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Paul Maynard
Paul Maynard (born 16 December 1975) is a British politician who served from 2010 until 2024 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. A member of the Conservative Party, he served Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions from 2023 to 2024. He previously as served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in 2019 and for Transport from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020.
Maynard was born in Crewe, Cheshire. Owing to being strangled by the umbilical cord at birth, Maynard has cerebral palsy and a speech defect. At the age of 22 he developed epilepsy, meaning he needs to be teetotal to avoid having seizures. He attended a special needs school between the ages of three and five before transferring to mainstream education.
He attended St Ambrose College, a grammar school based in Altrincham, and went on to obtain a first class history degree at University College, Oxford. Maynard was a reader at his local church and was also a governor at his local Catholic primary school.
After leaving university, Maynard worked as an adviser to the Conservative MP Liam Fox and as a speechwriter for William Hague – the Conservative MP and Leader of the Opposition. On 7 December 2000, he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in a by-election in the Custom House and Silvertown ward of Newham London Borough Council.
He came fourth when he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Beckton ward of Newham Council on the 29 March 2001 and subsequently failed to get elected as a councillor on the Custom House ward of Newham Council on 2 May 2002. He unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate for Twickenham in the 2005 general election, finishing second with 32.4% of the vote and a 2% swing to the Liberal Democrats.
Maynard was selected from the 'A List' for Blackpool North and Cleveleys in December 2006, having been on the Conservative A-List and moved to the constituency to live. Maynard was elected to the House of Commons in the 2010 general election with a majority of 2,150. He was the second person who has cerebral palsy to become a British MP; Conservative Terry Dicks was the first.
In February 2011, Maynard told The Times about the abuse he suffered from Labour MPs, who had mocked his disability during a Commons debate on the abolition of the Child Trust Fund on 26 October 2010. Various Labour Party sources confirmed that such behaviour was unacceptable and Rosie Winterton, the Labour chief whip, and her deputy Alan Campbell were reported to have spoken to MPs about the incident shortly afterwards. A few days after Maynard's Times interview, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, issued a written statement warning MPs that such abuse was unacceptable. It was reported he had known about the incident for more than three months before speaking to Maynard.
In October 2013, Maynard stated 'In Canada you have people going to food banks every week and it can become a habit. But there is more government can do.' Following criticism from a number of charities, Maynard apologised for causing offence.
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Paul Maynard
Paul Maynard (born 16 December 1975) is a British politician who served from 2010 until 2024 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. A member of the Conservative Party, he served Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions from 2023 to 2024. He previously as served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in 2019 and for Transport from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020.
Maynard was born in Crewe, Cheshire. Owing to being strangled by the umbilical cord at birth, Maynard has cerebral palsy and a speech defect. At the age of 22 he developed epilepsy, meaning he needs to be teetotal to avoid having seizures. He attended a special needs school between the ages of three and five before transferring to mainstream education.
He attended St Ambrose College, a grammar school based in Altrincham, and went on to obtain a first class history degree at University College, Oxford. Maynard was a reader at his local church and was also a governor at his local Catholic primary school.
After leaving university, Maynard worked as an adviser to the Conservative MP Liam Fox and as a speechwriter for William Hague – the Conservative MP and Leader of the Opposition. On 7 December 2000, he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in a by-election in the Custom House and Silvertown ward of Newham London Borough Council.
He came fourth when he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Beckton ward of Newham Council on the 29 March 2001 and subsequently failed to get elected as a councillor on the Custom House ward of Newham Council on 2 May 2002. He unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate for Twickenham in the 2005 general election, finishing second with 32.4% of the vote and a 2% swing to the Liberal Democrats.
Maynard was selected from the 'A List' for Blackpool North and Cleveleys in December 2006, having been on the Conservative A-List and moved to the constituency to live. Maynard was elected to the House of Commons in the 2010 general election with a majority of 2,150. He was the second person who has cerebral palsy to become a British MP; Conservative Terry Dicks was the first.
In February 2011, Maynard told The Times about the abuse he suffered from Labour MPs, who had mocked his disability during a Commons debate on the abolition of the Child Trust Fund on 26 October 2010. Various Labour Party sources confirmed that such behaviour was unacceptable and Rosie Winterton, the Labour chief whip, and her deputy Alan Campbell were reported to have spoken to MPs about the incident shortly afterwards. A few days after Maynard's Times interview, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, issued a written statement warning MPs that such abuse was unacceptable. It was reported he had known about the incident for more than three months before speaking to Maynard.
In October 2013, Maynard stated 'In Canada you have people going to food banks every week and it can become a habit. But there is more government can do.' Following criticism from a number of charities, Maynard apologised for causing offence.