Sir Tony Baldry

Tony Baldry was educated at Leighton Park and the University of Sussex, where he graduated with a BA and LLB in Law, and later obtained an MA in International Development.

Called to the Bar, he was a practising Barrister and until recently for a number of years had been Head of a commercial set of Chambers in the Temple.

For 32 years, Tony was Member of Parliament for Banbury.  During this time, he served as a Minister in four Government Departments under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including having helped privatise the electricity industry in the Department of Energy, a time in the Department of the Environment, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

For a Parliament, Tony chaired the Commons Select Committee on International Development and in his last Parliament, from 2010-2015, had the Crown Appointment of Second Church Estates Commissioner, effectively the link between the House of Commons and the Church of England.  Tony is still a member of General Synod of the Church of England, a governor of Cuddesdon Theological College and a Lay Canon of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford.

On standing down from the House of Commons in 2015, Tony was elected to the ceremonial role of High Steward of Banbury.  He is convenor of the “Banbury as an Age Friendly Town” project.  Tony chairs a number of public and private companies, including the Westminster Group plc.

Tony is a Trustee of a number of charities, including the Association of Festival Churches, the Pimlico Musical Foundation, and Children Heard and Seen.

He was knighted in 2012 and made a member of the Privy Council in 2014. 

Tony lives in Bloxham with his wife Pippa. Tony is a member the Cherwell District DL Group and is the town DL for Banbury.