Alec Shelbrooke

Last updated

Susan Spencer
​
(m. 2011)​
The Right Honourable
Sir Alec Shelbrooke
KBE MP
Official portrait of Rt Hon Alec Shelbrooke MP crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Minister of State for Transport
Assumed office
19 July 2024
Alma mater Brunel University
Website Official website

Sir Alec Edward Shelbrooke KBE (born 10 January 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been Member of Parliament for Wetherby and Easingwold since 2024 and for Elmet and Rothwell between 2010 and 2024. [2] He previously served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement in the Truss ministry from September to October 2022. [3] He has been Shadow Minister of State for Defence since July 2024. [4]

Contents

Early life

Born in 1976 in Bromley, South London,[ citation needed ] Shelbrooke was educated at St George's Church of England School in Gravesend [ citation needed ], and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brunel University in 1998. [5] After leaving university, Shelbrooke worked as a kitchen and bathroom fitter, and later as a project administrator at the University of Leeds. [5] Shelbrooke has previously lived in Micklefield, a former mining village in West Yorkshire

Political career

The constituency offices of Shelbrooke in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Former Conservative club, Westgate, Wetherby (26th July 2017).jpg
The constituency offices of Shelbrooke in Wetherby, West Yorkshire.

He has fought four local government elections (being elected to Leeds City Council in 2004 and re-elected in 2006 as Councillor for Harewood Ward) and unsuccessfully stood in Wakefield at the 2005 General Election. He was Deputy Chairman of Elmet Conservative Association from 2001 to 2004. [6]

After entering Parliament, in November 2010 Shelbrooke was appointed the parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Theresa Villiers, Minister of State for Transport. [7]

In September 2012, Shelbrooke was made the PPS to Mike Penning, Minister of State for Northern Ireland. [8] He announced his delight at taking over the responsibility for "Northern Island" [ sic ] on Twitter and later blamed the spelling mistake on autocorrect. [9]

In December 2012, Shelbrooke introduced a Ten Minute Rule bill under which UK welfare claimants would be issued with a cash card instead of receiving their benefits in cash. The card would only permit claimants to make purchases such as food, clothing, energy, travel and housing, and prevent them purchasing items considered non-essential, such as cigarettes, alcohol, satellite television, and gambling. [10]

He became a PPS in the Foreign Office in 2014. Shelbrooke was opposed to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union prior to the 2016 Brexit referendum. [11]

In 2016, Shelbrooke commissioned a report written by Mark McBride-Wright quantifying the impact of homophobia within the engineering industry. [12]

In 2017, he became Vice Chairman (International) of the Conservative Party, [13] a soft-power role designed to promote the UK's interests overseas as well as supporting centre-right political parties in the developing world through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. [14] Shelbrooke remains an officer of the International Democrat Union. Shelbrooke was an Executive Member of the 1922 Committee during a period of turbulence within the Conservative Party leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019. [15] Shelbrooke backed Jeremy Hunt in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election that followed.[ citation needed ]

In 2020, Shelbrooke was appointed Leader of the UK Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. [16]

In July 2022, Shelbrooke rebelled from the government for the first time in his parliamentary career by voting against the approval of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022. [17]

On 7 September 2022, he was appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence as part of the Truss administration because of his overt support for Liz Truss in her leadership campaign. Shelbrooke was then immediately sacked on 26 October 2022 by the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and returned to the back benches. [18] [3]

In April 2023, he was selected as the candidate for the new constituency of Wetherby and Easingwold at the 2024 general election. [19] He was re-elected with a majority of 4,846.

Honours

Shelbrooke was appointed to the Privy Council on 8 October 2019. [20] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 29 December 2023 in Truss's resignation honours list, for public and political service as Minister of State for Defence Procurement and as MP for Elmet and Rothwell. [21] [22]

Personal life

Shelbrooke married Susan Spencer in 2011. [2] He is partially deaf. [23]

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References

  1. ↑ "Alec Shelbrooke MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Shelbrooke, Rt Hon. Alec (Edward)" . Who's Who . A & C Black. 2023. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U251667.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. 1 2 "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "Conservative Party announces interim Opposition Front Bench". policymogul.com. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 "About Alec". page from official website. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Profile". telegraph.co.uk. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ Isaby, Jonathan (11 November 2010). "Twelve more of the 2010 intake appointed as PPSs". Tory Diary. Conservative Party. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "NIO roles for Damian Collins and Alec Shelbrooke". BBC News. 12 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Alec Shelbrooke: Tory MP red faced after 'Northern Island' Twitter gaffe". The Daily Telegraph. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "MP: Ban benefit claimants from buying alcohol". Democracy Live. BBC Online. 18 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "How homophobic bullying costs engineering industry £11bn". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  13. ↑ "Alec Shelbrooke MP – Working Hard for Elmet & Rothwell – Alec appointed Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party". Alec Shelbrooke. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  14. ↑ https://euronews.al/en/daily-news/2020/06/26/british-conservative-mp-alec-shelbrooke-praises-dp-model-for-the-selection-of-members-of-parliament or http://www.alecshelbrooke.co.uk/alec-appointed-vice-chairman-conservative-party/
  15. ↑ "What is the 1922 Committee and could its members oust Theresa May?". inews.co.uk. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  16. ↑ "Membership". parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  17. ↑ Nick Duffy (11 July 2022). "MPs push through legal change to let agency staff cover for striking workers amid 'summer of discontent'". i News . Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "Membership". yorkshirepost.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Greenwood, Darren (6 April 2023). "Tories choose Alec Shelbrooke MP to stand in Wetherby and Easingwold". York Press. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  20. ↑ "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council Held by The Queen at Buckingham Palace on 8th October 2019" (PDF). Privy Council Office. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "No. 64309". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 February 2024. p. 2394.
  22. ↑ "Resignation Honours: December 2023". GOV.UK. Cabinet Office. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  23. ↑ Jackson, Jasper (15 September 2015). "BBC apologises after suggesting partially deaf Tory MP had fallen asleep". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
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