James Lawrence
James Lawrence | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Renvyle | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Ayda Westwood |
| Preceded by | Annette Fielding |
| Leader of the Progressive Party | |
| Assumed office 18 December 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Cook |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 18 December 2015 – 24 October 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Cook |
| Succeeded by | David Lorimer |
| Member of Parliament | |
| Assumed office 13 October 2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 May 1971 |
| Nationality | Renvylese |
| Political party | Progressive |
| Spouse | Harriet Lawrence |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Politician, journalist |
James Lawrence is a Renvylese politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister since October 2019. An MP since 2011, Lawrence was elected as leader of the Progressive Party in 2015, having previously worked in journalism. He spent four years as Leader of the Opposition up until the 2019 general election in which his party polled a disappointing third place, leading to the formation of a coalition with the People's Labour Party under Ayda Westwood.
Born in 1971 to upper-class parents, Lawrence was educated at the prestigious Holmefield College before attending the University of Sturbridge to study political philosophy. He went from university to working in the office of Moderate Party leader Alistair Balding, after which he entered journalism. Lawrence wrote for several leading publications, including as the editor of the centre-right magazine National Dispatch between 2004 and 2009.
Selected as a party-list candidate for the Progressives for the 2011 election, he entered Parliament just as his party lost power following 11 years in government. Party leader Peter Cook promoted Lawrence to several leadership positions, but was ousted by his former protégé following the party's dismal performance in the 2015 parliamentary election in which the Liberal People's Party under William Albright was re-elected in a landslide.
After becoming Leader of the Opposition, Lawrence set about attempting to improve his party's electability, pledging not to reverse the Albright government's tax cuts whilst arguing that his government would put greater emphasis on the need for environmental protections and invest more in house-building to address a national shortage of homes. With the country experiencing an economic downturn in 2017 to which the government was perceived as being slow to respond, the Progressives rose in the polls and appeared likely to win power in the 2019 election. However, a surge in support for the PLP in the final weeks of the election campaign drastically squeezed the Progressive vote and the party lost 19 seats, leaving it with just 50 MPs. This was the worst election result for the Progressive Party in its history.
After her party's surprise election victory, Ayda Westwood set about negotiating a coalition agreement with the Progressives which resulted in Lawrence becoming Deputy Prime Minister. Despite press speculation that members of his party could force Lawrence's resignation as leader he insisted he was committed to making the coalition work.