Julian Brazier - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Within parliament, Brazier became the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Treasury Gillian Shepherd. He remained Shepherd's PPS after the 1992 General Election in her new capacity as the Secretary of State for Employment, he resigned in 1993 as a protest against defence cuts. He was awarded the 'Backbencher of the Year' at the annual Spectator awards in 1996. Following the 1997 General Election, he became a member of the Defence Select Committee.

It was not until after the 2001 General Election that Julian Brazier was given a job by Iain Duncan Smith, initially as an Opposition Whip in 2001, he became a spokesman on Work and Pensions in 2002. He was briefly Home Affairs spokesman in 2003, before being moved later in the year by the new Leader of the Opposition Michael Howard to be a spokesman on International Affairs. Brazier remained on the frontbench after the 2005 General Election as a spokesman on Transport.

Julian Brazier is a member of the Cornerstone Group of Conservative MPs. This group is considered to be on the right of the Conservative Party, and away from the more centrist direction of the leadership. As a practising Roman Catholic, Brazier has been a long standing defender of socially conservative values. Brazier supported a bill put forth by Laurence Robertson in June 2005 that would almost entirely ban abortion. In 2008, he proposed a law that would allow Parliament to ban films and games, even if the BBFC had approved them. Unlike many Cornerstone members, however, Brazier does not belong to Better Off Out, which advocates EU withdrawal.

Because of his military background, Brazier has a special interest in the armed forces and has long been an advocate of military issues in the House of Commons.

He is one of the MPs who employs a family member to assist him.