Alex Chalk MP - Who is the Justice Secretary?

Alex Chalk was first elected as the Conservative MP for Cheltenham in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a narrow majority of 981.

The constituency of Cheltenham in the centre of Gloucestershire is based almost entirely around the largely affluent spa town of Cheltenham. This seat in the Cotswolds includes the famous Cheltenham race course. It also contains the headquarters of GCHQ, a base for GE Aviation, and a notable student vote from Gloucester University. Cheltenham is a long standing Liberal Democrat and Conservative marginal seat, having been held by the Lib Dems between 1992 and 2015.

Chalk was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and joined the Cabinet in April 2023, following the resignation of Dominic Raab. He had prevously been appointed by Rishi Suna as Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence in October 2022.

He is considered to be a moderate Conservative MP and cabinet minister. In September 2023, he said the Conservative Party must be a “decent and humane” force.

Conservative Party must be ‘decent and humane’, justice secretary Alex Chalk says

As justice secretary, he quickly confirmed to MPs that the government will not be moving ahead with its Bill of Rights plan, championed by his predecessor Dominic Raab.

He resigned as Solicitor General in protest at the leadership of Boris Johnson in July 2022. He previously served as the Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice.

As an MP, he previously campaigned for sentences on stalking to be increased from five to ten years.

Born in 1976, Chalk was educated at Oxford University and worked as a barrister specialising in counter-terrorism, homicide and serious fraud cases, before being elected to Parliament.

During his early years at Westminster, Chalk was a notable campaigner in relation to the impacts of social media and cyber bullying on young people’s mental health.

He previously served as a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham Council between 2006 and 2014.

Chalk supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Considered to be on the moderate wing of the Conservative Party, he supported Matt Hancock in the 2019 Conservative leadership election.