Luke Evans (politician)

Luke Evans{{cite web |title=Dr. Luke Evans - All-Party Parliamentary Health Group |url=https://www.healthinparliament.org.uk/people/dr-luke-evans |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126135013/https://www.healthinparliament.org.uk/people/dr-luke-evans |archive-date=26 January 2021 |access-date=26 January 2021 |website=Health in Parliament}} was born on 10 January 1983{{Cite book |last=Brunskill |first=Ian |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1129682574 |title=The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election |date=19 March 2020 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Limited |isbn=978-0-00-839258-1 |pages=115 |oclc=1129682574}} and brought up in Dorset; his father is a GP, and his mother was a nurse and then a school nurse. Evans began studying at the University of Birmingham Medical School in 2002, and qualified as a doctor in 2007. Evans worked in hospitals across the Midlands whilst he was a junior doctor{{cite web |title=About Dr Luke |url=https://www.drlukeevans.org.uk/about-dr-luke |access-date=11 January 2022 |work=Dr Luke Evans MP}} and described his training as "one of the most difficult, yet proudest, periods of [his] career", saying the "profound difference you can make to a patient's life" is a "real privilege".

In 2009, Evans returned to the University of Birmingham to teach anatomy, and began training to become a GP.

Evans qualified as a GP in 2013, and worked as a GP full-time until he was elected in December 2019.

Evans stood as the Conservative candidate in Birmingham Edgbaston at the 2015 general election, coming second with 38.3% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Gisela Stuart.{{cite web|url=https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2015-05-07/results/Location/Constituency/Birmingham%2C%20Edgbaston|title=Birmingham, Edgbaston - 2015 Election Results|work=UK Parliament|accessdate=19 March 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Kimber |first1=Richard |title=General Election 2015 |url=http://politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge15/i03.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310074409/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge15/i03.htm |archive-date=10 March 2017 |access-date=1 April 2017 |website=Political Science Resources}}{{cite web |title=Election Data 2015 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017112223/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=Electoral Calculus}}

He supported the UK leaving the EU in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum.{{cite news |last=Bond |first=Daniel |date=16 December 2019 |title=Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs |url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/class-of-2019-meet-the-new-mps |website=politicshome.com |access-date=19 March 2020}}

In September 2019, Evans was selected as the Conservative candidate for Bosworth.{{cite news |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/dr-luke-evans-chosen-conservative-3290338 |title=Tories announce Bosworth Conservative election candidate |last=Martin |first=Dan |date=6 September 2018 |work=Leicestershire Live |access-date=19 December 2019}} At the 2019 general election, Evans was elected to Parliament as MP for Bosworth with 63.9% of the vote and a majority of 26,278.{{cite news |title=Bosworth Parliamentary constituency |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000583 |access-date=20 November 2019 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}

Since February 2020, Evans has gained a following on TikTok showing his day-to-day activities as a Member of Parliament and provides explanations on various political processes.{{cite news|url=https://www.indy100.com/politics/every-mp-political-figure-on-tikok |title=Here is a round-up of all the MPs who are on TikTok |author=Sinead Butler |publisher=Indy100 |date=14 May 2022 |access-date=19 December 2022}}

Evans served as a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee between March 2020 and December 2022.{{cite web |date=2 March 2020 |title=Health and Social Care Committee membership agreed |url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/health-and-social-care-committee/news/membership-agreed-17-191/ |accessdate=19 March 2020 |work=UK Parliament}}

In September 2020, Evans introduced a Private Member's Bill under the Ten Minute Rule, entitled the Digitally Altered Body Images Bill. If enacted into law, the bill would require advertisers to label images which have been digitally altered.{{cite web |title=Digitally Altered Body Images Bill |url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2778 |work=UK Parliament}}

In February 2021, Evans suggested that mental health practitioners should be stationed at coronavirus vaccine centres.{{cite news |last=Dawson |first=Nick |date=5 February 2021 |title=MP calls for mental health practitioners at vaccine centres |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/mental-health-practitioners-should-stationed-4970556 |access-date=11 January 2022 |work=Leicestershire Live}}

Evans formally recommended Twycross Zoo's project for a National Science and Conservation Centre in summer 2021, which will be built in his constituency, to receive funding from the Levelling Up Scheme. In the autumn 2021 budget, the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the bid had been successful, with £19.9 million allocated to Twycross Zoo.{{cite news |last=Moody |first=Jenny |date=1 November 2021 |title=Twycross zoo to open major new centre |url=https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/twycross-zoo-open-major-new-6136434 |access-date=11 January 2022 |work=Staffordshire Live}}

In October 2021, Evans launched a new campaign asking the Government to recognise the issue of body image for the first time in UK law, in the Online Safety Bill.{{cite tweet |number=1454102967737593860 |user=drlukeevans |title=Today I'm launching my new campaign, #RecogniseBodyImage, asking the Government to recognise body image for the first time in UK law. |first=Luke |last=Evans |access-date=11 January 2022}}

Throughout autumn 2021, Evans raised the issue of the 15-minute wait after receiving a Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccine, asking the Government if the data could be reviewed. Evans said in Parliament on 8 December that dropping the wait, if safe to do so, would "free up a huge amount of capacity when it comes to delivering the boosters".{{cite web |title=Engagements |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-12-08/debates/45C3B261-14F7-4DDC-A7D8-EB8A76097CFB/Engagements#contribution-D3D7352E-C001-4A2C-82AC-E38F058E557D |work=UK Parliament}} The chief and deputy chief medical officers for the UK subsequently announced that having reviewed the data, it was safe to suspend the 15-minute wait in order to allow as many people as possible to receive a booster vaccine, and that retaining the wait presented more of a risk than dropping it.{{cite web |title=Suspension of the 15-minute wait for vaccination with mRNA vaccine for COVID-19: UK CMOs' opinion |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suspension-of-the-15-minute-wait-for-vaccination-with-mrna-vaccine-for-covid-19-uk-cmos-opinion/suspension-of-the-15-minute-wait-for-vaccination-with-mrna-vaccine-for-covid-19-uk-cmos-opinion |access-date=11 January 2022 |work=GOV.UK}} Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed in Parliament on 15 December that the 15-minute wait would be dropped.{{cite web |last=Dawson |first=Nick |date=17 December 2021 |title=Government makes Covid booster jab change |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/government-makes-covid-booster-jab-6367116 |access-date=11 January 2022 |work=Leicestershire Live}}

In January 2022, Evans launched a podcast, Dr in the House, which covers topics like "mental health, body image and life as an MP" with "fellow MPs, famous faces and just some of the extraordinary people he comes across in his job".{{cite web |author=Steerpike |title=Chatty MPs fuel podcast boom |work=The Spectator |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/chatty-mps-fuel-podcast-boom |date=8 February 2022 |access-date=10 March 2022 |url-access=subscription}} Speakers on the podcast include James McVey, Dr Alex George and former-CEO of Twycross Zoo (situated within Evans's constituency of Bosworth), Sharon Redrobe OBE.

On 13 June 2022, Evans was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Home Office ministerial team, alongside Matt Vickers.{{cite tweet |last1=Heale |first1=James |user=JAHeale |title=-Luke Evans and Matt Vickers to the Home Office team |number=1536441499302481921 |access-date=14 June 2022 |date=13 June 2022}}

Evans endorsed Penny Mordaunt in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election and, after her defeat, voted for Rishi Sunak. He also endorsed Mordaunt in the October 2022 election but welcomed Sunak stating: "I supported Rishi's choices as Chancellor during the Covid pandemic and the level of support for all households, but particularly pensioners and the most vulnerable, announced in May to assist with cost of living pressures. Rishi has my full support moving forward".{{Cite web |title=Statement from Dr Luke Evans MP following Rishi Sunak's appointment as leader of the Conservative Party |url=https://www.drlukeevans.org.uk/news/rishi_sunak_announced_as_conservative_leader |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Dr Luke Evans MP |date=24 October 2022 |language=en}}

On the NFU's Back British Farming Day 2023, 13 September, the Food and Farming Secretary Thérèse Coffey and the UK Government{{Cite web |date=2023-09-13 |title=Government backs Bosworth MP's call for 'Buy British' section online |url=https://www.drlukeevans.org.uk/news/government-backs-buy-british-button |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Dr Luke Evans MP |language=en}} endorsed Evans's 'Buy British' campaign. This followed a petition by the National Farmers Union (NFU) in support of Evans's campaign which received over 25,000 signatures in only six days.{{Cite web |title=Do you support the idea of a 'Buy British' button on supermarket websites? |url=https://www.campaigns.nfuonline.com/page/134658/petition/1?locale=en-GB |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=www.campaigns.nfuonline.com}}

In February 2024 Evans appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside TOWIE star James Lock to discuss his body image campaign and the impact of body dysmorphic disorder, quoting a survey which showed that "1 in 5 adults and 1 in 3 children feel shame about their body".{{Cite web |title=Body image report - Executive Summary |url=https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/articles/body-image-report-executive-summary |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.mentalhealth.org.uk |language=en}}

In April 2024 Evans was nominated as Pagefield's Parliamentary Campaigner of the Year, losing out on the award to Lord Arbuthnot for his work to overturn the wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters and highlight the Post Office Horizon scandal.{{Cite web |last=Renwick |first=Simon |date=2024-03-12 |title=Announcing the finalists for the 'Parliamentary Campaigner of the Year' award at the Pagefield Parliamentarian Awards with Dods |url=https://www.pagefield.co.uk/news-insight/announcing-the-finalists-for-the-parliamentary-campaigner-of-the-year-award-at-the-pagefield-parliamentarian-awards-with-dods/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Pagefield |language=en-GB}}

Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Evans' constituency of Bosworth was renamed to Hinckley and Bosworth. At the 2024 general election, Evans was elected to Parliament as MP for Hinckley and Bosworth with 35.6% of the vote and a majority of 5,408.{{Cite web |last=Coyle |first=Simon |date=2024-07-04 |title=Hinckley and Bosworth general election 2024 results in full |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/hinckley-bosworth-general-election-2024-29349677 |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}

Evans secured his Hinckley and Bosworth Seat in the election and after the defeat of the Conservative Party, he was appointed shadow Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and an Opposition Whip in the interim opposition frontbench of Rishi Sunak.{{Cite web |title=Conservative Party announces interim Opposition Front Bench |url=https://policymogul.com/key-updates/37814/conservative-party-announces-interim-opposition-front-bench |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=policymogul.com |language=en}}

In May 2019, Evans married fellow GP Dr Charlotte March; they first met whilst they were both at medical school. They live in the Hinckley and Bosworth constituency. Evans is the eldest of three brothers, all of whom have gone into medicine.

In 2017, Evans became British Public Speaking Champion. He also played rugby during and after university, sang in a competitive barbershop chorus, was a Rotarian, and served as a primary school governor.

Evans volunteered to help administer the coronavirus vaccine in Bosworth in summer 2021.

In April 2024 Evans revealed he had been targeted, as part of the honeypot scam centred around William Wragg, having received unsolicited messages on WhatsApp.{{Cite web |title=Tory MP Luke Evans says he was victim of 'cyber flashing and malicious communications' |url=https://news.sky.com/story/tory-mp-luke-evans-says-he-was-victim-of-cyber-flashing-and-malicious-communications-13108627 |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=Sky News}}{{Cite news |last1=Riley-Smith |first1=Ben |last2=Gibbons |first2=Amy |last3=Holl-Allen |first3=Genevieve |date=2024-04-05 |title=Watch: Tory MP reveals he was targeted in 'Westminster honeytrap' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/05/tory-mp-targeted-westminster-honeytrap-luke-evans/ |access-date=2024-06-12 |work=The Telegraph |issn=0307-1235}} Evans immediately reported both sets of messages to Metropolitan Police, Leicestershire Police and Parliamentary Security{{Cite web |date=2024-04-09 |title=I reported phishing and incidents of cyber-flashing to the police |url=https://www.drlukeevans.org.uk/news/reported-phishing-to-police |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Dr Luke Evans MP }} – blowing the whistle on the spear phishing targeting of MPs. Evans has since praised Leicestershire Police for their support but expressed concerns around Parliament's handling of the situation.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title=I reported phishing messages to Police, but have concerns how it was handled by Parliament Security |url=https://www.drlukeevans.org.uk/news/reported-phishing-messages-to-police |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Dr Luke Evans MP }}

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Category:1983 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century English medical doctors

Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham

Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:Medical doctors from Devon

Category:Politicians from Dorset

Category:Politicians from Leicestershire

Category:UK MPs 2019–2024

Category:British Eurosceptics

Category:UK MPs 2024–present