Victoria Collins | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Member of Parliament for Harpenden and Berkhamsted | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Majority | 10,708 (19.7%) |
Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
2024–present | Science, Innovation and Technology |
Personal details | |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Alma mater | |
Victoria Mei Elizabeth Collins [1] is a Liberal Democrat politician and entrepreneur [2] who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Harpenden and Berkhamsted since 2024. [3]
Collins was privately educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School, [4] before studying history at Durham University from 2006 to 2009. [5] She later completed a master's degree in international economic policy at Sciences Po in Paris. [6] [ better source needed ]
She is of Chinese descent. [7] In her maiden speech in Parliament, Collins indicated that her mother arrived in the United Kingdom from Malaysia for her education in 1974, and her mother went on to run a shop where Victoria helped as she was growing up. [8]
She has previously worked on economic and environmental policy in the European Parliament, [9] [10] and was a contributor on Forbes's website. [6] She has also worked as an independent consultant on sustainability. [10]
Collins contested the Poole constituency for the Liberal Democrats at the 2019 general election. She came third, with 15.5% of the vote. [1] [11]
Collins was selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for the South West Hertfordshire constituency in October 2022. [12] However, due to the 2023 Boundary Commission changes, she was no longer located within the constituency, and she therefore was made to be the candidate for the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. [13] She was elected to represent the constituency with a majority of 10,708 votes over the second place Conservative candidate Nigel Gardner. [3]