Peter Luff

For the campaigner of the same name, see Peter Luff (campaigner).

Peter Luff MP
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Quentin Davies
Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire Worcester (1992-1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Peter Walker
Majority	15,864 (31.1%)
Personal details
Born	18 February 1955 (1955-02-18) Windsor, Berkshire, England
Nationality	English
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Julia Jenks
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Peter James Luff MP (born 18 February 1955) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestershire since the 1997 general election, and was MP Worcester from 1992 until 1997. He is currently a Defence minister.

Early life

Peter Luff was born in the Berkshire town of Windsor and attended the local Windsor Grammar School (now the comprehensive Windsor Boys' School) on Maidenhead Road. He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, receiving a BA in Economics in 1976, then an MA. Before entering parliament he worked for three years from 1977 as a research assistant to the Conservative MP Peter Walker, before heading up Edward Heath's private office for two years from 1980. He became the managing director of Good Relations Ltd, a public affairs company in 1982. In 1987 he became a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, David Young. He became a senior consultant for Lowe Bell Communications (now Bell Pottinger Communications) in 1989, before again working for Good Relations from 1990.

Parliamentary career

He contested Holborn and St Pancras at the 1987 general election, but was comfortably beaten by the sitting Labour MP, Frank Dobson. He was first elected to Parliament for Worcester, when he succeeded his former boss, Peter Walker. Following changes in the parliamentary constituency boundaries he was selected for the new Mid Worcestershire constituency, comprising large areas of three old constituencies, defeating another sitting Conservative MP, Eric Forth for the nomination. He won the seat comfortably and has been a member of the House of Commons since 1992.

In Parliament he was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in 1993 to the energy minister Tim Eggar, from 1996 he served as PPS to both Ann Widdecombe the prisons minister at the Home Office and Lord Mackay the Lord Chancellor, he held these two positions simultaneously until the defeat of the Conservative government at the 1997 general election. He has served on many parliamentary select committees including chairing the Agriculture (1997–2000), and from 2005 to 2010 he chaired the what was successively known as the Trade and Industry Committee; the Business and Enterprise Select Committee; and the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee.

He is the founder member of the Parliamentary Hunting with Hounds Middle Way Group, and takes a keen parliamentary interest in India.

In the resulting Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition of May 2010, Luff was appointed as a junior Defence minister at the Ministry of Defence, with the post of Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology.

Personal life

He married Julia Jenks in 1982. They have a son and daughter.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Peter Luff MP official constituency website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Peter Walker	Member of Parliament for Worcester 1992–1997	Succeeded by Michael Foster
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire 1997–present	Incumbent