Johnny Mercer is one of the most popular and richest Politician who was born on August 17, 1981 in Kent, Kent, United Kingdom. In November 2015, he was criticised by the TaxPayers’ Alliance after it was revealed he had purchased five Apple iMac computers on his Commons expenses, rather than ‘cheaper equivalents’. Mercer responded that the purchases were appropriate and ‘were cheaper than the desktop computers offered to MPs by the House of Commons’ official supplier’. He was criticised in May 2016 for claiming £2,500 on expenses for “professional services” on social media management, and in December 2017 the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority opened an investigation to determine whether Mercer had been paid business expenses he should not have been.
He was first elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Moor View at the 2015 general election; defeating the incumbent Labour MP, Alison Seabeck. Mercer delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 1 June 2015, describing his “main missions” in Parliament to be improving provision for mental health and support for war veterans. He has been critical of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team.
On a summer boat trip in 2016, he saved the life of fellow Conservative MP Scott Mann who fell into the water having previously been “ashamed to admit” he could not swim.
Mercer has said publicly that he had not been politically active in his younger years and the first time he voted was for himself when he first ran for office. 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 selected as the Conservative Party candidate for Plymouth Moor View two months after leaving the army in February 2014.
Mercer was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery after graduating from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in June 2003 and was promoted to lieutenant in April 2005. Mercer passed the All Arms Commando Course and served mostly with 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. He did three tours in Afghanistan: as a liaison and training officer with Afghan forces; attached to a Special Forces unit; and as a co-ordinator of artillery and air strikes in support of ground operations. Mercer retired from military service in December 2013 with the rank of captain.
Mercer has been challenged over his expenses several times. His campaign to get elected as an MP in 2015 was subsequently the subject of a police investigation following allegations that 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 decided not to charge him, and the case was dropped.
