Kruger became David Cameron's chief speechwriter in 2006, whilst Cameron was Leader of the Opposition. He left this role two years later to work full-time at a youth crime prevention charity that he had co-founded called Only Connect. For his charitable work, Kruger received an MBE in 2017. He was Prime MinisterBoris Johnson's political secretary between August and December 2019.
Early life and career
Daniel Kruger was born on 23 October 1974 in Westminster to South African parents, writer and property developer Rayne Kruger,[7] and restaurateur and television presenter Prue Leith.[8][9] He was privately educated at Eton College.[10] Kruger studied history at the University of Edinburgh.[11] While at the university, he was the editor of the magazine Intercourse, which had a controversial issue featuring three naked students and an advertisement for a massage parlour.[10][12] He obtained a doctorate in history from the University of Oxford in 2000.[11]
Kruger was selected as the Conservative candidate for Sedgefield at the 2005 general election, challenging Labour prime minister Tony Blair.[16][17] He was forced to drop out of the contest, however, after The Guardian quoted him stating that the party had planned "to introduce a period of creative destruction in the public services".[18][19] Kruger left his position at The Daily Telegraph to become the chief speechwriter to then Conservative Party leader David Cameron in 2006.[10] He wrote Cameron's 2006 address to the think tank Centre for Social Justice, which was later dubbed the "hug-a-hoodie" speech, and was noted as a call to re-brand the party with compassionate conservatism at its core.[20][21]
Kruger co-founded the London-based youth crime prevention charity Only Connect in 2006[22][23] and in 2008 left his position as Cameron's chief speechwriter to work full-time for the charity.[24] In 2015, the charity was acquired by Catch22 but continued to operate independently with its own brand.[25] He also founded the charity West London Zone, which aims to provide support to at-risk youth.[26] Kruger was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to charity in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours.[27] In the same year, he voiced his support for the legalisation of cannabis.[28]
Kruger was selected as a parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Devizes, a safe seat for the Conservative Party, on 9 November 2019.[32] The constituency's incumbent Conservative MP, Claire Perry O'Neill, had previously announced that she would be standing down at the next election to become the president of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, and spend more time with her family.[33]
Kruger was elected as MP for Devizes at the 2019 general election with 63.1% of the vote and a majority of 23,993 over second-place Liberal Democrat candidate Jo Waltham.[34][35] After the election, he was replaced as political secretary to the PM by Benjamin Gascoigne, Baron Gascoigne.[36] He made his maiden speech on 29 January 2020, in which he called for a return to Christian values.[37][38]
In May 2020 he tweeted extensively in support of the apparent breach of lockdown by Dominic Cummings and Mary Wakefield, describing them as "old friends".[39]
In August 2020 Kruger was photographed breaching the rules on the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport. He apologised and stated that he "simply forgot", but also criticised the photographer for not asking him to put on a mask.[40] He has also referred to his dislike for "absurd masks" in an interview with local media.[41]
In June 2022, Kruger supported Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the 2022 Conservative Party vote of confidence in his leadership, saying "I don't judge people's private morals, or rather I do but I oughtn't. I judge public conduct. And on that, I think we should be forgiving about minor slips".[43] In the same month, while speaking during a debate on the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States which resulted in the removal of pregnant women's constitutional right to abortion, he commented that he did not agree "that women have an absolute right to bodily autonomy" in relation to abortion as "in the case of abortion that right is qualified by the fact that another body is involved".[44]
In May 2023, at the National Conservatism Conference, Kruger commented in a speech that "the only basis for a safe and successful society" was marriage between men and women, that they should stick "together for the sake of the children", and that this should be recognised and rewarded.[47] He also bemoaned what he saw as "the radicalisation of a generation. In the name of a new ideology, a new religion – a mix of Marxism and narcissism and paganism, self-worship and nature-worship all wrapped up in revolution."[47] He defended his views on the Planet Normal podcast, arguing that "I do think that society has been built and can only really prosper if the basis of it is the principle that if you have children with somebody fit, the ideal is that you stick together with that person through the whole of your child's life.... but as I say there are many occasions where that is not possible."[48][49] Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman distanced himself from Kruger's remarks on the role of marriage in society.[50] Kruger also defended the use of the phrase "cultural Marxism" by fellow MP Miriam Cates at the same conference.[51]
In October 2023 Kruger claimed on Sky News that many asylum applicants to the UK were pretending to be gay to increase their chances of remaining.[52] No evidence has been produced to support this claim. Latest government figures show that the number of applicants citing sexuality has fallen in recent years, and the percentage of these in 2021 was about 1%.[53]
In November 2023 Kruger participated in the inaugural conference of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. In an interview there he said: "We can tolerate eccentric ideologues. What we can't tolerate is large numbers of people who hate the country that they live in".[54]
Kruger is married to Emma, a former teacher. When they met Emma was an evangelical Christian, and Kruger later converted to this.[60] They have three children.[59] They are both co-founders of the charity Only Connect.[61][62][63]
In 2020–2021 Kruger submitted the highest energy bill claim of any Westminster MP, £3600 for his second home.[64]
Kruger was fined after his puppy caused a stampede when it chased a 200-strong herd of deer in London's Richmond Park in March 2021.[65] Kruger apologised and said he would be more careful in future.[66]
Bibliography
Kruger, Danny (2007). On Fraternity. Civitas. ISBN1903386578. Considers the politics of the early 21st century.
^"Focus: Reservoir toffs". The Sunday Times. 8 October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.(subscription required)
^"Danny Kruger". Centre for London. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
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