In 2009, he was selected as the
Conservative parliamentary candidate for the safe seat of
Orpington in the
London Borough of Bromley from a
shortlist of six contenders. At the
2010 general election, he retained the seat for the Conservatives, tripling the majority of his predecessor
John Horam to over 17,000. His majority increased again in the
general election of 2015, to 19,979. He increased the Conservative share of the vote in the constituency by 5.5% points to 62.9% at the
general election in June 2017, although his majority declined to 19,453.
Head of the Downing Street Policy Unit On 25 April 2013, he was appointed head of the
Number 10 Policy Unit by
David Cameron to help develop the
2015 Conservative manifesto. As a junior Cabinet Office minister, he headed the
Policy Unit in the
Prime Minister's Office, and also chaired a newly created
Conservative Parliamentary advisory board, known as the Prime Minister's Policy Board, consisting of Conservative MPs. Johnson's appointment to head up the Downing Street policy unit was viewed as surprising by
The Guardian as he was perceived as being more pro-European and left-leaning than most Conservatives.
Minister for Universities and Science On 11 May 2015, it was announced that Johnson had been appointed
Minister for Universities and Science at the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Writing about Johnson's appointment for
Times Higher Education, John Morgan said: "Mr Johnson's reputation as a pro-European is likely to please vice-chancellors, many of whom are concerned by the Tories' pledge to hold an
in-out referendum on EU membership by 2017.
Universities UK pointed out that British higher education institutions benefit from around £1.2 billion in
European research funding each year." In this role, Johnson introduced the
Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which the Times Higher Education described as the most significant legislation in 25 years. This overhauled the regulatory framework for
English universities, replaced the
Higher Education Funding Council for England with a new regulator, the
Office for Students, and established mechanisms to hold universities more accountable for the quality of teaching and student outcomes. The Act also created a new single national strategic research body, UK Research and Innovation, bringing together the UK's fragmented research funding bodies.
Minister of Transport On 9 January 2018, Johnson left his role as
Minister for Universities and accepted a new position as
Minister of Transport and
Minister for London. On 9 November 2018, Johnson resigned his position, citing disillusionment with the government's Brexit strategy and called for a fresh vote on Brexit with an option to remain. Johnson argued that Britain was "on the brink of the greatest crisis" since World War Two and claimed that what was on offer was not "anything like what was promised". Johnson resigned as a minister in December 2018 because he wanted to be free to endorse a
proposed referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Minister in Boris Johnson's Cabinet On 24 July 2019, it was announced that Jo Johnson was appointed
Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation – this position would mean he would be attending the meetings of the cabinet. He was appointed to the
privy council the next day. On 5 September, Johnson
resigned as a Minister and announced he would stand down as MP, describing his position as "torn between family and national interest". He stood down at the
next general election rather than
resigning. A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister would like to thank Jo Johnson for his service... The constituents of Orpington could not have asked for a better representative."
House of Lords On 31 July 2020, the announcement was made of Johnson's elevation to the House of Lords as part of the
2019 Dissolution Honours. It was his elder brother Boris Johnson who established his peerage. He was created
Baron Johnson of Marylebone, of
Marylebone in the
City of Westminster, on 29 October. He delivered his maiden speech on the afternoon of Thursday 4 March 2021. ==Personal life==