Gareth Johnson

Gareth Alan Johnson (born 12 October 1969) is a British politician and former lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Conservative party, he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts from September to October 2022 in the Truss ministry. Johnson previously served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from February to September 2022 and Assistant Government Whip from 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.

Early life and career
Gareth Johnson was born in Bromley on 12 October 1969, the son of a milkman. He attended Dartford Grammar School. Before entering politics, Johnson worked in the Magistrates Court Service and as a solicitor in Dartford. He served for a time on the Board of Governors of Dartford Grammar School for Girls.

In local elections Johnson stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Danson ward of the London Borough of Bexley in 1994, before being elected in the Christchurch ward in 1998. He served one term of four years and did not stand for re-election in 2002. He served as Constituency chairman for the Conservative Party in Bexley.

Parliamentary career
At the 2001 general election, Johnson stood as the Conservative candidate in Lewisham West, coming second with 22.4% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Jim Dowd.

Johnson stood in Dartford at the 2005 general election, coming second with 41.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Howard Stoate.

At the 2010 general election, Johnson was elected to Parliament as MP for Dartford with 48.8% of the vote and a majority of 10,628.

In the 2014 reshuffle he became PPS to David Gauke, newly promoted Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

Johnson was re-elected as MP for Dartford at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 49% and an increased majority of 12,345. Following the election, he was made PPS to Matt Hancock, Paymaster General of the Cabinet Office.

Johnson is listed as being the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Dominican Republic in December 2015. He previously served as the vice-chairman of both the Retail APPG and the British Sikhs APPG. Johnson has also previously been a member of both the Child and Youth Crime APPG and the BBC APPG. In January 2016, Johnson led a Westminster Hall debate on congestion at the Dartford Crossing.

Johnson has previously served on the Justice Select Committee, the Human Rights (Joint Committee) and the Science and Technology Select Committee.

At the snap 2017 general election, Johnson was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 57.6% and an increased majority of 13,186.

He was appointed Assistant Government Whip in November 2018, resigning on 14 January 2019 in disagreement with Prime Minister Theresa May's policy for Britain leaving the European Union.

Johnson was again re-elected at the 2019 general election with an increased vote share of 62.9% and an increased majority of 19,160.

He was appointed Assistant Government Whip in the September 2021 cabinet reshuffle. On 9 February 2022, he was appointed Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, succeeding Craig Whittaker.

He endorsed Liz Truss in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.

On 20 September 2022, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in the Ministry of Justice by Prime Minister Liz Truss. On 27 October, he was dismissed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

He endorsed Boris Johnson in the October 2022 Conservative Party Leadership Election, but he did not end up standing.

In March 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Gareth Johnson as his Trade Envoy to the United Arab Emirates. This is the first time the UK has appointed a Trade Envoy for this country.

In the 2024 general election, Johnson lost his seat to Labour Party candidate Jim Dickson by 1,192 votes,

Personal life
Johnson lives in the village of Hartley with his wife Wendy and their two children.

Johnson employs his wife as a part-time Parliamentary Assistant on a salary up to £25,000. He was listed in a 2015 article in The Daily Telegraph criticising the practice of MPs employing family members, on the lines that it promotes nepotism. Although MPs who were first elected in 2017 have been banned from employing family members, the restriction is not retrospective – meaning that Johnson's employment of his wife is lawful.