{{Short description|British Conservative politician (born 1967)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Marco Longhi | honorific_suffix = | image = Official portrait of Marco Longhi MP crop 2.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2020 | office = President of Turning Point UK | prime_minister = | predecessor = | successor = | term_start = 2022 | term_end = | office1 = | prime_minister1 = | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | term_start1 = | term_end1 = | office2 = Member of Parliament <br /> for Dudley North | parliament2 = | predecessor2 = Ian Austin | successor2 = ''Constituency abolished'' | term_start2 = 12 December 2019 | term_end2 = 30 May 2024 | majority2 = | birth_name = Marco Andrea Longhi | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1967|04|22}} | birth_place = Walsall, Staffordshire, England | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Andrea Longhi | party = Reform UK (from 2025) | relations = | children = 2 | alma_mater = {{nowrap|University of Manchester (BEng)}}<br>University of Warwick (MBA) | profession = Politician | signature = | website = {{URL|marcolonghi.org.uk}} | footnotes = | other_party = Conservative (1999–2025)<ref name="full list"/><br> Turning Point UK (Since 2022) }} '''Marco Andrea Longhi'''<ref name="Justmove" /> (born 22 April 1967)<ref>{{cite book |last=Brunskill |first=Ian |title=The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019: the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1129682574 |date=19 March 2020 |pages=176 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Limited |isbn=978-0-00-839258-1 |oclc=1129682574}}</ref> is a British politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Dudley North from 2019 to 2024. In January 2025, he defected to Reform UK.<ref name="full list"/>
Since 2022 he has served as President of Turning Point UK.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pickard-Whitehead |first=Gabrielle |date= |title=Tory MP faces calls to resign for banning asylum cases from his surgery |url=https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/tory-mp-faces-calls-to-resign-for-banning-asylum-cases-from-his-surgery |work= |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}</ref>
==Early life and career== Marco Longhi was born on 22 April 1967 in Walsall and grew up in Rome, the son of an Italian airline worker, Antonio Longhi, and a British mother, Josephine Clarke. He trained as a pilot and later studied at the University of Manchester, following this by working for a time in civil engineering.<ref name="expressandstar">{{cite news |last=Madeley |first=Peter |title=Brexiteer Marco Longhi sets sights on Parliament in Dudley North campaign |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2019/11/01/brexiteer-marco-sets-sights-on-parliament/ |work=Express & Star |date=1 November 2019 |access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref> He then worked in the oil and gas industry, which included five years in South America.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Marco |url=https://www.marcolonghi.org.uk/about-marco |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=Marco Longhi}}</ref>
==Parliamentary career== Longhi joined the Conservative Party in 1999.<ref name="full list">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-conservative-defectors-robert-jenrick-nigel-farage-b2901131.html|title=Full list of Tories who have defected to Farage's Reform after Jenrick joins|last=Gooch|first=Bryony|date=15 January 2026|website=The Independent|accessdate=15 January 2026}}</ref> That same year, he was elected as a Conservative councillor in Walsall (where his grandfather Wilfred Clarke had been Mayor in 1978), and became Mayor in 2017 and again in 2018.<ref name="expressandstar"/>
At the 2005 general election Longhi unsuccessfully stood for election in Dudley South, finishing second with 34.5% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour Party MP Ian Pearson.<ref name="electoralcalculus2005">{{cite web |title=Election Data 2005 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2005ob.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015054249/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2005ob.txt |archive-date=15 October 2011 |access-date=18 October 2015 |publisher=Electoral Calculus}}</ref>
Longhi was elected as MP for Dudley North at the 2019 general election, winning with 63.1% of the vote and a majority of 11,533 votes.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 January 2019 |orig-date=7 April 2018 |title=Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112183438/https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2019 |publisher=House of Commons Library |edition=Second}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dudley North parliamentary constituency – Election 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/E14000671 |publisher=BBC News |date=13 December 2019 |access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref>
Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Longhi was among the signatories of a letter to ''The Daily Telegraph'' in November 2020 from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".<ref>{{cite letter |recipient=the ''Daily Telegraph'' |subject=Britain's heroes |date=9 November 2020 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/11/09/letterswill-police-break-armistice-day-ceremonies-wednesday/ |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref>
Despite his anti-woke views,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrews |first=Mark |date=2025-05-15 |title='We don't do woke' - war of words between Dudley Council leader and former MP over £135,000-a-year diversity posts |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/dudley/2025/05/15/we-dont-do-woke-war-of-words-between-dudley-council-leader-and-former-mp-over-135000-a-year-diversity-posts/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.expressandstar.com |language=en}}</ref> as part of the official International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, Longhi hosted the Dudley commemoration, adding that “… being different can be a force for good; and being different can make the world a lot more interesting. Most prejudices are products of fear, and fears arise from a lack of understanding and knowledge. This is why I like to talk about difference in a positive way rather simply being against something, in this case homophobia, biphobia and transphobia." <ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-18 |title=Dudley flies the flag and releases video to mark IDAHOBIT |url=https://www.dudleynews.co.uk/news/19310921.dudley-flies-flag-releases-video-mark-idahobit/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKV4QdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHiBIjrK0iXUt5jtU2Mxg7WVby-eo5xtdUi7wXKZENihuhy88SPQJdUwqQtwz_aem_KG-Zvk6QB_L54Z1fr9LDHQ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Dudley News |language=en}}</ref>
On 23 August 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Longhi as the UK's trade envoy to Brazil.<ref>{{cite press release |title=PM announces new Trade Envoys to boost British business around the world |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-new-trade-envoys-to-boost-british-business-around-the-world |website=gov.uk |date=23 August 2021 |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref>
In May 2022, Longhi called for the "Stop Brexit Man" Steve Bray to be "locked up in the Tower with a loudspeaker playing 'Land of Hope and Glory' on repeat at maximum volume" because of the disruption he causes. He added that Bray was "griping for any little bit of press coverage" and claimed that staff in his Westminster office could not hear "distressed constituents on the phone" because of the loud music that Bray played.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lynch |first=David |title=MP calling for protester to be locked in the Tower is 'griping for coverage' |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/steve-bray-tower-of-london-lee-anderson-conservative-commons-b999469.html |work=Evening Standard |date=11 May 2022 |access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref>
In June 2022, Longhi, in a private message directed to the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, about the government's Rwanda asylum plan, said, "Archbishop, as you appear to feel so strongly about this, will you give up two of your palaces for illegal migrants and pay for their accommodation?"<ref>{{cite web |last=Maddox |first=David |date=15 June 2022 |title='Give up your palaces for migrants!' Tory MPs demand of Archbishop to end trafficking |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1625533/justin-welby-archbishop-canterbury-palaces-house-migrants-conservative-mps-update |access-date=21 July 2022 |website=Express.co.uk}}</ref>
Longhi endorsed Kemi Badenoch during the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.<ref>{{cite news |last=Madeley |first=Peter |title=Tory leadership race: Early favourite among region's MPs as nominations deadline looms |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2022/07/12/tory-leadership-race-penny-mordaunt-an-early-favourite-among-regions-mps-as-nominations-deadline-looms/ |access-date=12 July 2022 |work=Express & Star |date=12 July 2022}}</ref> After Badenoch was eliminated, he backed Liz Truss.<ref>{{cite news |title=Next Tory Leader. Which MP is backing whom – the updated list. Truss on 149, Sunak on 132. The Foreign Secretary's lead amongst MPs grows. |url=https://conservativehome.com/2022/08/25/next-tory-leader-whos-backing-whom-our-working-list/ |work=ConservativeHome |date=25 August 2022 |access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref>
In October 2022, following the resignation of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, Longhi announced that he would be supporting previous Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the subsequent leadership election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is backing Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership race? |url=https://www.itv.com/news/central/2022-10-21/come-back-boss-mps-back-boris-johnson-as-new-pm-saying-hes-a-vote-winner |work=ITV News |date=21 October 2022 |access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref>
Longhi was made honorary president of right-wing pressure group Turning Point UK in November 2022.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=marcolonghi4dn |number= 1589352917219569664|title=Delighted to become President of Turning Point U.K.}}</ref> The group reportedly has links to the far-right, including conspiracy theorists such as ''InfoWars''.<ref name="guardian-walker">{{cite news|last1=Walker|first1=Peter|date=4 February 2019|title=Tory MPs back youth group with apparent links to US far right|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/04/tory-mps-back-rightwing-youth-group-turning-point-uk|url-status=live|access-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214220058/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/04/tory-mps-back-rightwing-youth-group-turning-point-uk|archive-date=14 February 2019|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
In February 2024, Longhi, who is a landlord owning ten properties, opposed the government's Renter's Reform bill, which would increase the rights of tenants in rental properties and included a manifesto pledge to ban no-fault evictions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Booth |first1=Robert |title=Almost a third of Tory MPs trying to weaken tenant protection bill are landlords |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/20/almost-a-third-of-tory-mps-trying-to-weaken-tenant-protection-bill-are-landlords |access-date=16 May 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=20 February 2024}}</ref>
At the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Longhi was accused of "dog-whistle" tactics against his Labour opponent Sonia Kumar. His campaign sent leaflets to British Pakistani and Kashmiri Muslims drawing attention to Kumar's Hindu surname (writing it in capital letters and underlined), arguing that she would not support Kashmir while in Parliament.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adu |first1=Aletha |title=Tory candidate accused of dog-whistle tactics against rival with Indian name |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/18/tory-candidate-accused-of-dog-whistle-tactics-against-rival-with-indian-name |access-date=18 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=18 June 2024}}</ref> Longhi lost his seat to Kumar at the general election.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Paul |title=Dudley general election result: Labour's Sonia Kumar beats Marco Longhi and pledges unity |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/ge2024/2024/07/05/dudley-general-election-result-marco-longhi-loses-as-labour-regain-town/ |access-date=6 July 2024 |work=Express and Star |date=5 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
==Business career== Longhi was the director of property management company Justmove (Lettings) Limited, and owns ten houses in Walsall.<ref name="Justmove">{{cite web |title=JUSTMOVE (LETTINGS) LIMITED - Officers |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07681798/officers |publisher=Companies House |access-date=20 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Marco Longhi MP, Dudley North |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25917/marco_longhi/dudley_north#register |website=TheyWorkForYou |access-date=20 May 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.marcolonghi.org.uk Official website] * {{UK MP links |parliament=4789 |publicwhip=Marco_Longhi |theywork=marco_longhi}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef|before=Ian Austin}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for Dudley North|years=2019–2024}} {{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longhi, Marco}} Category:Living people Category:UK MPs 2019–2024 Category:British businesspeople in the real estate industry Category:English people of Italian descent Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:Conservative Party (UK) councillors Category:Mayors of places in the West Midlands (county) Category:Reform UK politicians Category:People from Walsall Category:People from Dudley Category:Politicians from Rome Category:1967 births