Harriett Baldwin

MP for West Worcestershire

Conservatives

Dame Harriett Baldwin is the Conservative MP for West Worcestershire, having first been elected to parliament in May 2010.

In the 2024 general election for West Worcestershire, Harriett Baldwin received 19,783 votes, representing 36.2% of the vote share. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Dan Boatright-Greene, received 13,236 votes (24.2%), while the Labour candidate, Kash Haroon, secured 8,335 votes (15.2%). Baldwin was duly elected with a majority of 6,547 votes.

The West Worcestershire constituency covers a largely rural area along the county’s western border, encompassing the Malvern Hills and the towns of Malvern, Pershore, Tenbury Wells, and Upton-upon-Severn. It is considered a historically safe Conservative seat.

Political Career

Baldwin currently serves as shadow paymaster general and minister for the taxpayer. Baldwin was appointed to this role as part of the August/September 2026 shadow ministerial reshuffle, Kemi Badenoch’s second as Conservative leader.

Baldwin is also a member of the House of Commons Treasury select committee (since March 2020) – the committee tasked with scrutinising His Majesty’s Treasury and government policy on taxation and public spending. The committee’s remit also extends to scrutinising major financial institutions that shape the UK economy, including the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Baldwin served as a shadow business and trade minister from November 2024 to September 2026, and as shadow development minister in the interim/caretaker frontbench appointed after the 2024 general election. She took up her business and trade role upon Kemi Badenoch’s elevation as Tory leader in November 2024.

A senior MP, Baldwin chaired the Treasury select committee from November 2022 to May 2024. In this capacity, she also sat on the liaison committee of select committee chairs across the same period.

Baldwin previously served in government under David Cameron and Theresa May. Her roles included minister of state jointly at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development (January 2018 – July 2019), minister for defence procurement (July 2016 – January 2018), and economic secretary to the Treasury (city minister) from May 2015 to July 2016. She also served as a government whip between February 2014 and May 2015.

Baldwin left the government when Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019. She served as chair of the British group of the inter-parliamentary union (IPU) from 2019 to 2022.

In May 2020, Baldwin criticised the actions of Boris Johnson’s then-chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, over his journeys during the first national lockdown. The actions of Cummings, which included a trip from London to County Durham and a subsequent drive to Barnard Castle, were seen by many as a breach of the government’s own “stay at home” guidance.

Baldwin opposed cuts to foreign aid announced by Johnson’s government in 2020. In an article for ConservativeHome at the time, she wrote: “For moral, diplomatic, humanitarian, educational and even for entirely selfish reasons about the kind of world I want to pass on to the next generation, I will certainly not be voting to break this manifesto pledge.”

In a correspondence with a constituent at the time, Baldwin wrote: “While I have every human sympathy with Dominic Cummings, I think there is a higher bar for members of the government.

“If the government wants people to follow the public health advice in order to protect our NHS and save lives, then members of the government, giving that advice, including the prime minister’s adviser, need to follow it too.”

Baldwin delivered her maiden speech on 10 June 2010 during a debate on tackling poverty in the UK.

In it, she stated: “One of the many scandalous legacies of the outgoing government is the way in which they destroyed our private pension system”.

In an aside, she jokingly clarified she was not related to former prime minister Stanley Baldwin.

In the 2005 to 2010 parliament, Baldwin was added to the Tory “A-List” of prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs), drawn up by Conservative Central Office at the behest of then-party leader David Cameron. The A-List was a centrally-approved priority list of around 100-150 PPCs created as part of Cameron’s bid to modernise the party’s image. The primary goal was to increase the diversity of Conservative MPs by fast-tracking more women and candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds into safe and winnable seats.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Baldwin supported Kemi Badenoch’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.

Badenoch, the then-shadow housing secretary, was seen as a leading figure on the party’s right wing. After finishing first in the final parliamentary ballot with 42 votes, she defeated Robert Jenrick in the membership vote on with 53,806 votes (56.5%). Badenoch was declared Conservative leader on 2 November.

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Baldwin supported Penny Mordaunt’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.

Mordaunt, the international trade minister, was described as a “socially liberal Brexiteer”. She was narrowly overtaken by Liz Truss in the final round. Mordaunt was thereby eliminated in the fifth parliamentary ballot on 20 July after receiving 105 votes.

In an interview with the Observer, published November 2023, Baldwin said she backed Mordaunt in the first leadership contest of 2022 in order to block Truss from reaching the final round. “It didn’t work out”, she commented.

“We all want to see the economy growing and tax cut”, Baldwin added. “But with inflation above 10%, it was the wrong time to follow her policies.”

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Baldwin again supported Mordaunt’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, had finished third in the previous contest. Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Mordaunt withdrew from the contest on 24 October, shortly before the deadline, after being unable to secure the required number of nominations.

Tory leadership 2019: Baldwin supported Jeremy Hunt, the then-foreign secretary, for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to the Conservative Party.

Hunt, campaigning as a “unity candidate”, secured 77 votes from MPs in the final parliamentary round and thereby reached the final head-to-head ballot against Boris Johnson. In the subsequent vote by the party membership, Hunt finished as runner-up with 46,656 votes (33.6%) compared to Johnson’s 92,153 (66.4%).

Tory leadership 2016: Baldwin supported Theresa May for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

Setting out her support for May, Baldwin said she was best placed to “unite [the party], deliver the Conservative manifesto and implement the negotiations to leave the EU.”

She added: “Being home secretary is one of the toughest jobs in government. She’s done it for longer than anyone. She’s carefully supervised our security services and changed rules that have kept us safe at home.”

May, the then-home secretary, secured a commanding lead in the parliamentary stages, receiving 165 votes in the first ballot and 199 in the second. Following the withdrawal of her final rival, Andrea Leadsom, on 11 July, May was declared leader unopposed and was appointed prime minister two days later.

Factional identity and party tradition

Conservative Environment Network: Baldwin is listed as a member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) parliamentary caucus. CEN is an independent forum for conservatives that supports conservation and decarbonisation. It calls for the environment to be given a higher profile at the heart of policy making, describing “biodiversity loss, climate change, and wasteful resource use are threats to our national security”, and promotes “market-based policies” to environmental challenges. Members of its parliamentary caucus, such as …, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Bright Blue: Baldwin is listed as a parliamentary supporter of Bright Blue, an independent centre-right think tank and membership organisation that champions liberal conservatism in the UK. Since its founding in 2014, it has been associated with the “modernising” or “one nation” wing of the Conservative Party. The organisation has since expanded its reach through a new cross-party strategy.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Baldwin supported remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of constituents, 52.5% of whom voted to leave.

In a statement setting out her position at the time of the 2016 EU referendum, Baldwin said: “Those advocating leaving the EU have not, to my mind, been able to show how they would retain the benefits of free trade in a single market, nor have they shown how we’d be able to influence future changes to EU laws that would affect us, nor how they would reduce the cost of membership nor even how our borders would be safer if we left.”

Article 50: In February 2017, Baldwin voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Baldwin 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

Baldwin voted against 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).

In a statement setting out her position, Baldwin said she felt “strongly about this topic”.

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Baldwin 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.

Foreign policy and security

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Baldwin was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Trident renewal (2016): Baldwin voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Baldwin voted in favour of a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Baldwin voted in favour of the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Civil liberties

Covid Recovery Group: Baldwin was a member of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) steering committee. The CRG was a faction of Conservative MPs formed in November 2020 to scrutinise the government’s strategy for managing the Covid-19 pandemic. Chaired by the former chief whip Mark Harper, the group was highly critical of the use of national lockdowns. Its support was aligned with the libertarian and economically liberal wings of the Conservative Party.

Covid passes vote (2021): Baldwin was one of 99 Conservative MPs to vote against Covid passes in England in December 2021.

Covid passes campaign (2021): Baldwin was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Before Politics

Born Harriett Mary Morison Eggleston on 2 May 1960 in Watford, Hertfordshire, she spent parts of her childhood in Cyprus, where her father worked, and later grew up in Felsted, Essex, where her father was headmaster of Felsted School. She was educated at Friends’ School, Saffron Walden, and Marlborough College.

Baldwin studied modern languages (French and Russian) at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating with a first. She later obtained an MBA in international finance from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1985.

Before entering politics, Baldwin worked in finance for over 20 years. She joined JPMorgan Chase in 1986, becoming managing director and head of currency management at their London office, specialising in managing currency risk for pension funds, before leaving in 2008. She also served as vice-chair of the social investment business from 2008 to 2012.

Personal Life

Baldwin is married to Jim Baldwin, a businessman and television producer. Of her family, she told the Observer: “Jim and I have three children from our previous marriages and three gorgeous grandchildren so far.”

They have lived in the Teme Valley in her West Worcestershire constituency since 2006.