Tom Pursglove

Tom Pursglove
MP
Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Youth
Assumed office
27 July 2018
Leader Theresa May
Chairman Brandon Lewis
Preceded by Ben Bradley
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary
Assumed office
25 June 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May
Sec. of State Sajid Javid
Preceded by Edward Argar
Member of Parliament
for Corby
Assumed office
8 May 2015
Preceded by Andy Sawford
Majority 2,690 (4.5%)
Personal details
Born (1988-11-05) 5 November 1988
Political party Conservative
Alma mater Queen Mary University of London

Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (born 5 November 1988)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician and former parliamentary assistant. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Corby since May 2015.[2] When elected in 2007, he was the youngest Conservative Local Councillor in the country and between the 7 May 2015 and 9 June 2017, he was the youngest Conservative MP in the country.

Early life and career

Pursglove was born in Kettering on the 5 November 1988. He was educated at Sir Christopher Hatton School, a state comprehensive school in the market town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, where he grew up, and graduated from Queen Mary University of London in 2009 with a politics degree.[3]

In 2007, at the age of 18, Pursglove became the youngest councillor in the country when he was elected for the Croyland Ward on Wellingborough Borough Council. The election saw the Conservative Party extend their dominance in Wellingborough, winning 30 of the 36 posts available and notably seeing three teenagers elected - including Pursglove and Ruth Bell (the daughter of fellow Conservative Councillor Paul Bell). Pursglove was re-elected in 2011, but did not stand again in 2015.[4]

In addition to his work as a Councillor, he worked as a parliamentary assistant to the Conservative MP for Daventry Chris Heaton-Harris and worked with the Conservative MP for Wellingborough Peter Bone. Prior to being elected as an MP, Pursglove was Deputy Chairman of the Wellingborough Conservative Association. [5]

Parliamentary career

Pursglove was elected as a Member of Parliament for Corby in the 2015 general election with a majority of 2,412 (4.3%). He won back for the Conservatives a seat that had been lost to Labour in a 2012 by-election after the former Conservative MP Louise Mensch stood down.[6]

In July 2016, following Theresa May becoming Prime Minister, Pursglove was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Robert Goodwill MP, the Minister of State for Immigration at the Home Office.

Pursglove was re-elected at the 2017 general election with a slightly increased majority of 2,960 votes.

In February 2018, following the announcement that Northamptonshire County Council had brought in a "section 114" notice, putting it in special measures following a crises in its finances, Pursglove was one of seven local MPs who released a statement arguing that the problems with the authority were down to mismanagement from the Conservative councillors who led it rather than funding cuts from the Conservative Government. They further argued that government commissioners should take over the running of the Council.[7]

After the publication of the Chequers Brexit white paper and Ben Bradley's resignation over his perception that the Government was not delivering the right kind of Brexit, Pursglove took up the role of Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for youth on the 27th July 2017[8].

Political views

Criticism of the European Union

He was one of the founders of Grassroots Out, an organisation which advocated United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union. Although described as 'a front for UKIP' by Private Eye[9], the organisation was led by politicians from a range of political parties, including fellow Conservative MP Peter Bone and Labour MP Kate Hoey. In February 2016 it was announced that Pursglove and fellow Conservative MP Peter Bone would be speakers at the UKIP Spring Conference. Although rare for representatives of rival political parties to appear at such events, they argued any role they had there would be as representatives of the Grassroots Out group.[10] In April 2016, he was criticised for taking payments of £20,000 from the Grassroots Out campaign, of which he was Chief Executive, which some fellow campaigners argued should have been donated to further campaigning. However, he argued his work had "keep costs to a minimum, allowing us to spend the maximum amount on campaigning", rather than hiring outside expertise.[11] In May 2016, he revealed that, given the choice, he would ultimately prefer to see Britain leave the EU than his party secure another majority at the 2020 election, but also stated that he was a 'loyal Conservative' and had no desire to defect to UKIP.[12]

The Environment

Pursglove has expressed scepticism about the exact scope of human influence on climate change,[13] specifically saying that it was countries like China that needed to take more concrete action, as they produce far more green house emissions than the UK.[14] He has consistently voted against measures attempting to target climate change since becoming an MP.[15] When interviewed in November 2015 he stated he would like to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change, as he considered the roles did not need integrating in a single department.[16] Between 2013 and 2016, Pursglove was Director, alongside Chris Heaton-Harris, of 'Together Against Wind', a lobbying company that successfully helped move Government policy against favouring the installation of onshore wind power.[17] In Parliament, he voted to reduce regulation on fracking and, in light of this, was criticised by environmental campaigners for his constituency party having taken donations from energy firms.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Tom Pursglove, Conservative Party candidate to be MP for Corby – YourNextMP.com". web.archive.org. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Corby parliamentary constituency - Election 2015 - BBC News". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Tom Pursglove". www.votepursglove.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Wellingborough Council Election Results 1973-2011" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Sophie Mcintyre (9 May 2015). "General election 2015: Seven new MPs that you should know about". The Independent. London. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "GENERAL ELECTION 2015: Conservative candidate pays tribute to former Labour MP after winning his Corby seat - Northamptonshire Telegraph". northantstelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "Northamptonshire MPs call for county council takeover". BBC News. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Guido Fawkes on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  9. ↑ "Sceptic Cranks". Private Eye (1411). 5 February 2016. p. 13.
  10. ↑ "Two Conservative MPs scheduled to speak at Ukip spring conference". The Guardian. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Arron Banks anger at Peter Bone and Tom Pursglove payments". BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Tom Pursglove interview: I woke up aged 13 and knew I wanted to be a politician". Total Politics. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Tom Pursglove: Tory's Youngest MP On Louise Mensch, Loving Margaret Thatcher and Why Roger Moore Was The Best Bond". Huffington Post. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  14. ↑ "Tory MP Tom Pursglove On Winning Back Trust After Louise Mensch And Why Roger Moore Was The Best Bond". HuffPost UK. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  15. ↑ "They Work for You". They work for you. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Tom Pursglove: Tory's Youngest MP On Louise Mensch, Loving Margaret Thatcher and Why Roger Moore Was The Best Bond". Huffington Post. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "TOGETHER AGAINST WIND LTD". Companies House. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  18. ↑ "FRACKING UNDER NATIONAL PARKS 'RUBBER STAMPED' BY COMMITTEE". Process Industry Match. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Andy Sawford		 Member of Parliament
for Corby
2015–present		 Incumbent
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