Johnny Mercer (politician)

John Luther Mercer (born 17 August 1981) is a British Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Moor View, gaining the seat from Labour at the 2015 general election.

Education
Between the years 1995–2000, Mercer was educated at Eastbourne College, a co-educational independent school in Eastbourne in East Sussex. After completing his studies at school, he opted to spend time working as an intern in the City of London instead of attending university.

Military career
Mercer was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Artillery after passing out from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in June 2003 before being promoted to lieutenant in April 2005. Mercer rose to the rank of Captain in April 2008 and was attached to 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, serving three tours of Afghanistan. Mercer retired in December 2013.

Political career
According to Mercer, he had not voted before standing as an MP. He said that he entered politics with a view to improving the care of veterans and felt that he was a Conservative because he regarded a "massive welfare state that saps the ambition and drive of a younger generation" as a problem. After contacting ex-military Conservative MP Bob Stewart, he was eventually selected as the candidate for Plymouth Moor View.

Seen by opinion polls as the third favourite candidate to win the seat behind the Labour incumbent and UKIP, Mercer was largely responsible for organising his own campaign "on the cheap". To raise funds he worked on building sites and even appeared topless in a shower gel advert. His campaign was subsequently the subject of a police investigation following allegations it breached rules on campaign spending. Mercer admitted to police that his account of expenses had been incorrect, but argued that the errors were minor and his spending had not breached legal limits. The Crown Prosecution Service declined to charge him and the case was dropped.

Mercer delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 1 June 2015, describing his "main missions" in Parliament to be improving provisions for mental health and war veterans. He has been critical of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team. Mercer was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum, although he says that the result should be respected.

Mercer was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2017 general election and he has focused on care for veterans and the very poor. In October of the same year, he was placed at Number 88 on 'The 100 Most Influential People on the Right' by commentator Iain Dale.

Books
In June 2017, Mercer published "We Were Warriors: One Soldier’s Story of Brutal Combat", a memoir of his three combat tours in Afghanistan.

Personal life
Mercer is married to Felicity and they have two young children. He sleeps in East London on his motor cruiser named Pippa two or three nights a week.

In November 2015 he attracted media attention with a radio interview where he responded to a question on whether he'd ever taken drugs by joking "You don't put diesel in a Ferrari".