Official portrait of Sir John Whittingdale

Sir John Whittingdale

Conservative MP for Maldon, since 9 April 1992

The Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale is the Conservative MP for Maldon, and has been an MP continually since 9 April 1992.

Scorecard

60.2% Attendance Below the median of MPs who vote
354 Votes cast out of 590 divisions, plus 1 as teller
235 No vote recorded absent, abstaining, paired or unable to attend
0 Against their own party divisions where they voted the other way to most Conservative MPs
9 Interests declared 2 at £5,000 or more
685 Debates spoken in 89 written questions tabled

Ranked 509 of 638 MPs for attendance. The median of MPs who vote is 72.4%. Ministers and front-benchers vote less often than backbenchers for reasons of office rather than absenteeism, and Parliament does not publish reasons for any absence — the ranking is a starting point for a question, not an answer to one.

Voting record

590 divisions since they took their seat, newest first.

DateQuestionTheir voteResult
11 Sep 2026 Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading No 270–286
11 Sep 2026 Closure motion No 293–218
10 Sep 2026 Social Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading Aye 77–292
9 Sep 2026 Draft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 deferred division No 371–100
8 Sep 2026 Health Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1 Aye 162–297
8 Sep 2026 Health Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143 Aye 106–302
8 Sep 2026 Health Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 142 Aye 108–357
8 Sep 2026 Health Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 140 No vote 79–300
7 Sep 2026 Health Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 145 Aye 170–316
7 Sep 2026 Health Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 6 No vote 77–317
4 Sep 2026 Motion to sit in private No vote 1–79
2 Sep 2026 Representation of the People Bill: Third Reading No 411–102
2 Sep 2026 Representation of the People Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 88 No 85–427
2 Sep 2026 Representation of the People Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 67 Aye 105–410
2 Sep 2026 Representation of the People Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 65 Aye 166–346
15 Jul 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots for Statutory Trade Union Ballots deferred division No 330–109
15 Jul 2026 Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 deferred division No 330–109
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 19 Aye 104–412
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 199 Aye 102–409
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 3 No vote 93–323
13 Jul 2026 Immigration and Asylum Bill: Second Reading No vote 264–90
13 Jul 2026 Immigration and Asylum Bill: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading Aye 97–358
8 Jul 2026 Draft Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 283–182
8 Jul 2026 Draft Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 317–103
8 Jul 2026 Draft Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Establishment of Schools) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 369–102

Declared financial interests

Quoted in full from the Register of Members' Financial Interests. Entries where the largest figure is £5,000 or more are marked. A declaration is not a wrongdoing — the register exists precisely so that these things are visible.

3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources

Name of donor: Betting & Gaming Council
Address of donor: Kings Building, 16 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HQ
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Two tickets and hospitality at Ascot Races, value £1,920
Date received: 18 June 2026
Date accepted: 18 June 2026
Donor status: company, registration 12213577
(Registered 2 July 2026)

On the register since 14 Jul 2026

Name of donor: NBC Universal International
Address of donor: Central Saint Giles, St Giles High Street, London WC2H 8NU
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Two tickets with hospitality to the EE BAFTA Film Awards, value £4,400
Date received: 22 February 2026 to 22 February 2026
Date accepted: 22 February 2026
Donor status: company, registration 04415234
(Registered 3 March 2026)

On the register since 10 Mar 2026

Name of donor: BPI (British Recorded Music) Ltd
Address of donor: Unit 4/4a, Tileyard Studios, Tileyard Road, London N7 9AH
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Two tickets with hospitality to the BRIT Awards at Manchester Co-Op Live, value £3,430
Date received: 28 February 2026 to 28 February 2026
Date accepted: 28 February 2026
Donor status: company, registration 01132389
(Registered 4 March 2026)

On the register since 10 Mar 2026

4. Visits outside the UK

£6,421

Name of donor: Great Britain China Centre
Address of donor: Kings Building, 16 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HQ
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Flights, accommodation and hospitality, value £6,421
Destination of visit: China (Yangzhou, Ninjang and Beijing)
Dates of visit: 24 May 2026 to 29 May 2026
Purpose of visit: To attend the 14th UK-China Senior Leadership Forum in Yangzhou and to meet members of the National People's Congress and Chinese Government.
(Registered 9 June 2026)

On the register since 16 Jun 2026

£6,155

Name of donor: Doha Forum
Address of donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Almirqab Tower, West Bay, Doha Qatar
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Flights (£5,555), accommodation and hospitality (£600), value £6,155
Destination of visit: Qatar (Doha)
Dates of visit: 5 December 2025 to 8 December 2025
Purpose of visit: To participate in the Doha Forum 2025 on diplomacy and dialogue including meetings with Qatari Ministers, and Ministers and Parliamentarians of other participating countries, in my capacity as a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
(Registered 18 December 2025)

On the register since 6 Jan 2026

6. Land and property portfolio with a value over £100,000 and where indicated, the portfolio provides a rental income of over £10,000 a year

Type of land/property: Residential property (flat)
Number of properties: 1
Location: London
Rental income: Yes
(Registered 8 October 2012)

On the register since 18 Apr 2024

8. Miscellaneous

A Member of the Executive Committee of the British Group of the Inter Parliamentary Union. This is an unpaid position.
Date interest arose: 27 November 2025
(Registered 29 November 2025)

On the register since 2 Dec 2025

Member of the Board of the Conservative Party. This is an unpaid position.
Date interest arose: 18 July 2024
(Registered 29 November 2025)

On the register since 2 Dec 2025

10. Family members engaged in lobbying the public sector on behalf of a third party or client

Name: Alice Whittingdale
Relationship: Daughter
Role: Senior Consultant
Name of employer: Hanover Communications
(Registered 7 August 2023)

On the register since 18 Apr 2024

The same register on parliament.uk →

Debates

685 debates contributed to in total. The ten most recent:

Money declared to them

2 donations accepted personally since 4 Jul 2024, worth £12,576 in total — from the Electoral Commission's register, which is a separate register from the one above. Money given to their party is not counted here; this is money declared to them.

AcceptedRecipientDonorTypeValue
24 May 2026 Mr John Whittingdale MP sitting MP Great Britain China Centre Other Visit £6,421
5 Dec 2025 Mr John Whittingdale MP sitting MP Doha Forum Other Visit £6,155

Public contracts recorded for East of England, the region this seat sits in: 3500 awards worth £10.0bn →


Sources: Commons Votes API, Members API and the Register of Members' Financial Interests, all published by Parliament under the Open Parliament Licence; donations from the Electoral Commission's register. This member's register and debate record were last refreshed 2 Oct 2026. How every figure is worked out →

Machine-readable: JSON for this MP.

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