Dame Rebecca Harris DBE is the Conservative MP for Castle Point, having first been elected at the 2010 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Harris received 15,485 votes (38.1%). The Reform UK candidate received 12,234 votes (30.1%), and the Labour candidate secured 9,455 votes (23.3%). Dame Rebecca was duly elected with a majority of 3,251.

The Castle Point constituency is located in South Essex on the Thames Estuary, situated between Basildon and Southend-on-Sea. It includes the town of South Benfleet, Hadleigh (known for its castle), and Canvey Island, which experienced severe flooding in 1953. The seat has been held by the Conservative Party for most of its existence since its creation in 1983, with the exception of a Labour gain between 1997 and 2001. It is considered historically safe Conservative territory, although the party’s majority was significantly reduced in 2024 (from 26,634 to 3,251).

Harris’ immediate predecessor as the MP for Castle Point was Bob Spink, who represented the seat from 2001 to 2010. Elected as a Conservative MP, Spink announced he would be defecting to the UK Independence Party (Ukip) in April 2008, becoming the party’s first MP. In November 2008, Spink stated that he would not sit as an independent. He later appeared to suggest that he had never formally joined Ukip – which was refuted by party spokespersons.

Dame Rebecca was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 Birthday Honours for political and public service

Political Career

Harris was appointed opposition chief whip in the House of Commons in November 2024 by Kemi Badenoch, the newly elected Conservative leader. Harris was retained in this post following Badenoch’s July 2025 shadow cabinet reshuffle.

Harris previously served as opposition deputy chief whip from July to November 2024 in the interim/caretaker shadow cabinet constructed after the 2024 general election.

Prior to the 2024 election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Harris served continuously in the government Whips’ Office under prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. Her roles included comptroller of the household (July 2022 – July 2024), lord commissioner of the Treasury (January 2018 – July 2022), and assistant government whip (June 2017 – January 2018). As comptroller of the household, Harris became the first woman to hold the post in the 624-year history of the office. In this capacity, she participated officially in the coronation of King Charles III in 2023. This role also saw her walk in front of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.

The Pets (Microchips) Bill, which Harris introduced in October 2024, aimed to prevent healthy stray pets from being unnecessarily euthanised, by requiring vets to scan for a microchip and contact the registered keeper before putting an animal down. This legislation, known as Tuk’s law, was previously introduced by former Conservative MP James Daly and received strong cross-party support. Dame Rebecca’s support for the bill materialised after meeting her constituent Dawn Ashley and campaigner Sue Williams who raised the story of Tuk, a five-week-old Mioritic shepherd mistakenly identified as a stray and euthanised by a vet who failed to scan his original chip. The bill was supported by the Conservative frontbench.

The Daylight Saving Bill, introduced by Harris in June 2010, would have commissioned a detailed study into the costs and benefits of moving the clocks forward to Greenwich Mean Time plus one hour in the winter (GMT +1) and GMT +2 in the summer, with a possible three-year trial. Supporters argued this would reduce road accidents and boost tourism, but the proposal was controversial and ultimately failed to pass after being talked out by opponents concerned about darker winter mornings.

In October 2011, Harris told BBC Two’s Daily Politics programme her bill was about “moving an extra hour of daylight from the morning when a lot of us waste it in bed to the evening when we can actually get out and enjoy it and do things after school and work”.

In September 2012, Harris was named by ConservativeHome as one of 24 backbench Tory MPs who had yet to rebel against the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

Harris was a member of the regulatory reform committee from December 2012 to May 2017, and the business, innovation and skills committee from July 2010 to March 2015.

Harris is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on get refusal, which aims to raise awareness of the needs of women trapped in Jewish religious marriages and to promote their interests.

Harris delivered her maiden speech on 21 June 2010 during a debate on the strategic defence and security review. In it, she said: “Despite its rapid growth, Castle Point has maintained an exceptionally strong, even old-fashioned, sense of community – something that its people have preserved, and that I as their MP wish to help them preserve.”

She added: “I hope that the strategic defence and security review, while determining the future shape of our defence and armed forces, will also give the British public confidence that when our brave men and women are sent to war on our behalf, it is for this country’s security interests.”

In the 2005 to 2010 parliament, Harris 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.

Harris was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours for political and public service.

Harris was a councillor for Chichester District Council between 1999 and 2003.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Harris supported Liz Truss’ 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.

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.

Factional identity and party tradition

Conservative Environment Network: Harris 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 Harris, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Animal welfare: Harris is a patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF). The CAWF, co-founded animal welfare campaigner Lorraine Platt and Carrie Johnson, the wife of the former prime minister, calls for an end to live animal exports for fattening and slaughter, tougher sentencing for animal cruelty, and a ban on the import of fur and foie gras. It has close links with the Conservatives Against Fox Hunting campaign, also known as Blue Fox.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Harris supported the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 72.7% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Harris 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, Harris 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

Harris 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): Harris 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

Trident renewal (2016): Harris 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): Harris 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): Harris 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.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Harris 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.

Before Politics

Born Elizabeth Rebecca Scott Harris in Windsor, Berkshire, on 22 December 1967, she was educated at Bedales School, an independent school in Hampshire. She later attended the London School of Economics.

Before entering politics, Harris worked for Phillimore & Co, specialist publishers of British local history. She started with the company as a delivery driver and progressed through roles in warehousing and sales before joining the board as Marketing Director.

She previously worked for the Conservative Party, including time in the Conservative Research Department as a campaign officer (while serving as a councillor) prior to the 2001 general election, and later as the party’s North West London area officer.

She also worked as a special adviser to Tim Yeo, while he was shadow secretary of state for trade and industry, health, education, transport and environment respectively.

Personal Life

Harris lives in Hadleigh, within her constituency, with her husband Frank. They have one son, Ted.

Trivia

Harris participated in the 2023 Coronation ceremony in her role as comptroller of the household. It was her duty to walk behind the Royal Standard as part of the procession into Westminster Abbey.

At the time, she commented: “I was quite nervous and we had a few dress rehearsals but it was an incredible honour. It’s a role that often isn’t held by a woman so there was no rule book about what I should wear. I was worried about it and spent lots of time planning.

“I am still pinching myself about the whole occasion. Everyone was silent and taking it all in, except when praying or saying God Save The King.

“The whole day and being involved was just astonishing. While walking down the aisle I was thinking ‘do no trip or fall or hit something’.”

During Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession, Harris walked ahead of the Royal Navy pulling the state gun carriage with Her Majesty’s coffin