penalty of up to 7 years in prison.[43]
In May 2022, the country's emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said that he believed criticism about Qatar being chosen to host the World Cup came from "people who cannot accept the idea that an Arab Muslim country would host a tournament like the World Cup".[43][46] Sunak's spokesperson distanced themselves from Cleverly's comments, saying that fans should not have to "compromise who they are", as well as that "Qatar's policies are not those of the UK Government and not ones we would endorse".[47]
Later, in November 2022, Cleverly stated that his actions were "about ensuring that the English and Welsh fans going over to enjoy the football were safe and happy and that they enjoyed themselves whilst watching the tournament."[48]
In December 2022, despite human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia, Cleverly called Saudi Arabia a strategic partner.[49] In the same month, Cleverly met his Norwegian counterpart, Anniken Huitfeldt, to discuss continued military cooperation and attended the annual Christmas tree lighting.[50]
Cleverly was criticised by some Conservative MPs, including Liz Truss, for refusing to reclassify China as a "threat" in response to the Chinese Government's aggressive foreign policy and its human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslim community.[52] He called China a potential "partner for good".[53]
On 19 July 2023, Cleverly made a public statement following his being mooted as a possible successor to the departing Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace. Cleverly asked Prime Minister Sunak to leave him in his current position, because he said he really likes the job. He stated that if he was removed from his post, "you will see nail marks on the parquet floor in my office".[54]
In August 2023, Cleverly made his first visit to China as the first UK Government minister to visit the country since 2018.[55] The trip was reportedly to promote bilateral trade and climate change policy and challenge China's response to the Russo-Ukrainian War.[56][57]
On 13 September 2023, he met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara and stated that Turkey is an "indispensable partner" to the UK and "has truly significant commitments to NATO."[58]
Cleverly expressed support for Israel during the Israel–Hamas war. On 11 October 2023, he visited Israel "to show solidarity to Israeli people".[59] He rejected calls for a ceasefire but supported "humanitarian pauses" to provide aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.[60]
On 22 November 2023, Cleverly was accused by Labour MP Alex Cunningham of calling Cunningham's Stockton North constituency a "shithole" in response to a question in the House of Commons; Cleverly denied the allegation, but apologised for using "unparliamentary language", which he said had instead been used to describe Cunningham himself.[63]
On 23 December 2023, Cleverly faced calls to resign for joking about spiking his wife's drink with Rohypnol, a date rape drug.[64] A spokesperson said that Cleverly "apologise[d]" for what he had intended "to be an ironic joke".[65]
In opposition (2024–present)
At the 2024 general election, Cleverly was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 35.5% and a decreased majority of 3,670.[66]
Following the Conservative Party's defeat at the general election and the subsequent formation of the Starmer ministry, Cleverley was appointed Shadow Home Secretary in Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet.[67] On 23 July 2024, he announced he was running in the leadership election to be the new Conservative Party leader.[68][69]
^"James Cleverly admits calling Labour MP 'unparliamentary' word". BBC News. 23 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023. Mr Cunningham had asked: "Why are 34% of children in my constituency living in poverty?" ... Making a point of order in the Commons later that day, he said: "Before the prime minister answered, the home secretary chose to add in his pennyworth. He was seen and heard to say 'because it's a shithole'.
^Carter, Gus (28 September 2022). "In defence of Warhammer". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022. It turns out the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, is a fan. His private YouTube channel is dedicated to following expert miniatures painters. In 2012, he tweeted out a video on how to paint Astorath the Grim, high chaplain of the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter.