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About John

John Charles Baron is a British Conservative Party politician who represented Billericay and later Basildon and Billericay in Parliament from 2001 to 2024. Born on 21 June 1959, Baron established a reputation as an independent-minded backbencher who frequently rebelled against his party on matters of principle. He was particularly noted for his opposition to military interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria, and for calling for a referendum on European Union membership before the 2015 election.

A strong critic of the EU, Baron became a vocal supporter of Brexit during the 2016 referendum campaign and subsequently backed the Leave Means Leave campaign. Despite being reselected by his local Conservative association, he chose to step down at the 2024 general election after serving 23 years as an MP. Baron now writes commentary for Comment Central, bringing his extensive parliamentary experience and expertise in foreign policy and European affairs to the publication's readership.

Selected writing

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Downing Street Cat Gradient
Raising taxes on businesses is a recipe for killing many off...
John Baron, Comment Central contributor
John Baron
September 4, 2020
Westminster Sunset Edited 1
This time last year, when Boris Johnson was newly-installed as Prime...
John Baron, Comment Central contributor
John Baron
August 3, 2020
Social care
Putting social care on a sustainable financial footing would be a...
John Baron, Comment Central contributor
John Baron
July 1, 2020
Parliament EU Flag Edited
The more the Brexit negotiations drag on, the longer the UK...
John Baron, Comment Central contributor
John Baron
June 5, 2020
Houses of Parliament Reflection Edited
While there has been positives during this pandemic, the Government have...
John Baron, Comment Central contributor
John Baron
May 5, 2020
UK corona
While coronavirus has unleashed an outpouring of volunteering and community spirit in...
John Baron, Comment Central contributor
John Baron
April 5, 2020