Walker pursued a career in marketing and communications and held senior positions within a number of businesses. He was on the board of directors of Blue Arrow.[4] He belonged to the trade union Amicus.[5] Walker was a member of Wandsworth Council from 2002 to 2006.[4] He had previously stood unsuccessfully in Ealing North at the 2001 general election.[6]
In 2011, Walker made what is believed by some to be the shortest Parliamentary speech in history, when he made a four-word contribution in a European Union debate on membership: "If not now, when?"[11] (referring to the option of a referendum on the issue)
In July 2013, Walker voted in favour of extending same-sex marriage to England and Wales.[13]
In December 2013, Walker was the only MP to confirm he would accept an 11% pay increase.[14] His championship of the pay rise and membership of the committee led to him being described by The Daily Telegraph as being in with an outside chance of becoming speaker when John Bercow stood down.[12]
In the last parliamentary session before the 2015 general election, Walker explained what he knew about the Government decision to force a vote on changing the rules for electing a speaker for the next Parliament, in order to remove the then-Speaker John Bercow.
Walker said he had written a report on the subject "years ago" but although he had talked to William Hague and Michael Gove that week, neither had told him their objectives. He had only found out via the grapevine, and stated that he would rather be "an honourable fool" than part of a plot. The government lost the vote and Walker received a standing ovation from Labour MPs.[15][16]
Following the 2015 general election, Walker was returned unopposed as chair of the Procedure Committee.[17]
In May 2019, Walker and Cheryl Gillan became acting chairs of the 1922 Committee after Graham Brady resigned to consider standing in the leadership contest to succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader. They stood down when Brady returned to the role in September of that year.[21]
Criticisms of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions: 2020–2021
In response to the Johnson government's attempt to control COVID-19 through a three tier system, Walker said in October 2020 that the government seemed to think it could "abolish death". He also accused the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies of choosing to "ramp up" the "fear factor" regarding the disease.[22] Regarding the second tier regulations in November, Walker said "As we drift further into an authoritarian coercive state, the only legal mechanism left open to me is to vote against that legislation. The people of this country will never, ever forgive the political class for criminalising parents seeing children."[23]
In November 2020, Walker called police officers a "disgrace" for enforcing government laws surrounding COVID-19 by arresting a 72-year-old woman who was "peacefully protesting" and who was charged under the Coronavirus Act.[24] At the time, Walker called for the Constitution of the United Kingdom to be codified into a single written document (it is currently uncodified) to prevent further curbs on civil liberties.[25]
On 25 March 2021, following a debate on the six-month extension of emergency powers during the COVID-19 lockdown, Walker made a widely reported speech in which he said:
For the next few days, I will walk around London with a pint of milk on my person because that pint will represent my protest. And there may be others who will choose too to walk around London with a pint of milk on their person as well and, perhaps, as we walk past each other in the street, our eyes might meet. We might even stop for a chat.
On 18 April 2021, Walker published an op-ed in The Daily Telegraph in which he stated his concern about the rumoured COVID vaccine passports, specifically by drawing parallels to other public health concerns not managed in the same way, such as obesity.[30]
Retirement from the House of Commons: 2022–present
I think it's a shambles and a disgrace... I hope all those people that put Liz Truss into Number 10, I hope it was worth it... because the damage they have done to our party is extraordinary.
Charles Walker's remarks on the market fallout, subsequent government crisis and Conservative unpopularity.[31]
On 1 February 2022, Walker announced he would be standing down at the 2024 general election, saying there had been "a lot of grief and pain" in the country which had meant politics had become a "pretty toxic environment".[32]
Walker endorsed Penny Mordaunt during the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[33] He became the fifth Conservative MP to publicly call for the Prime Minister Liz Truss to resign.[34] During the government crisis on 19 October 2022, Walker called the Truss ministry "a shambles and a disgrace... utterly appalling", commenting of its supporters that he had "had enough of talentless people" for whom "it’s in their own personal interest to achieve a ministerial position".[35][36]
Walker has twice won The Spectator Speech of the Year at its annual Parliamentarian of the Year Awards: the first time in 2011 and the second time in 2012 when he shared the award with Kevan Jones. He was also one of The Spectator's Parliamentarians of the Year in 2013. In 2012, he was chosen as one of the Telegraph's "50 Great Britons" for that year and was also one of The Guardian's "Stories of 2012".[38] He was awarded the President's Medal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in November 2013.[39]
Personal life
Walker is the stepson of middle-distance runner and former Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chataway. He is married and has three children.[4]
^Cole, Harry; Heale, James (2022). Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss. HarperCollins. p. 308. ISBN978-0-00-860578-0.
