Alexander Stafford
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Policy
In office
30 September 2022 – 13 November 2023
LeaderLiz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
8 July 2022 – 6 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byJoy Morrissey
Lia Nici
James Duddridge
Succeeded bySuzanne Webb
Member of Parliament
for Rother Valley
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byKevin Barron
Majority6,318 (13.0%)
Ealing London Borough Councillor
for Ealing Broadway
In office
22 May 2014 – 1 April 2020[1]
Personal details
Born
Alexander Paul Stafford

(1987-07-19) 19 July 1987
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
SpouseNatalie
Children2
EducationSt Benedict's School, Ealing
Alma materSt Benet's Hall, Oxford

Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford[2] (born 19 July 1987)[3] is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rother Valley since the 2019 general election. He is the first Conservative to be elected for the seat.[4]

Early life and career

Stafford grew up in Ealing Broadway, was privately educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing, and was part of the Ealing Youth Orchestra and Ealing Youth Choir.[5] His mother was a magistrate and his father worked for a US technology company. His maternal grandmother was a Polish East German refugee, while his maternal grandfather was a Polish Ukrainian refugee who volunteered to serve in the British Army when the Soviet Union joined the Allies, having previously spent time imprisoned in a Siberian Gulag camp.[6]

Stafford studied History at St Benet's Hall, Oxford where he served as president of the Oxford University Conservative Association (in Michaelmas Term of 2007), as president of The Newman Society (in Hilary Term of 2006), and on the executive of the Oxford University Student Union.[7][8][9] Before becoming an MP, Stafford worked for Shell, the World Wildlife Fund and Conservative MP Owen Paterson.[10][11]

Political career

Stafford's political career began when he was elected to Ealing Council in West London, where he has represented the ward of Ealing Broadway since 2014.[12] In November 2019, he was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Rother Valley, a constituency to which he is connected by family ties in Dinnington.[13][14] He was elected at the 2019 general election, becoming the first non-Labour MP to represent Rother Valley in the 101-year history of the constituency.[15] This came as a surprise to the community as the area had previously been made up of mining villages until the closure of the pits during Thatchers leadership.

Stafford has consistently voted against laws to promote equality and human rights [16]

Stafford is a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee[17] and is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Algeria.

In August 2020, Stafford received criticism for an expenses claim of 9p for a journey of less than a mile, one of seven mileage claims of less than £1 within his first four months of being elected. He also claimed £97 for a rail ticket for his wife from their home in London to his constituency.[18]

In November 2020, Stafford secured and spoke at the first ever parliamentary debate dedicated to hydrogen,[19] and he has expressed his desire to see Rother Valley "turned into Britain’s Hydrogen Valley", adding: "It is clear that the success of the UK's national hydrogen strategy is inextricably linked to its location in the North, particularly in Yorkshire and the Humber."[20]

In January 2022, it was announced that Stafford had been invited to join the Government benches, having been appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. This was the first such appointment for a Rother Valley MP since the 1970s.[21] In July 2022, Stafford was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a role requiring him to attend meetings of the Cabinet and aid in the handling of parliamentary affairs within Johnson’s office, including preparations for Prime Minister’s Questions; Stafford responded to the news of his appointment by vowing to "take every opportunity to ensure Rother Valley’s voice is heard at the highest level.”[22]

Political views

Stafford campaigned to leave the European Union during the 2016 referendum.[13]

Stafford has previously named Margaret Thatcher as his political idol, who he believes "was a strong leader who saved the country from where it was headed. Right to buy gave everyone a stake in the country."[11] However, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stafford argued for the importance of a "green recovery" which would avoid mistakes made during the premiership of Thatcher: "In the 1980s under Thatcher, the closure of the coal mines, there was a cliff edge, a cut-off, that created lots of social problems and economic problems. We need to manage the transition better. We can't leave anyone behind."[23]

Stafford described himself as belonging to the political tribe of David Cameron and was a supporter of Cameron's Big Society policy "as things like Free Schools give power to local bodies. People know best how to run their own lives."[11] One of Stafford's contributions at Prime Minister's Questions in 2021 was described as that "of a proper old-school Law and Order Tory: tough on crime and anti-social behaviour."[24]

In May 2021 Stafford wrote an essay entitled "Social Conservatism – Turning the Red Wall Blue for Years to Come" for inclusion in Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age published by the Common Sense Group, an informal group of Conservative MPs.[25]

Stafford endorsed Liz Truss during the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[26]

Personal life

Stafford lives in Harthill,[27] a village of his constituency, with his wife Natalie and their daughters Persephone, who was born in April 2020,[28] and Charlotte, who was born in December 2021.[29] His elder brother, Gregory Stafford, is the former Leader of the Conservative Group on Ealing Council in London, where he represents Hanger Hill ward.[30][31]

Stafford is a Catholic.[32]

His brother Gregory Stafford was selected in 2023 as the Conservative candidate for the new Farnham and Bordon constituency.[33]

References

  1. ↑ "Councillor Alexander Stafford". Ealing Council. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Members Sworn". Hansard. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  4. ↑ "Rother Valley parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC.
  5. ↑ "Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford". Who Can I Vote For?. Democracy Club. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "New MP for Rother Valley Alexander Stafford says 'there are no safe seats now' after Labour's election defeat". Yorkshire Post. 2 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "OUTRG merges with OUCA". Cherwell. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "Past Presidents – The Newman Society". The Newman Society. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "OUSU Student Council Minutes – 3rd Week Council MT 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". PoliticsHome.com. 16 December 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 "Rainbow Tories: The geek, the fundraiser and the Tanzanian immigrant's son". London Evening Standard. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. ↑ Stafford, Alexander (26 January 2015). "Cllr Alexander Stafford: Even an opposition councillor can make a difference". Conservative Home. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. 1 2 "Rotherham Conservatives name three candidates to contest General Election". Rotherham Conservatives. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". The House. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "General election results: First ever Tory MP for Rother Valley". Rotherham Advertiser. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  16. ↑ https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25864/alexander_stafford/rother_valley/votes
  17. ↑ "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee – Membership". UK Parliament. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Upton, Michael (5 August 2020). "MP claims a 9p trip on expenses". Rotherham Advertiser. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  19. ↑ Alexander Stafford MP [@Alex_Stafford] (26 November 2020). "I am delighted to have secured & be speaking in the first ever debate in Parliament dedicated to hydrogen. Fittingly, I travelled to work today in a hydrogen taxi & hope very soon hydrogen will power our national transport networks" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Blow, John (26 November 2020). "Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford wants region's industrial heartlands to be 'Britain's Hydrogen Valley'". The Yorkshire Post.
  21. ↑ Jackson, Sam (25 January 2022). "Rother Valley MP joins Government benches as he is promoted to the Ministry of Defence". Worksop Guardian.
  22. ↑ Dennison, Gareth (11 July 2022). "Alexander Stafford becomes Boris Johnson's parliamentary private secretary". Rotherham Advertiser.
  23. ↑ Harvey, Fiona (21 May 2020). "Government will push for green coronavirus recovery, says Tory MP". The Guardian.
  24. ↑ Grant, Madeleine (20 January 2021). "Boris Johnson gets a muted reception at PMQs as Storm Zoom causes chaos". The Telegraph.
  25. ↑ Stafford, Alexander (May 2021). Social Conservatism – Turning the Red Wall Blue for Years to Come in Hayes, John (ed.). Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age (pdf). Common Sense Group.
  26. ↑ Stafford, Alexander (2 August 2022). "Truss is the candidate for change". The Times. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Alexander Stafford, MP (4 March 2021). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). UK Parliament: House of Commons. col. 376.
  28. ↑ Alexander Stafford MP [@Alex_Stafford] (27 April 2020). "Pleased to introduce to the world Persephone Elizabeth Lilly Stafford who was born on Thursday 23rd April 2020, St. George's Day, weighing in at 7lbs 11oz. Mother and Persephone now at home and doing well. Natalie has been a complete trooper" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ↑ Alexander Stafford MP [@Alex_Stafford] (13 January 2022). "If it's in the @rotherhamtiser it must be official!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ↑ Council, Ealing. "Ealing Councillor profiles".
  31. ↑ Scott, Geraldine (27 February 2020). "MP accuses council Labour Party of 'playing silly games' over 'part-timer' accusations". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  32. ↑ Stafford, Alexander. "Debate: Persecution of Christians and Freedom of Religion or Belief - 21st Oct 2020 Alexander Stafford extracts from Persecution of Christians and Freedom of Religion or Belief (21st October 2020)". www.parallelparliament.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  33. ↑ https://conservativehome.com/2023/08/25/stafford-selected-in-farnham-and-borden-for-having-concentrated-on-the-constituency/
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