The Rt Hon Lord Bates

Biography

Lord Bates was Minister of State at the Department for International Development between October 2016 and July 2019. He was previously a Minister of State at the Home Office from May 2015 until March 2016. Lord Bates is a Conservative member of the House of Lords

Education

MBA degree from Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Political career

Lord Bates joined the Conservative Party in 1979.

Between 1992 and 1997 he was the Member of Parliament for Langbaurgh constituency. In the House of Commons he served as a senior Government Whip, Paymaster-General in the Cabinet Office and Sponsor Minister for North East England. In 2008 he was appointed to the House of Lords. Between 2008 and 2010 he held a number of Shadow Ministerial posts including: Communities and Local Government, Cabinet Office and the Whips’ Office.

In 2013 he was appointed a Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairman of the House of Lords. He then was appointed Whip for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on broadcasting in October 2013. At the same time he was also appointed as a Lord-in-Waiting. Following this he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Criminal Information at the Home Office in 2014; the Lords spokesman and Whip at the Department for Work and Pensions; and the Whip at the Department for International Development.

Career outside politics

He worked, with others, to establish one of the first City Technology Colleges in Gateshead dedicated to delivering academic excellence in a socially deprived area of Tyneside.

He has served as Director of Research & Consulting for Oxford Analytica – an international consulting firm using a network of academics for Oxford and universities around the world to undertake research in economic, business and political trends.

In 2011 he embarked on a solo 3,000 mile walk from Olympia in Greece to London to raise awareness for the Olympic Truce.

Personal life

Lord Bates was born in Gateshead in 1961; he is married to Xuelin and has 2 sons.

Away from politics his interests are football – he is a supporter of Newcastle United FC, cinema and Formula 1 motor racing.