Jacob Young

Jacob Young (born 2 February 1993) is a former British Conservative Party politician and served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up from 18 September 2023, until losing his seat in July 2024. He previously served as Assistant Government Whip between September 2022 and September 2023. He was elected as MP for Redcar at the 2019 general election. He was the first Conservative MP to represent the constituency.

Early life and career Jacob Young was born in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire as the son of Terrence Anthony Young and Elizabeth Anne Young. He grew up in a working-class family in Middlesbrough, and has six siblings. Young attended Macmillan Academy, and then studied at Redcar & Cleveland College and the TTE Technical Institute. After this, he obtained a Higher National Certificate in chemical engineering at Teesside University. Whilst at university, he joined the Conservative Party. Young later became a lead technician for a petrochemicals company.

Political career Young stood as the Conservative candidate in Redcar at the 2015 general election, coming fourth with 16.2% of the vote behind the Labour Party candidate Anna Turley, and the Liberal Democrat and UKIP candidates.

He campaigned for Brexit prior to the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.

In the same year, Young was elected as the councillor for Coulby Newham ward on Middlesbrough Council. In February 2019, he announced that he would be standing down from his council seat as he no longer lived in the town, and had moved to Saltburn-by-the-Sea. In May 2019, he stood as a candidate for one of the three council seats for Saltburn ward on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, finishing fourth.

Parliamentary career Young was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Redcar on 11 November that year. At the 2019 general election, Young was elected as MP for Redcar, winning with 46.1% of the vote and a majority of 3,527. He is the first Conservative to represent the constituency.

In a profile by GQ in February 2021, he was described as "socially liberal" and a "Thatcherite". Young resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 6 July 2022, as part of the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.

He endorsed Rishi Sunak in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.

In September 2023, he replaced Dehenna Davison as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up.

Post-parliamentary career Following his defeat at the 2024 UK General Election, Young joined infrastructure consultants, Agilia as Director of Corporate Affairs. In a December 2024 interview with The Northern Echo, Young said it took almost 100 days to find a new career direction.

Personal life Young married his partner Jack Robinson-Young in a ceremony in Redcar on 8 April 2022. They resided in Saltburn. Young now lives in Guisborough. He is a Christian.