Derek Thomas (politician)

Derek Thomas
MP
Member of Parliament
for St Ives
Assumed office
8 May 2015
Preceded by Andrew George
Majority 312 (0.6%)
Personal details
Born (1972-07-20) 20 July 1972
Cornwall, United Kingdom
Political party Conservative

Derek Gordon Thomas[1] is a British Conservative Party politician and former property developer. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Ives since the general election in May 2015.[2]

Early life and career

Thomas was born on the 20 July 1972 in Cornwall to parents who were missionaries.[3] He grew up in West Cornwall[3] and went on to complete a traditional Cornish Mason Apprenticeship.[3][4]

He studied in South London and then returned to West Cornwall to be a development manager for Mustard Seed, a voluntary organisation in Helston, Cornwall[3] which he used to use to demonstrate his strong religious beliefs to local school children, and Chapel Street Methodist Church, Penzance.[4] He later started his own small construction business.[3] At this time he helped develop community projects to support vulnerable adults.[5]

Political career

Thomas was first elected as a candidate for the Conservative Party at a by-election in November 2005 for Penzance Central ward on Penwith District Council. He narrowly beat the Liberal Democrat candidate and subsequently opposed the creation of a unitary Cornwall Council. In May 2009, he did not stand for the new Penzance Central ward on the amalgamated Cornwall Council and the seat was narrowly won by the Liberal Democrat candidate.[3] [6]

He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of St Ives for the Conservative Party at the 2010 general election, coming 1,719 votes behind the Liberal Democrat incumbent Andrew George. However, in the following general election in May 2015 he subsequently took the seat.

In January 2016, Thomas was one of 72 MPs who voted down an amendment in Parliament on rental homes being “fit for human habitation” who were themselves landlords who derived an income from a property.[7]

Thomas supported Brexit in the 2016 European Union Referendum [8]

Thomas once again contended for the St Ives seat in the 2017 general election, his campaign including a visit by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Andrea Leadsom to his Penzance office. He went on to be re-elected with an increased vote share, but a diminished majority of 312.

In the House of Commons he sits on the Health and Social Care Committee. He has previously sat on the Science and Technology Committee.[9] Thomas is currently the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours.

Personal life

Thomas lives in London and the village of St Buryan with his wife Tamsin and their three young children.[10] [11]

References

  1. ↑ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9120.
  2. ↑ "St Ives". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Derek Thomas - Prospective MP". St. Ives & The Isles of Scilly Conservatives. Cornwall, United Kingdom. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Meet the candidates: Derek Thomas, Conservative, (West Cornwall)". The West Briton. Truro, Cornwall. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Burton, Sarah. "About Me". derekthomas.org. Penzance, Cornwall. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "About Derek". Personal website. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Tories vote down law requiring landlords make their homes fit for human habitation". Independent. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Read. "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence? | Coffee House". Blogs.spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "Derek Thomas". Parliament UK. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "About Derek". Personal website. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "IPSA". GOV.UK. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Andrew George		 Member of Parliament
for St Ives
2015–present		 Incumbent
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