James Wild is the Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, and was first elected at the December 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Wild received 16,097 votes, representing 36.1% of the vote share. The Labour Party candidate, Tim Leaver, came second with 11,143 votes (25.0%), while the Reform UK candidate, Phil Walton, secured third place with 8,697 votes (19.5%). Wild was duly elected with a majority of 4,954 votes.

The North West Norfolk constituency is located in the county of Norfolk in the East of England. It includes the towns of King’s Lynn and Hunstanton.

The seat was re-established in its modern form in 1974, largely replacing the former King’s Lynn constituency. It has predominantly been held by the Conservative Party, with the exception of the period between 1997 and 2001 when it was represented by Labour’s George Turner.

Political Career

Wild currently serves as shadow minister of state for culture, media and sport. He was appointed to this role as part of the August/September 2026 shadow ministerial reshuffle, Kemi Badenoch’s second as Conservative leader.

Wild previously served as shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury and a senior opposition whip (2024-2026). He was shadow parliamentary under-secretary for education from July to November 2024 on the caretaker/interim frontbench constructed by Rishi Sunak after the general election of that year.

In June 2022, Wild publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a Conservative “no-confidence” in his leadership. The vote was triggered by discontent within the parliamentary party following the “partygate” scandal and the publication of the Sue Gray report. While the prime minister ultimately won the vote, the scale of the rebellion against him, with 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him, severely weakened his authority and presaged his resignation the following month.

At the time, Wild posted to social media: “At the 1922 [committee meeting of Conservative MPs] the prime minister took responsibility again for what went wrong in Downing St and has made changes to restore high standards people expect.

“I’m backing the PM as we need a government focused on the levelling up he was elected to deliver and to tackle cost of living pressures.”

In 2021, Wild criticised the BBC for only using one union jack in their annual report. The Conservative MP said that his constituents would “expect to see more than one flag” in the 268-page report.

Addressing Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, Wild added: “Maybe in the annual report for this year perhaps you could include some imagery around the union flag. It might be welcomed by some of my constituents.”

Wild was a member of the House of Commons public accounts committee from March 2020 until November 2022.

Wild is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for dark skies, genetic haemochromatosis, parkrun, Shakespeare and shellfish aquaculture.

Wild delivered his maiden speech on 16 January 2020 during a debate on health and social care.

In it, he said: “More than one constituent looking to find an NHS dentist has commented to me on the absurdity of the advice on the NHS website, recommending that they go to Skegness as the nearest practice.

“Flying across the Wash may be practical for the migrating pink-footed geese that are a great sight in the big skies of Norfolk, but it is not very practical advice for my constituents, so dental provision is an issue that I will be working on in this parliament.”

He added: “The Love West Norfolk campaign is doing a great job to promote all the good things about the constituency, but there are challenges – rural bus services, broadband, flood risk, educational outcomes – that I will want to help tackle in my time in this House.”

Wild unsuccessfully contested the North Norfolk constituency at the 2017 general election.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Wild supported Tom Tugendhat’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election. Tugendhat, the then-shadow security minister, was eliminated in the third parliamentary ballot on 8 October 2024 after receiving 20 votes.

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Wild supported Rishi Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Sunak, the former chancellor, warned against “comforting fairytales” regarding unfunded tax cuts. Although he won every round of the parliamentary ballots, securing 137 votes in the final stage, Sunak was defeated by Liz Truss in the membership vote, finishing with 60,399 votes (42.6%).

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Wild again supported Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Sunak, having emerged as the clear frontrunner, was declared leader of the Conservative Party unopposed on 24 October.

Factional identity and party tradition

The Free Market Forum: Wild has been listed as a supporter of the Free Market Forum (FMF) of Conservative MPs and peers. The group, co-chaired by Dehenna Davison and Greg Smith in the 2019-2024 parliament, set out to “encourage free market thinking, winning over the unpersuaded and providing intellectual firepower and a public platform to proponents of classical liberalism.” Founded in 2021, the forum, associated with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), was seen as aligned with the economic policies of the Liz Truss government.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Wild voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Wild voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025). He was one of 20 Tory MPs to back the assisted dying bill at third reading.

In a statement setting out his position, issued after the bill’s second reading, Wild remarked: “This has been one of the most difficult issues I’ve faced in parliament. I am clear that debates on assisted dying should never distract from the importance of delivering high-quality palliative care services.

“After much reflection, I supported the bill at second reading as it is important to give people more control and dignity over their end of life in terminally ill cases.

“As the bill goes forward there will be the opportunity for further debate, scrutiny, and strengthening of powers to address genuine concerns that have been raised and ensure safeguards protect vulnerable people from feeling pressured. Then I will take a final view before the third reading.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Wild voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Born in January 1977 in Norwich, James Wild was educated at Manor Road Primary School and Norwich School, where he received an assisted place. He studied at Queen Mary University of London, graduating with a degree in politics in 1998.

Wild worked in communications and public affairs before entering parliament. His roles included head of information and Research at the Communication Group (1999-2001) and business policy advisor at the Conservative Research Department (2000-2001).

He worked as a senior account executive for Politics Direct (2001-2004), public affairs manager for T Mobile (2004-2009), and account director for Hanover Communications (2009-2012).

Wild subsequently held government advisory positions. He was special adviser to the minister for business and energy (2012-2014) and special adviser to the secretary of state for defence, Michael Fallon (2014-2017).

Wild subsequently served as chief of staff to the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington.

In 2019, before the general election, he was a senior special adviser to Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Personal Life

Wild married Natalie Evans in 2010. She is a Conservative life peer and served as leader of the House of Lords between 2016 and 2022.

Trivia

Wild is reportedly a season ticket holder at Norwich City Football Club.