Masters of the Bench

David Gauke was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 8 January 2018. He was elected the Conservative MP for Hertfordshire South West in May 2005.

Educated at Northgate High School in Ipswich, David read law at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. After a year working as a parliamentary researcher, he attended Chester College of Law before becoming a trainee solicitor.

David was appointed as a Shadow Minister for the Treasury in June 2007. He focused on tax policy, including matters such as tax simplification and corporation tax reform. He was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in May 2010, and promoted to Financial Secretary to the Treasury in July 2014. He served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from July 2016 to June 2017.

After qualifying as a solicitor in 1997, David worked for a leading City firm before entering Parliament in 2005.