Benjamin Gascoigne, Baron Gascoigne

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Benjamin Alexander Gascoigne, Baron Gascoigne (born 5 March 1983) is a British political adviser and life peer. He has held senior roles close to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, including Political Secretary to the Prime Minister (2019–2020) and deputy chief of staff at 10 Downing Street (2021–2022). Earlier, he acted as Johnson's private secretary when Johnson was Mayor of London and as an adviser when Johnson was Foreign Secretary.

In 2022, Gascoigne was named a life peer in the Prime Minister's Resignation Honours. He was created Baron Gascoigne, of Pendle in Lancashire, on 10 July 2023, and was introduced to the House of Lords on 18 July. He sits in the Lords as a Conservative.

Gascoigne made his maiden speech in the Lords on 13 November 2023 after the King's Speech. In November 2023, during Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed a lord-in-waiting and junior government whip in the Lords.

Education and early career: He grew up in Lancashire and studied at Nelson and Colne College, taking A-levels in politics, history and English. He studied politics at the University of Hull. After graduating, he worked at Pendle Community Credit Union, then at Conservative Campaign Headquarters. He helped Boris Johnson's 2008 campaign for Mayor of London. From 2009 to 2015 he was Johnson's private secretary while he was Mayor, and he worked on Johnson's 2015 campaign to become MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. He was a special adviser to Johnson when he was Foreign Secretary (2016–2018). In 2019 he briefly left politics to work at the PR firm Grayling before returning to government roles.