Chris Leslie
Christopher Leslie | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Shipley | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 5 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Marcus Fox |
| Succeeded by | Philip Davies |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 June 1972 Keighley, West Yorkshire, England |
| Political party | Labour/Labour Co-operative |
| Spouse | Nicola Murphy |
| Alma mater | University of Leeds |
Christopher Michael Leslie (28 June 1972) is a British politician. He is a Member of Parliament for Nottingham East for the Labour and Co-operative Parties since 2010. He was formerly Member of Parliament for Shipley from 1997 to 2005, and a minister in the Department for Constitutional Affairs from 2001 to 2005. He is currently the director of the New Local Government Network[1][2][3]
Early life
Born in Keighley, Leslie went to the comprehensive Bingley Grammar School. At the University of Leeds, he gained a BA in Politics & Parliamentary Studies in 1994 and an MA in Industrial and Labour Studies in 1996. From 1994 to 1996 he was an office administrator, then was a political research assistant in Bradford from 1996-97.[4]
Parliamentary career
Leslie won the seat in the 1997 general election by beating Marcus Fox, a senior figure in the Conservative Party. He held his seat in 2001, but lost it to Philip Davies in 2005. In Parliament, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Lord Falconer for three and a half years. After winning re-election in 2001, he served in various junior minister roles, eventually spending nearly two years as Parliamentary under secretary in the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
He was the Baby of the House, entering the Commons a month before his 25th birthday. He was a junior minister at the Cabinet Office shortly before his 30th birthday.[5][6]
Regularly called a Blairite by multiple news services, including the BBC and telegraph, Leslie never rebelled against a Government position.[7]
Post-Parliamentary career
Leslie led Gordon Brown's successful (though uncontested) campaign for leadership of the Labour Party.[8][9] He is the director of the New Local Government Network, described as the telegraph as a "Blairite policy think-tank."[10] On 14 April 2010, he was selected as the Parliamentary Candidate for Nottingham East in the ongoing General Election Campaign.
Personal life
In February 2005, he was reported as being engaged to Nicola Murphy, a special advisor to Gordon Brown, in Westminster.
References
- ^ The Guardian article on Leslie
- ^ NLGN website
- ^ They Work For You profile
- ^ The Guardian article, ibid.
- ^ The Guardian article, ibid.
- ^ The Telegraph Online profiles of Chris Leslie and Anita Gale
- ^ They Work For You, ibid.
- ^ BBC report on Leslie
- ^ The Yorkshire Post article on Chris Leslie
- ^ The Telegraph Online profile, ibid.