Paul Holmes

Paul John Holmes (born 25 August 1988) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hamble Valley since 2024. He was the Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2019 to 2024. Holmes currently serves as Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government having been appointed by Kemi Badenoch.

Early life and education

Paul Holmes was born on 25 August 1988 at Guy's Hospital in Southwark, to John Edward Holmes and Sandra Holmes. He grew up on the Bellingham council estate in Lewisham. He served on Southampton City Council as Chair of the Planning Committee and Cabinet Member for Education and Social Services. Holmes stood down at the 2012 council election.

At the snap 2017 general election, Holmes stood in Southampton Test, coming second with 34.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Alan Whitehead.

At the 2019 general election, Holmes was elected to Parliament as MP for Eastleigh with 55.4% of the vote and a majority of 15,607.

He was elected to serve on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee until January 2021, and the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments, on which he continues to serve.

In January 2021, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Office ministerial team. On 20 September 2021, Holmes was promoted to PPS to the home secretary Priti Patel. He resigned from this position on 27 May 2022, over concerns around "toxic culture" at the heart of Government following the publication of the Sue Gray report.

Holmes was appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for policy in November 2022 following Rishi Sunak forming a Government, he left this position in September 2023 when Holmes was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. In November 2023 he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, David Cameron.

Following the suspension in February 2024 of former party deputy chair Lee Anderson for making Islamophobic remarks about the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who is a Muslim, Holmes defended Anderson. Holmes was quoted as saying his suspension "will drive the agenda that we can’t speak up on things. Especially after last Wednesday and the protests we saw," referring to protests regarding the Gaza war outside Parliament.

In April 2024, Holmes was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip.

At the 2024 general election, Holmes stood in Hamble Valley, and was elected to Parliament as MP for Hamble Valley with 36.4% of the vote and a majority of 4,802.

Holmes resigned as an opposition whip in October 2024 in order to publicly support James Cleverly in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election.

Personal life Holmes currently lives in Hedge End. He lists his recreations as "real ale, cooking, aviation", and is a member of the Southern Parishes Conservative club.