Lucy Frazer


Lucy Frazer is a British Conservative politician and barrister, who has been Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire since the 2015 general election.
She took silk in 2012, prior to being returned to Parliament. A former Solicitor General for England and Wales, she currently serves as Prisons Minister.

Early life

Born on 17 May 1972 in Yorkshire, Frazer is descended from Jewish immigrants among whom was her grandfather Dr Hyman Frazer CBE, headmaster of Gateway Grammar School in Leicester.

Education

Frazer was educated at Leeds Girls' High School, and Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was elected President of the Cambridge Union.

Career

Before entering politics, Frazer worked as a barrister in commercial law in London. She was appointed Queen's Counsel at the age of 40. She was selected as the Conservative Party prospective parliamentary candidate for South East Cambridgeshire in December 2013, over Heidi Allen. There was initially a controversy about a possible miscount of votes at the selection. Frazer was reaffirmed as the candidate in January 2014, while Allen was selected that October as PPC for neighbouring South Cambridgeshire. Frazer went on to be elected at the 2015 general election with 28,845 votes, a majority of 16,837. She was elected to sit on the Education Select Committee later that year.
After her maiden speech, in which she jokingly referred to Oliver Cromwell's sale of Scots into colonial slavery as "an answer to the West Lothian question – but not one, of course, that I would recommend", she apologised were any offence to have been caused by such comment.
Frazer supported remaining within the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum. In July 2016, she became Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Ben Gummer.
Frazer put forward a Bill to Parliament for making 'upskirting' an offence in England and Wales; this attained royal assent on 12 February 2019. Before this Act was passed, only the common law offence of outraging public decency could be prosecuted. The Act removes the common law requirement of at least two witnesses to the offence.
She was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in January 2018, and moved to become Solicitor General for England and Wales in May 2019.
On 25th July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Frazer to the position of Minister of State for Prisons. She succeeded Robert Buckland, who was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor.

Personal life

Frazer is married with two children. On 18 March 2020, Frazer went into self-isolation during the coronavirus pandemic after a member of her family displayed coronavirus symptoms.