It is a privilege to be your MP here in West Suffolk. Everything I do as your Member of Parliament will be on your behalf and in your interests.
I am married to Martina, stepfather to Keeva and Emily, and father to Sylvia, and we live just outside Haverhill. My parents live nearby in Hundon. I am taken on regular walks by our Irish setter, Monty, and I spend a lot of my time taking the girls to gymnastics and horse-riding lessons. When I can, I enjoy watching football and cricket, and going skiing with the family.
I learned my conservative values watching my parents as I grew up. My father worked in manufacturing, sometimes holding down two or even three jobs, and my mother worked at a local school, helping children who had had a difficult start with pastoral care. We didn’t always have much, but my brother and I were given a lot of love and taught to work hard.
Work and education
I was fortunate to attend a brilliant state school, and from there I became the first member of my family to go to university. Because I appreciate the difference education has made to my life, I am determined to play my part in making sure as many children as possible have the chance to learn in an excellent school, wherever they live and whatever their background.
Before I was elected I worked as a business consultant, helping British firms in sectors from aerospace to finance. I have worked at the very top of government, in the Home Office and in 10 Downing Street. And for a while I ran an education charity, which helped parents and teachers to set up new free schools, like Churchill Academy in Haverhill and Breckland in Brandon. I still write the main column in The Daily Telegraph each Monday.
I always like to keep myself busy, and have done a variety of other things alongside my professional career. I was a member of the Organising Committee for the successful 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. I have served as a board member of the Department for Education and the £250 million Sports Survival Package, which helped local sports clubs through the pandemic. I was a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield, and a visiting fellow at Wadham College, Oxford, and my book about the future of conservatism, Remaking One Nation, was published in 2020 amid positive reviews and widespread acclaim.
My values and our responsibility
I will always be guided by my values. I am deeply patriotic, and believe we all have a responsibility, in our different ways, to serve our country and local communities. I grew up benefiting from a loving family, a strong community and services funded by the taxpayer. I want everybody in our country, young and old, to enjoy the security and opportunity I was fortunate to have.