Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale, MP for Maldon
John Whittingdale has been an MP since 1992. Currently: Foreign Affairs Committee.
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) | 2023 | |
| Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) | 2023 | |
| Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) | 2020 to 2021 | |
| Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) | 2015 to 2016 |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care) (Department of Health and Social Care) | 2024 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) | 2004 to 2005 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) | 2003 to 2004 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) | 2002 to 2003 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State (Trade and Industry) (Department of Trade and Industry) | 2001 to 2002 | |
| Shadow Spokesperson (Treasury) (HM Treasury) | 1998 to 1999 | |
| Opposition Whip (Commons) (Whips Office (Commons)) | 1997 to 1998 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign Affairs Committee | 2024 to now | Now |
| Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill | 2024 | |
| Zoological Society of London (Leases) Bill | 2024 | |
| Media Bill | 2023 | |
| Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill | 2023 | |
| Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union | 2017 to 2019 | |
| Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union | 2016 to 2017 | |
| Privacy and Injunctions (Joint Committee) | 2011 to 2012 |
Show the other 5
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy and Injunctions (Joint Committee) | 2011 to 2012 | |
| Liaison Committee (Commons) | 2005 to 2015 | |
| Trade & Industry | 2001 | |
| Health and Social Care Committee | 1993 to 1997 | |
| Consolidation etc. Bills (Joint Committee) | 1992 to 1997 |
Other posts
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Vice-Chair, Conservative Party 1922 Committee | 2008 to 2015 |
Countries of interest
Political Interests
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
John Whittingdale has 9 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Betting & Gaming Council - £1,920.00 | 2 Jul 2026 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to China between 24 May 2026 and 29 May 2026 | 9 Jun 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | BPI (British Recorded Music) Ltd - £3,430.00 | 4 Mar 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | NBC Universal International - £4,400.00 | 3 Mar 2026 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to Qatar between 05 December 2025 and 08 December 2025 | 18 Dec 2025 |
| Miscellaneous | A Member of the Executive Committee of the British Group of the Inter Parliamentary Union. This is an unpaid position. | 29 Nov 2025 |
| Miscellaneous | Member of the Board of the Conservative Party. This is an unpaid position. | 29 Nov 2025 |
| Family members engaged in third-party lobbying | Alice Whittingdale employed as Lobbyist | 7 Aug 2023 |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Residential in London | 8 Oct 2012 |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
John Whittingdale asked 23 written questions in the last 12 months.
Who they asked
Latest questions
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
72 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
John Whittingdale represents Maldon. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Conservative
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
John Whittingdale won with 39% of the votes, and Pamela Walford (Reform UK) came second with 25%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Whittingdale | Conservative | 19,374 | 38.9% |
| Pamela Walford | Reform UK | 12,468 | 25.0% |
| Onike Gollo | Labour | 9,817 | 19.7% |
| Simon Burwood | Liberal Democrat | 5,882 | 11.8% |
| Isobel Doubleday | Green Party | 2,300 | 4.6% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months John Whittingdale took part in 185 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
John Whittingdale voted the same way as their party in 183 of the 183 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | Against | Free vote |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | Against | Free vote |
| 10 Sep | Social housing: an attempt to block it | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Nov 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this