Charlotte Leslie

Charlotte Leslie MP
Member of Parliament for Bristol North West
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Doug Naysmith
Majority	3,274 (6.5%)
Personal details
Born	(1978-08-11) 11 August 1978 Liverpool
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Oxford University
Website	charlotteleslie.com

Charlotte Ann Leslie (born 11 August 1978 in Liverpool) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bristol North West constituency on 6 May 2010.

She attended Badminton School and Millfield.

After studying Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, she went on to work for the BBC and the Policy Exchange think-tank specialising in education (especially special needs education) before becoming an adviser to the Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills, David Willetts. Until her election to Parliament, she was the editor of Crossbow Magazine, the quarterly journal of the Bow Group Conservative Party think tank. She made her maiden speech on 2 June 2010.

Leslie is a trustee of the Teacher Development Trust.

Leslie is a member of rail campaign group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways.

Early Life

Born in Liverpool in 1978 [4], Leslie moved to Bristol aged two. She attended Badminton School in Westbury-on-Trym in her constituency and Millfield, before studying Classics at Balliol College, Oxford. [5] She graduated in 2001. [6]

Her father worked as an orthopaedic surgeon at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and the Bristol Royal Infirmary. [7] Her mother is a British triathlon champion for her age group [8], and in 2013, finished 9th in the World Triathlon Grand Final. [9]

She used to swim competitively, representing City of Bristol, and made the age-group national finals in 200m and 100m backstroke. [7]

Career

Whilst at university, and immediately afterwards, Leslie worked as a lifeguard on the beaches of North Cornwall, and then as a swimming coach and gym instructor at Thornbury Leisure Centre and part-time in a local pub. She later worked in television, for the BBC on The Weakest Link and The Holiday Programme, as well as on independent programmes on the BBC and Sky. [7] She has also worked as a part-time tutor in Classics and as a governor of Oxford Gardens Primary School in London and Avonmouth Primary School in Bristol. [10]

In 2005, she joined the think tank Policy Exchange. Whilst there, she co-authored the report, More Good School Places, which was the first to recommend a “Pupil Premium” of £6000 extra funding for each disadvantaged child in the country’s state schools. [11] This policy was later adopted by the Coalition Government in 2010.

She later worked as an advisor to David Willetts, the then Shadow Secretary of state for Children, Schools and Families, focusing mainly on special needs education, and for the Young Foundation and the National Autistic Society. [7]

Before her election in 2010, she edited Crossbow, the journal of the Bow Group, [7] and wrote for a variety of publications, including a regular blog for The Guardian [12] and the Daily Mail about life as a candidate. [13]

In Parliament (2010- )

In the General Election of 6 May 2010, Charlotte Leslie was elected as the Member of Parliament for the bellwether constituency of Bristol North West at the age of thirty-one, making her one of the youngest MPs in Parliament. She polled 19,115 votes, 3,274 ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate [14], and achieved a swing of 8.86% from the incumbent Labour Party. [15]

She made her maiden speech on 2 June 2010, focusing on the educational divisions existing in her constituency and praising organisations like Teach First which seek to break down such barriers. [16]

She became a member of the Education Select Committee in 2010, stepping down in 2013 after she became a member of the Health Select Committee. [14] In 2011, she was appointed as the Government’s “Big Society” ambassador by the Prime Minister. [17]

Leslie rose to prominence in 2013 after the publication of the report of the Francis Inquiry into the scandal at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. She was praised for her championing of patient safety and whistleblowing [18], and for her campaign calling for David Nicholson, the Chief Executive of the NHS, to resign. [19] This culminated in her winning “Backbencher of the Year” at The Spectator’s 2013 Parliamentarian of the Year awards. [3]

She has also led calls in Parliament for the creation of a Royal College of Teaching [20], publishing a book on the subject in 2013 [21]. She is a trustee on the Teacher Development Trust. [22]

She re-formed the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Boxing in 2011, and is its current chair [23]. She is also a member of the APPGs on Autism, Beer, National Citizens’ Service and Volunteering, and Sport. [7]

She is a member of the Fresh Start group of Conservative MPs, which campaigns for far-reaching reform of the European Union. She has contributed to its work on social and employment law [24] and on the EU’s impact on the National Health Service [25]. In 2011, she presented a Ten Minute Rule Bill to exempt the NHS from the Working Time Directive. [26]

She was praised in Chancellor George Osborne’s budget speech of 2012 for her campaign to scrap the beer duty escalator, which added 2% plus inflation to the cost of beer each year. Osborne removed the escalator and cut 1p off beer duty. [27]

In Bristol (2010- )

Locally, her work has focused on transport. She has campaigned extensively for the reopening of the Henbury Loop rail line around the north of her constituency [28], and for the introduction of a smartcard on local transport. [29]

She supported the creation of an elected mayoralty in Bristol [30], which became the only one of the cities voting on an elected mayor to choose to have one in 2012.

She is a strong supporter of Free Schools and worked with local parents to form a “Parents Voice” group [31] to set up the Bristol Free School, which, in 2011, became one of the first Free Schools to open.

In 2013, Leslie backed Bristol Rovers’ plans to move to a new stadium [32]. She spoke out strongly against the TRASH group’s opposition to the proposal for a new Sainsburys on the current Memorial Ground site [33]. Her petition on the subject has attracted over 11,000 signatures. [34]

Personal Life

Leslie lives in Westbury-on-Trym in her constituency. [7]

In her spare time, she enjoys surfing, writing, art, Bob Dylan, running and swimming. She is the President of Avonmouth National Smelting Company Boxing Club. [7]

In 2011, website sexymp.co.uk ranked her as the sexiest MP in Parliament. [35]

External links

• Charlotte Leslie MP official constituency website
• Charlotte Leslie MP Conservative Party profile
• Bristol & South Gloucestershire Conservatives
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Contributor page at The Guardian