Rachel Maclean, Baroness Maclean of Redditch

Rachel Maclean, Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Born	Rachel Helen Cooke (1965-10-03) October 3, 1965 Madras, India
Occupation	Politician
Years active	2017–present
Known for	Member of Parliament for Redditch (2017–2024), Ministerial roles in UK government, Life peer in House of Lords

Rachel Helen Maclean, Baroness Maclean of Redditch (born Rachel Helen Cooke on 3 October 1965) is a British political figure who represented Redditch as its Member of Parliament from 2017 until 2024. She currently holds the position of Director of Strategy for the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch. Affiliated with the Conservative Party, Maclean has occupied ministerial posts within the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Transport, and the Home Office.

Between September 2019 and February 2020, she acted as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Chancellor Sajid Javid. Subsequently, in February 2020, she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport. From September 2021, Maclean served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding, a role she relinquished amid the government turmoil in July 2022. Under Prime Minister Liz Truss’s administration, she held the office of Minister of State for Victims and Vulnerability from September to October 2022. In November 2022, she became a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and was named Housing Minister by Rishi Sunak in February 2023, before departing government during the reshuffle in November 2023.

Early life and education

Born on 3 October 1965 in Madras (present-day Chennai), India, Rachel Helen Cooke is the daughter of David and Anthea Cooke. Her education took place at Tudor Grange School followed by Solihull Sixth Form College in the West Midlands. She pursued Experimental Psychology at St Hugh's College, Oxford and later achieved a master’s degree in Work and Occupational Psychology from Aston University. After completing her studies, she entered HSBC’s accelerated management training programme in 1989, gaining experience across Australia, Japan, and China. In 2005, alongside her husband David, Maclean co-established Packt, a publishing firm specializing in information technology.

House of Commons

Maclean stood as the Conservative candidate for Birmingham Northfield during the 2015 general election, where she secured second place behind Labour’s Richard Burden. She voted in favour of remaining within the European Union during the 2016 referendum.

Following Conservative MP Karen Lumley’s announcement not to seek re-election in Redditch in April 2017, Maclean was chosen as the party’s candidate and subsequently won the seat with a majority of 7,363 votes (16.3%) during the snap election held that June. She was a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from September 2017 until June 2018.

Maclean played a co-chair role in Andy Street’s victorious campaign for Mayor of the West Midlands in 2017. In her inaugural speech to Parliament, she highlighted the importance of safeguarding local healthcare services, with particular attention to Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

In February 2018, she was elected chairperson of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in Parliament and also took on chairing responsibilities for APPGs focused on Carers and Endangered Species. The following month saw her appointment as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) within the Home Office.

She backed then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement in March 2019 and supported Michael Gove during the Conservative leadership contest later that year. In September 2019, Maclean assumed the role of PPS to Chancellor Sajid Javid.

Re-elected in December 2019 with an increased vote share of 63.3% and a majority of 16,036, she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport starting February 2020.

In September 2021, Maclean took on duties as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Safeguarding) at the Home Office, where she managed government initiatives including the Afghan resettlement scheme and Operation Warm Welcome.

On 6 July 2022, she stepped down from her ministerial position expressing dissent over Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership. During the Conservative leadership election spanning July to September 2022, her endorsements shifted from Sajid Javid to Kemi Badenoch and ultimately to Liz Truss.

From November 2022 until May 2023, Maclean served on the Women and Equalities Committee. In early 2023, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, she was appointed Minister of State for Housing and Planning, before exiting ministerial office during November’s reshuffle.

In December 2023, Maclean became subject to allegations regarding transphobia after sharing a social media post concerning Melissa Poulton, Green Party candidate for Bromsgrove. Police subsequently removed this matter from their records as a "non-crime hate incident."

House of Lords

In December 2024, Maclean received a life peerage as part of the 2024 Political Peerages and was subsequently introduced to the House of Lords. On 5 February 2025, she was formally titled Baroness Maclean of Redditch, of Hanbury in the County of Worcestershire. Additionally, Maclean holds the position of Director of Strategy for the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch.

During a speech on 18 June 2025 to the Conservative Women's Organisation, she remarked on the party's reaction to the 2024 general election, stating, "We’ve done the mea culpas, we’ve done the apologies."

Personal life

In 1992, Maclean wed David Maclean. Together, they have four children: three sons and one daughter. The family makes their home in Redditch, Worcestershire.