Steve Double

Career

Double served on Cornwall Council and as a town councillor and deputy mayor of St Austell before his selection as Conservative candidate for St Austell and Newquay in the general election.

Steve has worked hard to secure Government money towards a £100m investment fund for Cornish businesses.

Steve has worked to make Newquay the frontrunner to be the location of the UK Spaceport, with the bid now submitted awaiting an outcome.

Steve has secured Government backing for the new A30 link road to St Austell, something which people have wanted and talked about for years, but which has only got moving since Steve was elected as the MP for the area.

Steve has worked with the Government to increase NHS funding across Cornwall including a mental health in-patient facility for young people, £1m funding for Treliske’s A&E and £24m for social care which will relieve pressure from delayed discharges from Treliske Hospital. At the same time, the Cornish STP has received the minimum financial uplift, causing severe financial challenges for the local NHS which faces a much older population that average.

Working with his team, Steve has assisted nearly 3,000 people since his election with casework across a wide range of issues. Securing tens of thousands of pounds of delayed benefit payments for constituents.

He has replied to more than 10,000 people on policy matters.

He has spoken in 114 debates in Parliament since his election, well above average amongst MPs.

Steve has attended over 300 local events, including visiting nearly every school across Mid-Cornwall and has a popular programme for schools to visit him in Parliament.

In Parliament Steve chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Protect Our Waves, working with Cornish charity Surfers Against Sewage, leading the fight against marine litter and protecting our beaches and seas which are so important to Mid-Cornwall.

He is also co-chair of the Regional Airports APPG which works to lobby government on behalf of small regional airports. In this role, he has been able to effectively support Cornwall Newquay Airport which was recently named the best regional airport in the country by one national newspaper.

Steve sits on the European Scrutiny Committee, which is expected to play an important role in our Brexit negotiations.

Steve also sits on the Petitions Committee., and has led several debates on subjects ranging from school term time holiday rules to the cost of car insurance for young people.

Steve is also vice-chair of the Parliamentary Beer Group which works to support pubs and breweries. In this role, he has been able to actively support the work of St Austell Brewery – an important Mid-Cornwall business and employer.

Steve is also a member of the influential Ceramics All Party Parliamentary Group which represents the ceramics industry which includes China Clay. In this role he has been able to influence government policy on issues effecting this important local industry to reduce the tax burden and promote china clay exports post Brexit.

Steve also sits on the important Parliamentary Space Committee where he has been able to promote Newquay as the frontrunner to be the location of the UK’s first spaceport. This would be a huge boost to Mid-Cornwall's local economy and would create up to 1000 well paid jobs. Steve is well known in Parliament for his active support for Newquay Airport and has met with Government Ministers dozens of times in order to secure their support.

Steve is the vice-chair of the Parliamentary Group for Fatherhood and has spoken up for the important role dads play in the family and worked for more government support for Fathers.

Double supported the "Leave" campaign in the 2016 European Union membership referendum.

Personal life

As of June 2015 Double was one of 125 MPs who employed a member of their family; he was reported to have employed his wife as a senior caseworker and diary secretary.

In June 2016 the MP, who is an evangelical Christian, admitted an extra-marital affair with a married 26-year-old aide. Double had reportedly kept this secret from his wife of 30 years. The BBC later reported that Double's constituency party deputy chairman had resigned, suggesting Double, who had claimed to promote family life, should do the same. They also examined the public's changing view of morality and quoted political historian Matt Cole who said that whilst the public was now more tolerant of infidelity, it did object to hypocrisy.

In February 2017 Double participated in a Westminster Hall debate about marriage, stating that he was "surprised... to learn that last year the Government spent more money on repairing cathedrals than on supporting marriage and family relationships." He called on the government to "put more resources into supporting marriage".