Suella Braverman
Suella Fernandes | |
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Member of Parliament for Fareham | |
Assumed office 8 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Mark Hoban |
Majority | 22,262 (40.7%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Harrow, London, England | 3 April 1980
Political party | Conservative |
Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge Pantheon-Sorbonne University |
Sue-Ellen Cassiana Fernandes[1] (born 3 April 1980), known as Suella Fernandes, is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fareham since May 2015.[2]
Early life and education
Suella's parents immigrated to Britain in the 1960s from Kenya and Mauritius. Her mother was a nurse and local councillor in Brent and her father worked for a housing association. Suella was born in Harrow, London and grew up in Wembley.[3] Her early education was at the state comprehensive Uxendon Manor Primary School in Brent and the independent Heathfield School, Pinner on a scholarship.[3][4]
Suella studied Law at Queens College, Cambridge and completed a Masters in European and French Law at Pantheon-Sorbonne University.[5][6] During her undergraduate studies, she was President of the Cambridge University Conservative Association.[7] Between 2005 and 2015, Suella practised as a barrister[5].
Legal career
Suella is a member of Middle Temple where she won the Astbury Scholarship in 2005. She completed her pupillage at 2-3 Gray’s Inn Square (now Cornerstone Barristers), under the supervision of Philip Kolvin QC, David Mathias QC and Robin Green. From 2008 onwards, she was based at No5 Chambers in London specialising in planning, judicial review and immigration law[8].
She was appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Treasury Counsel in 2010 and represented government departments, such as the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Transport and HMRC[9]. She was involved in the Guantanamo Bay Inquiry on the treatment of detainees by US and UK services[10]. Suella qualified as an Attorney in New York and in 2010 she won the Pegasus Prize and worked at the Manhattan office of Hogan Lovells. In 2010 Suella co-founded, with Cherie Blair, the charity African Justice Foundation which supported community justice programmes and the legal training of lawyers and judges in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda[11].
Early political career
In the 2005 general election, Suella contested Leicester East, coming second to Labour's Keith Vaz. She attempted to be selected Conservative candidate in Bexhill and Battle but was unsuccessful and was eventually selected to be the Conservative candidate in Fareham.[12]
Suella also sought election to the London Assembly at the 2012 elections, being placed fourth on the Conservative London-wide list. She missed out, however, as only the first three candidates were elected.
Member of Parliament
Suella was elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Fareham in 2015 with 56.1% of the vote and a majority of 22,262.[13] She gave her maiden speech on 1 June 2015.[14] She has taken a particular interest in education, home affairs and justice and has written for the Daily Telegraph, Bright Blue,[15] inews,[16] Huffington Post,[17] Brexit Central[18] and ConservativeHome.[19]
Following her election, Suella became a member of the Education Select Committee and the Education, Skills and the Economy Sub-Committee.[20] Between November 2015 to February 2016 she was a member of the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill.[21]
Suella has chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People since September 2016. She led a Parliamentary inquiry and launched a report[22] into the provision of financial education in schools (Financial Education in Schools: Two Years On – Job Done?) and campaigns for better financial education in schools, working with the charity Young Enterprise and the moneysaving expert, Martin Lewis.
She is a Commissioner on the Social Market Foundation commission on inequality in education,[23] a cross-party initiative which is examining the causes and effects of inequality in education at primary and secondary levels in England and Wales.
Suella is a member of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme. She has visited the British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada, the Royal Marines for Arctic Warfare Training at Asegarden Camp in northern Norway,[24] the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers in Rosyth.[25]
Suella led a Westminster Hall debate[26] in the House of Commons[27] on the failings of Southern Health Foundation Trust and chairs meetings with the Trust’s executives along with other MPs to question issues of poor care quality and the deaths of patients.[28] She sits on the panel of an inquiry led by think tank British Future to examine how Government can protect rights of EU citizens in the UK.[29]
Suella campaigned to leave the European Union, with a majority (55%) of her constituents also voting to leave.[30] She is now a vice chair of the European Research Group which works to support the Government and campaigned for the UK to leave the European Customs Union and the Single Market.[31]
Constituency work
![]() | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience.(March 2017) |
In December 2015 Suella launched a new group to discuss local health issues, Fareham Community Hospital Taskforce[32], which campaigns for increased facilities at Fareham Community Hospital. She also set up a Fareham Epilepsy Support Group[33], supported by the charity Young Epilepsy Support, which supports those with the condition, as well as their carers, relatives and friends[34].
Suella has campaigned for improvements to areas of the M27 that run through Fareham, specifically junctions 9, 10 and 11, and has raised traffic problems in Fareham with the Chancellor[35] and Prime Minister[36].
In early 2016, Suella campaigned on behalf of Fareham’s coastal community over EU restrictions on the fishing of sea bass [37]. She made a speech on the issue during a debate in February 2016[38]
Suella hosts an annual senior citizens fair[39] and an apprenticeships and jobs fair[40].
Free schools
She is Chair of Governors at the Michaela Community School,[41] and supports plans to create a free school in Fareham.[42][43] She sits on the Advisory Board of the New Schools Network,[44] a charity which aims to support groups setting up free schools within the English state education sector.
References
- ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Election 2015: Fareham parliamentary constituency". BBC.
- ^ a b "About Suella". Suella Fernandes. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ McGauran, Ann (2 July 2015). "Who's on the new education select committee?". Schools Week. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Fernandes, Sue-Ellen Cassiana, (Suella)". Who's Who 2017. A & C Black. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ^ "What happened next?". The Guardian. 30 April 2005.
- ^ Arthur, Sylvia (6 September 2003). "The road to No 10". The Guardian.
- ^ "No5 - Suella Fernandes - Planning & Environment". www.no5.com. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES TO WATCH – ICG". weareicg.com. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "Speaking up for others". Suella Fernandes MP. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "Suella Fernandes". Conservatives.com. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ Rigby, Elizabeth (10 December 2014). "'Being brown and a woman handicaps' candidate says Tory". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ House of Commons Library Briefing Number CBP7186, 28 July 2015, "General Election 2015". Available: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7186
- ^ The Portsmouth News. (2 June 2015). New MP for Fareham pledges her commitment in her maiden speech. See:http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/new-mp-for-fareham-pledges-her-commitment-in-her-maiden-speech-1-6775407
- ^ Bright Blue. (Dec 2016). A sense of belonging: STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE. Read more at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56b86960ab48dee538532db7/t/5853b2d837c581f51a0ff1a9/1481880285701/A+sense+of+belonging.pdf
- ^ i news.(13 March 2017). "Brexit will be a great thing for women". Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/opinion/brexit-will-great-thing-women/
- ^ Huffington Post.(10 March 2017). "I’m Proud Of This Government’s Action On Domestic Abuse". Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/suella-fernandes/domestic-abuse_b_15282830.html
- ^ Read more at: http://brexitcentral.com/author/suella-fernandes/
- ^ Read more at: http://www.conservativehome.com/?s=suella+fernandes
- ^ See: https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/suella-fernandes/4475
- ^ See: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/draft-investigatory-powers-bill/membership/
- ^ Young Enterprise: APPG on Financial Education for Young People Report Launch in Parliament. Read more at:https://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/appg-on-financial-education-for-young-people-report-launch-in-parliament/
- ^ See this page with a list of Commissioners: http://www.smf.co.uk/commission-on-inequality-in-education/#the-commissioners
- ^ Minus 10 Degrees with the Royal Marines in the Arctic Circle. Suella Fernandes MP. Read more at:https://www.suellafernandes.co.uk/news/minus-10-degrees-royal-marines-arctic-circle
- ^ Visit to Rosyth. Suella Fernandes MP. Read more at:https://www.suellafernandes.co.uk/news/visit-rosyth-dockyard
- ^ The Portsmouth News, Debate to be held at Westminster on criticised NHS Trust. Read more at: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/our-region/fareham/debate-to-be-held-at-westminster-on-criticised-nhs-trust-1-7401474
- ^ The debate can be read here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-06-08/debates/16060835000001/SouthernHealthNHSFoundationTrust
- ^ ITV News, Jan 2016, "Fareham MP chairs Southern Health meeting in Parliament". Read more at: http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2016-01-18/fareham-mp-chairs-southern-health-meeting-in-parliament/
- ^ British Future, Aug 2016,New Inquiry to examine how Government can protect rights of EU citizens in UK. Read more at: http://www.britishfuture.org/articles/inquiry-how-government-can-protect-rights-of-eu-citizens-in-uk/
- ^ The Portsmouth News, June 2016, "Brexit: Fareham result and reaction". Read more at: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-fareham-result-and-reaction-1-7447611
- ^ See: http://brexitcentral.com/author/suella-fernandes/
- ^ "Fareham Community Hospital Taskforce". Suella Fernandes MP. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ The Portsmouth News, Nov 2015, "Fareham MP sets up a group for those living with effects of epilepsy". Read more at: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/health/fareham-mp-sets-up-a-group-for-those-living-with-effects-of-epilepsy-1-7056901
- ^ "Launching Fareham Epilepsy Support Group". Suella Fernandes MP. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Calling on the Chancellor to fund M27 and Stubbington Bypass". Suella Fernandes MP. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Hampshire MP urges PM to spend millions and fix traffic problems on M27". Daily Echo. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Fishermen in Warsash raise concerns about bass restrictions". www.portsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Recreational Sea Bass Fishing - Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "MP hosts fair to help tackle loneliness among Hampshire elderly". Daily Echo. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Opportunities on offer at Fareham MP's apprenticeships fair". www.portsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ Fernandes, Suella (16 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn should join our crusade for better education". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ Barber, Kimberley (11 December 2015). "Volunteers wanted to bring A-levels back in to town". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ Campbell, Loughlan (8 June 2016). "Bid for new Fareham school to offer A-levels pushed back to 2018". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ "New Schools Network: Advisory Council". New Schools Network. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- 1980 births
- Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
- British politicians of Indian descent
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Living people
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- UK MPs 2015–17
- 21st-century women politicians
- British people of Kenyan descent
- British people of Mauritian descent