Greg Smith is the Conservative MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, having first been elected for the predecessor seat of Buckingham at the 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Smith won 20,150 votes, representing 37.3% of the vote. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Anja Schaefer, received 14,278 votes (26.5%), while the Labour candidate, Carissma Griffiths, secured 9,171 votes (17.0%). Smith was duly elected with a majority of 5,872 votes.  

The Mid Buckinghamshire constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, primarily formed from the abolished Buckingham seat. It covers parts of Buckinghamshire including Princes Risborough, Great Missenden and Wendover. The area is considered safe Conservative territory.  

Smith succeeded former speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow as the MP for Buckingham in 2019.

Political Career

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

Smith served jointly as shadow parliamentary under secretary of state for energy security and transport from July 2025 to September 2026, shadow parliamentary under secretary of state for business and trade from July 2024 to July 2025 and concurrently as an opposition whip from November 2024 to July 2025. He also served as shadow parliamentary under secretary of state for transport from July 2024 to November 2024 on the interim/caretaker Conservative frontbench constructed by Rishi Sunak after the general election of that year.

Smith was a member of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee (2020-2024) and the transport committee (2020-2024).

In January 2026, Smith was announced as the new chair of Conservative Friends of Israel.

He commented at the time: “An honour to take on this important role alongside my constituency and front-bench duties. The UK-Israel partnership symbolises a shared commitment to democracy, security and tolerance in a world where these values are threatened like never before.

“I look forward to working closely with the excellent CFI team.”

Smith is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for beer, Formula 1 and motorsport, furniture industry, gaps in Covid-19 financial support and loan charge and taxpayer fairness.

Smith delivered his maiden speech on 3 February 2020 during a debate on the Agriculture Bill.

In it, he said: “My constituency faces threats on multiple fronts: HS2; the Oxford-Cambridge expressway; and over- development, not least from the outrageous, expansionist plans of Labour-run Milton Keynes.

“One of my early mentors in politics, a former [MP], the late Eric Forth, once said to me that the most powerful question in politics is simply ‘why?’

“So let me put it this way: why would we take people’s homes, cut their farms in two, blight the landscape, destroy 108 ancient woodlands and risk the chalk streams of the Chilterns, all for a 60p return on every pound spent and no benefit to my constituents, when other solutions exist?

“It is my passionate belief that our countryside is the defining feature of our United Kingdom.”

He added: “I had originally intended to make my maiden speech on 15 January. However, something much more exciting happened at 1.30 in the morning that day, when my wife gave birth to our second child, Charlie.

“With your indulgence, madam deputy speaker, I would like to thank the wonderful NHS staff at Stoke Mandeville Hospital for the care they gave my wife and Charlie. Most importantly, I would like to thank the 37,035 electors of the Buckingham constituency who voted for me in December.”

Before entering parliament, Smith served as a Conservative councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council from 2006 to 2018. He was deputy leader of the council from 2012 to 2014.

Smith stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in Hayes and Harlington at the 2017 general election.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Smith supported Priti Patel’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. Patel, the former home secretary, was eliminated in the first parliamentary ballot on 4 September after receiving 14 votes.

Smith is reported to have led Patel’s “whipping operation” alongside fellow Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti.

Smith went on to support James Cleverly’s candidacy. During the contest, Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, urged the party to “be more normal”. On 9 October, in a major upset, Cleverly was eliminated in the fourth ballot after his support dropped to 37 votes. The result was widely attributed to a failure of tactical voting by supporters who assumed his place in the final two was secure.

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Smith supported Suella Braverman’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.

Braverman, the attorney general, announced her candidacy before Johnson had officially resigned. She positioned herself as a staunch Brexiteer on the party’s right wing, calling for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). She was eliminated in the second parliamentary ballot on 14 July after receiving 27 votes.

Smith went on to support Liz Truss’ candidacy. Truss, the then-foreign secretary, campaigned on a platform of sweeping tax cuts. After finishing second in the final parliamentary ballot with 113 votes, she won the subsequent vote of the party membership with 81,326 votes (57.4%) and was appointed prime minister on 6 September.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Smith supported Boris Johnson’s explored 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”.

Johnson, who had resigned as prime minister only months earlier, initially sought a return to office and claimed to have secured the 100 nominations required to proceed. However, he announced his withdrawal on 23 October, stating that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.” Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, later confirmed that Johnson had indeed secured the 100 MPs necessary to force a ballot of the Conservative membership – which he could well have won.

Factional identity and party tradition

The Free Market Forum: Smith was co-chair of the Free Market Forum (FMF) of Conservative MPs and peers alongside former MP Dehenna Davison in the 2019-2024 parliament. The group 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.

Rwanda rebellion (amendments): In January 2024, Smith was one of around 60 Conservative MPs who supported amendments to the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. The amendments, proposed by Conservative MPs Sir Bill Cash and Robert Jenrick, sought to strengthen the proposed legislation by limiting the ability of individual asylum seekers to prevent their deportation to Rwanda, under the terms of the government’s flagship removals scheme. The rebellion was composed of Tory MPs on the right of the party.

Net Zero Scrutiny Group: In the 2019-2024 parliament, Smith was associated with the Net Zero Scrutiny Group (NZSG), a faction within the Conservative Party that questioned the cost and feasibility of the UK’s climate targets. The group, which came to prominence in 2022, sought to link the then-Conservative government’s commitment to net zero with the cost-of-living crisis. In a 2022 open letter published in the Daily Telegraph, the group urged the government to scrap green levies and drill for more fossil fuels in the North Sea to lower energy bills. The COP26 climate conference in 2021 was said to have been a catalyst for the group’s formation.

Tax pledge Tories: In November 2023, Smith signed the “tax pledge” – which committed supportive MPs to not vote for any further increases in the overall tax burden. The initiative was associated with the Conservative Growth Group (CSG), a faction within the party that advocated for lower taxes and supply-side reforms to stimulate economic growth. The group was formed by allies of the former prime minister Liz Truss. The “tax pledge” was spearheaded by Jake Berry, who served as Conservative chair in Truss’ short-lived government.

Blue Collar Conservatives: Smith was previously listed as a member of the Blue Collar Conservatives group. This faction within the Conservative party was founded in 2012 by the former cabinet minister Esther McVey, but came to greater prominence following the 2019 general election. The group aimed to “champion working people and develop a conservative agenda to benefit the voters and communities most neglected by Labour”. In October 2022, McVey was succeeded by Lee Anderson as the group’s chair.

Conservative Way Forward: Smith has been associated with the Conservative Way Forward (CWF) grouping of Thatcherite MPs. CWF was founded in 1991 by supporters of Margaret Thatcher, aiming to “defend and build upon [her] achievements… and to adapt the principles of her era in government to modern concerns and challenges”. In July 2022, the group was relaunched by Tory MP Steve Baker.

Brexit and Europe

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

Smith 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).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Smith 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.

Civil liberties

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

Covid passes campaign (2021): Smith 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

Gregory David Smith was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire on 3 March 1979.

He was educated at Bromsgrove School before studying political science at the University of Birmingham. In July 2024, Smith said he wished he had done a history degree.

Smith’s career before politics was in print, design and marketing. He was a trustee of Riverside Studios arts venue from 2008 to 2019.  

Personal Life

Smith lives in Chearsley, Buckinghamshire, with his wife, Annalise Smith. They have three young sons.

Trivia

Smith is a lifelong supporter of McLaren and enjoys Formula 1 motor racing. His former Buckingham constituency was home to roughly half of the iconic Silverstone track.