In May 2023,Scully announced he would "pause" his ministerial role to seek the Conservative Party's nomination in the upcoming London mayoral election,[7] but failed to even make the shortlist.[8]
Scully unsuccessfully stood as a Conservative candidate in the Wallington South ward of the London Borough of SuttonCouncil elections in 2002,but was subsequently elected in the Carshalton Central ward in 2006.[12] He was the Leader of the Opposition on Sutton Council for three of his four years as a councillor.[13] Scully lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats at the following local election in 2010.[14]
In addition to his work as a local councillor,Scully worked as a parliamentary aide for Conservative MPs Andrew Pelling,Shailesh Vara and Alok Sharma,and set up a public relations company called Nudge Factory Ltd in 2011.[15]
Member of Parliament
Scully was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the marginalSutton and Cheam seat at the 2015 general election. The constituency is part of the borough in which he had been a councillor. Scully defeated the Liberal Democrat incumbent,Paul Burstow,who had represented the seat since 1997,and was elected as its Member of Parliament (MP).[5] Scully was elected with 41.5% of the vote and a majority of 3,921.[16][17]
In a parliamentary debate on 22 October 2015,Scully stated,"I am,I believe,the first Member of the British Parliament to be of Burmese heritage."[18] He is reportedly "very proud" of his Burmese heritage.[19]
He visited Myanmar for the first time in February 2016.[20] He has been active in human rights issues in Burma,especially the Rohingya refugee situation and is the Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Burma. He has written about his experience of being one of the first British MPs to visit the Kutupalong refugee camp during the 2017 mass movement.[21]
In May 2016,it was reported that Scully was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the United Kingdom general election,2015 party spending investigation,for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses.[22] In May 2017,the Crown Prosecution Service said that,while there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns,it did not "meet the test" for further action.[23]
At the snap 2017 general election,Scully was re-elected with an increased vote share of 51.1% and a majority of 12,698.[27][28]
In June 2017,comments made by Scully at an election hustings event and on a regional BBC politics programme relating to building a new hospital in Sutton were criticised by health campaigners as representing an acceptance of closing some existing local medical facilities,such as the St Helier Hospital. Scully said that he was still committed to retaining facilities at the St Helier Hospital,where he had previously volunteered.[29]
On 15 December 2017,Scully was confirmed as the Conservative Party's new Vice Chairman for London,following the sacking of Stephen Hammond two days earlier for his failure to vote with the Government on a key vote relating to the United Kingdom departing the European Union.[30] He helped manage the Conservative Party's campaign in the 2018 London local elections,in which the party registered its lowest-ever number of seats in the capital,but made a number of gains on Sutton Council.[31]
At the 2019 general election,Scully was again re-elected,with a decreased vote share of 50% and a decreased majority 8,351.[32][33]
On 22 October 2021,Scully filibustered a bill which would outlaw the practice of sacking employees and hiring them back on worse terms and conditions,which resulted in the bill failing. Scully said that he did not disagree with the intent of the bill,but did not think it was the best means to achieve it. He said:"The unambiguous message is that bully-boy tactics of fire-and-rehire,for use as a negotiating tactic,is absolutely inappropriate."[35]
In February 2024,Scully was accused of Islamophobia after he made unsubstantiated claims about the existence of "no-go areas" in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the Sparkhill district of Birmingham,both of which have large Muslim populations. He subsequently apologised for the comments.[42]
In March 2024,Scully announced that he would not seek re-election as MP for Sutton and Cheam at the next general election.[43]
Personal life
Scully is divorced and has two grown-up children.[44]
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