Prime Minister David Cameron Majority 16,677 (28.6%) Preceded by Brian Mawhinney Role British Politician | Preceded by Helen Grant Name Shailesh Vara Prime Minister David Cameron Nationality British Party Conservative Party | |
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Born 4 September 1960 (age 63)
Uganda ( 1960-09-04 ) | ||
Education Brunel University London | ||
Shailesh Vara MP - LLB and Government Minister | Brunel University London
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (born 4 September 1960) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire in the 2005 general election, succeeding Brian Mawhinney as the Conservative MP for the seat. Vara has previously been a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party. In 2006, he was appointed to the shadow ministerial post of Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. Following the 2010 general election, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Whip in the coalition government. On 7 October 2013, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice.
Contents
- Shailesh Vara MP LLB and Government Minister Brunel University London
- Early life
- Political career
- Breast Cancer Bill
- Personal life
- References
Early life
Born in Uganda to Gujarati Indian immigrants, Vara moved to Britain with his family in 1964 when he was four. Educated at Aylesbury Grammar School and Brunel University, Vara qualified as a solicitor. He worked in the City and West End of London, and during 1989–1990, he worked in Hong Kong. Vara has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First, and is vice-president of the Small Business Bureau.
Political career
Vara has been involved with the Conservative Party since the late 1980s and has held various posts at local, regional and national levels. As Vice-Chairman of the Party, he had a broad range of responsibilities. These included advising Michael Howard, deputising for the Party chairman, party spokesman with the media and looking after Conservative Future (which comprises the 10,000 or so people in the party under 30).
Vara was elected Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire in May 2005. He had previously contested the Birmingham Ladywood seat at the 1997 general election, which Labour's Clare Short held on to, and Northampton South in the 2001 general election, which Vara failed to win by only 885 votes.
At the Conservative Party Conference in 2000, he was awarded the accolade of official "rising star" of the Party, with Lord Alexander of Weedon describing him as a "future Conservative Party leader".
In the run up to the 2001 general election, Vara was a member of the Party's manifesto teams for Law and Order and Legal Affairs.
Vara was opposed to Brexit prior to the referendum on the UK's continued EU membership in June 2016.
On 30 June 2016, Vara confirmed his support for Michael Gove in the impending Conservative leadership contest. Vara said "I have worked very closely with Michael Gove at the Ministry of Justice and have been very impressed with him. He is a man of conviction with a very sharp intellect. He cares passionately about Britain and I believe he has the necessary qualities to lead our negotiations with the EU."
Breast Cancer Bill
The Breast Cancer Bill was Vara's chosen issue after he was one of 20 MPs who were selected at random to introduce a Private Members Bill to the House in 2006 He has campaigned to broaden the age of routine breast cancer screening for women from the present 50–70 age group to 45–75 years. The proposal was not supported by the government, which Vara claimed effectively blocked its progress by talking through to the end of the debate
Vara has given his backing to Breast Cancer Campaign's (BCC) award-winning national "wear it pink" day, and showed his support for breast cancer charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer at a meeting in the House of Commons.
Personal life
Vara is married with two children. He has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.