Ben Obese-Jecty

Ben Obese-Jecty
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Huntingdon
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byJonathan Djanogly
Majority1,499 (2.9%)
Personal details
BornSeptember 1979 (age 46)
Kingston-upon-Thames, London, England
PartyConservative
Alma materKingston University
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Websitebenobese-jecty.org.uk
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service2004–2012
RankCaptain
UnitDuke of Wellington's Regiment
Yorkshire Regiment
Battles/warsIraq War
War in Afghanistan

Benjamin Obese-Jecty (/ˌɒbsiːˈdʒɛktiː/,[1] born September 1979) is a British Conservative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon since 2024.[2]

Early life

Obese-Jecty's father was originally Ghanaian and came to Britain on the SS Apapa as a four year old in 1953.[3] Obese-Jecty is mixed race, with his mother being white English.[4] He was educated at Tiffin School.[5] After attending university, he joined the British Army.[6]

Military service

Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Obese-Jecty was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment on 11 December 2004, with seniority in that rank from 15 December 2001.[7] He was promoted to lieutenant on the same day, 11 December 2004, with seniority in that rank from 15 December 2003.[7] He moved to the Yorkshire Regiment after his first regiment was merged with others to form it in 2006.[8] He was promoted to captain on 11 June 2007.[8]

Obese-Jecty served a tour of duty in Iraq as a battle casualty replacement after completing his training.[9] From 2009 to 2010, as part of Operation Herrick 11, he served a tour in Afghanistan in an "embedded partnership role mentoring the Afghan National Army's 2nd Kandak" in Sangin, Helmand Province,[10] with 3RIFLES Battlegroup. Over the six-month tour they sustained the heaviest casualties suffered by a British Army battlegroup since the Korean War.[11]

Obese-Jecty moved to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers on 11 December 2012, thereby ending his active military service.[12]

Professional career

After leaving the British Army in 2012, he moved into banking.[13]

Obese-Jecty spent two years as an academy trustee at Esher Sixth Form College from 2021 to 2023.[14] He was a member of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee for the South West region for a three-year term from February 2021 to February 2024.[15][16]

Political career

In the 2019 general election, Obese-Jecty was selected for the Conservative Party in the safe Labour seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington against then Labour Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott. He finished second achieving 11.9% of the vote.[17] During the campaign Obese-Jecty was subjected to racial slurs from other black people because he was standing for the Conservative Party.[18]

In the 2022 Haringey London Borough Council election, Obese-Jecty was a Conservative candidate in the Noel Park ward and failed to be elected.[19] In September 2023, Obese-Jecty was selected as the Conservative candidate to succeed Jonathan Djanogly as Member of Parliament (MP) for the safe Conservative seat of Huntingdon.[20] At the 2024 general election, he was elected with 18,257 votes and a majority of 1,499 over the second-placed Labour candidate.[21]

Obese-Jecty gave his maiden speech on 22 July 2024, during the King's Speech debate on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services.[22]

In the 2024 Conservative leadership election, he endorsed Kemi Badenoch.[23]

In November 2024 Obese-Jecty was made an Assistant Junior Whip in the Opposition Whips Office.[24]

In April 2025 Obese-Jecty tabled a Private Members' Bill (under the Ten Minute Rule), calling for the Government to publish a dedicated strategy for tackling interpersonal abuse and violence against men and boys to support survivors of crimes such as domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault, digital image abuse, forced marriage and honour-based violence, currently considered as violence against women and girls.[25]

Obese-Jecty became the Shadow Parliamentary Private Secretary for Defence in June 2025 moving from the Opposition Whips Office.[26] In July 2025 he was additionally given the role of Shadow Parliamentary Private Secretary for Justice, thereby covering both briefs.[27]

In September 2025 Obese-Jecty was announced to be the number one ranked MP of all 335 new MPs in the Polimonitor leaderboard for the number of parliamentary contributions made during the first year of the 2024 Parliament.[28] He was described by Matt Chorley during an interview on his BBC Radio 5 Live show as "officially the busiest new MP".[29]

During the Second Reading of the Sentencing Bill in October 2025 Obese-Jecty tabled an amendment calling for those convicted of causing death by careless or dangerous driving to receive a lifetime driving ban.[30] The amendment was selected for voting but was voted against by the Government by 167 – 313.[31]

The November 2025 Huntingdon Train Attack took place at Huntingdon Train Station in Obese-Jecty's constituency. He arrived at the scene shortly after the attack had occurred, liaised with emergency services and conducted interviews with national and international media.[32][33][34] He criticised rife speculation about the attacker and his motives and called for the identity and background of the attacker to be made public as soon as possible to avoid further speculation.[35]

On 3 November 2025 Obese-Jecty spoke about the attack during an oral statement from the Home Secretary,[36] praising the swift action of the emergency services and the train staff whose quick-thinking had ensured the train was able to stop at Huntingdon.

Following Robert Jenrick's defection to Reform UK in January 2026 Obese-Jecty, who was Jenrick's Parliamentary Private Secretary at the time of the defection, was highly critical of his actions stating that the defection showed him to be "a man of no principles, who’ll say whatever he thinks will help his own career".[37][38]

In January 2026 following US President Donald Trump's criticism that NATO troops "stayed a little back, a little off the front lines" Obese-Jecty was one of the first MPs to publicly condemn the comments writing that "It's sad to see our nation's sacrifice, and that of our NATO partners, held so cheaply by the President of the United States"[39]. He went on to describe the comments as "an outrage" and "offensive" during an interview with Times Radio[40].

Electoral history

General election 2024: Huntingdon[41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ben Obese-Jecty 18,257 35.1 −24.1
Labour Alex Bulat 16,758 32.2 +11.4
Reform UK Sarah Smith 8,039 15.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats Mark Argent 4,821 9.3 −4.7
Green Georgie Hunt 3,042 5.8 +2.3
Majority 1,499 2.9 −35.5
Turnout 52,234 66.1 −8.4
Registered electors 79,074
Conservative hold Swing −17.8
2019 general election: Hackney North and Stoke Newington[42]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Diane Abbott 39,972 70.3 −4.8
Conservative Benjamin Obese-Jecty 6,784 11.9 −0.8
Green Alex Armitage 4,989 8.8 +4.2
Liberal Democrats Ben Mathis1 4,283 7.5 +0.8
Brexit Party Richard Ings 609 1.1 New
Renew Haseeb Ur-Rehman 151 0.3 New
Independent Loré Lixenberg 76 0.1 New
Majority 33,188 58.4 −4.0
Turnout 56,864 61.5 −4.7
Registered electors 92,462
Labour hold Swing -2.1

1: After the close of nominations, the Liberal Democrats suspended their support for Mathis's candidacy over tweets he made.[43]

References

  1. ^ Ben Obese-Jecty (25 June 2024). Ben Obese-Jecty, Your local Conservative Candidate for Huntingdon. Retrieved 31 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "BREAKING: Ben Obese-Jecty elected as Conservative MP in Huntingdon". The Hunts Post. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (22 June 2023). "Windrush is a story of strivers, not victims". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  4. ^ Ben Obese-Jecty MP [@BenObeseJecty] (23 May 2023). "As I said, ethnically I'm mixed race; my mother is white and English. Which one of your parents is Chinese? Of course this all neatly illustrates my original point…" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 July 2024 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Ben Obese-Jecty Selected as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Huntingdon". Tiffin School. 6 December 2023.
  6. ^ Elworthy, John (24 September 2023). "Conservatives choose Benjamin Obese-Jecty for new Huntingdon seat - Peterborough & Cambridgeshire News". CambsNews.co.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b "No. 57541". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 2005. p. 835.
  8. ^ a b "No. 58381". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 2007. p. 9551.
  9. ^ "A little about Ben..." Ben Obese-Jecty. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  10. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (17 August 2021). "Here's why the Afghan army that I helped to train fell so quickly". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Profile: 3 Rifles battlegroup". 8 May 2010.
  12. ^ "No. 60511". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 May 2013. p. 10033.
  13. ^ "From public duty to private sector". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Benjamin OBESE-JECTY". Companies House. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (VAPC)". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  16. ^ "Obese-Jecty, Ben, MP (C) Huntingdon, since 2024". Who's Who 2025. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Election 2019: Hackney North & Stoke Newington parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  18. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (8 July 2024). "Standing for the Tories made me the 'wrong' type of black success". The Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024. House Negro. Token. Sellout: words that, until recently, I hadn't heard directed at me in my adult life. Following a decade in the British Army my tolerance for offence is set fairly high, but this was different. That the worst abuse I've experienced came exclusively from the black community is as shocking as it is disappointing.
  19. ^ "Local election results May 2022 | Haringey Council". schoolsbulletin.haringey.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  20. ^ Atkinson, William (25 September 2023). "'Very impressive' Obese-Jecty selected for Huntingdon from a 'very competitive field'". Conservative Home. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Huntingdon - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  22. ^ "King's Speech Debate: Economy, Welfare and Public Services". Hansard. 752. 22 July 2024.
  23. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (10 August 2024). "Kemi Badenoch has the steel required to be the next Tory leader". The Telegraph.
  24. ^ Heale, James (18 November 2024). "Exc: 9 of the 26 new Tory intake now Assistant Whips Harriet Cross, Ashley Fox, Rebecca Smith, Katie Lam, Ben Obese-Jecty, Rebecca Paul, Andrew Snowden, Greg Stafford & Nick Timothy Echoes of old when Whips' Office served as a nursery for Tory talent". x.com/JAHeale. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Interpersonal Abuse and Violence Against Men and Boys - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk.
  26. ^ Heale, James (16 June 2025). "New boy Ben Obese-Jecty has switched roles from being a Tory whip to a PPS". x.com/JAHeale. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  27. ^ Heale, James (23 July 2025). "Interesting to see a rejigging of some PPSs in the Tory reshuffle. Ben Obese-Jecty, Kemi Badenoch's most vocal backer in the new intake, is now part of Robert Jenrick's team at Justice. He replaces Jack Rankin, who moves over to Laura Trott's team at Education". x.com/JAHeale. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  28. ^ Herring, Francesca (8 September 2025). "MP ranked as number one for contributions said it's 'great to see'". The Hunts Post.
  29. ^ "BBC Radio 5 Live: Matt Chorley".
  30. ^ Thompson, George (21 October 2025). "Tory MP calls for all dangerous drivers who kill to get lifetime ban". The Standard.
  31. ^ "Sentencing Bill Committee: New Clause 6". UK Parliament. 21 October 2025.
  32. ^ "Police had trained for similar mass-stabbing scenario 'only last week', says local MP". Sky News. 2 November 2025.
  33. ^ "UK train stabbing attack investigators questioning British man as only suspect". ABC. 2 November 2025.
  34. ^ Henrys, Rebecca (2 November 2025). "MP praises 'incredible bravery' of police officers following 'tragic and shocking' mass stabbing". LBC.
  35. ^ Diver, Tony (2 November 2025). "Police 'should have released nationality of train stabbing suspect sooner'". The Telegraph.
  36. ^ "Huntingdon Train Attack - Volume 774: debated on Monday 3 November 2025". Hansard. 3 November 2025.
  37. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (16 January 2026). "Until yesterday morning Robert Jenrick was my boss. A man I never considered to be a potential party leader for a second. A man of no principles, who'll say whatever he thinks will help his own career. He'll fit right in with Nigel". x.com/BenObeseJecty. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  38. ^ Howe, Megan (16 January 2026). "Tory MP blasts former boss Robert Jenrick as 'man of no principles' - as Reform's new prize claims he's uniting the right". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  39. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (22 January 2026). "It's sad to see our nation's sacrifice, and that of our NATO partners, held so cheaply by the President of the United States". x.com/BenObeseJecty. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  40. ^ Obese-Jecty, Ben (23 January 2026). ""To suggest UK soldiers didn't put in a shift at the front line… is absolutely outrageous." As Trump's claims grow increasingly "erratic" and "offensive" Britain must show it won't be pushed around, says former British Army captain and Tory MP @BenObeseJecty". x.com/TimesRadio. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  41. ^ "STtatement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). 7 June 2024."Declaration of Result of Poll" (PDF). 4 July 2024.
  42. ^ "Hackney North & Stoke Newington Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  43. ^ "Hackney North Lib Dem Candidate". Hackney Citizen. Ed Sheridan. 24 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
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