Matthew Offord
Matthew Offord | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Hendon | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Dismore |
| Majority | 3724 (7.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 September 1969 Alton, Hampshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Claire Michelle Rowles[1] |
| Residence | Hendon |
| Alma mater | Nottingham Trent University Lancaster University King's College London |
| Occupation | Political Analyst at the BBC [2] |
| Committees | AWEPA Governing Council |
| Website | http://www.matthewofford.co.uk |
Matthew James Offord[3] FRGS (born 3 September 1969)[4] is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Hendon in North London. He is also a member of the AWEPA Governing Council.[5]
Early life and education
Offord was state-educated at Amery Hill School, Alton, Hampshire,[6] and studied at Nottingham Trent University where he first became involved in the Conservative Party. After graduation, he gained a master's degree from Lancaster University[citation needed] and was awarded a PhD at King's College London in 2011.[7] Offord is a keen sailor on the Welsh Harp Reservoir and competed in the 2009 Fastnet Race.[citation needed] He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and undertook a 2,000 km exploration of the Libyan Desert in 2005.[citation needed]
Politics
Offord stood unsuccessfully at the 2001 general election for the safe Labour seat of Barnsley East and Mexborough where he failed to defeat the sitting MP, Jeff Ennis. He was elected to serve the Hendon ward on the London Borough of Barnet's Council in 2002[8] and became chairman of the Hendon Conservative Association and deputy leader of the Council while working for the BBC as a political analyst. He became MP for Hendon at the 2010 general election, winning the seat from Labour's Andrew Dismore with a 4.1% swing to give a slender majority of 106.[2]
In 2013 Offord claimed "there is a clear trend of attacking religion at the moment" as he proposed an amendment to the Local Government Act to allow prayers to take place at council meetings, which had been outlawed by a High Court decision.[9] He also described same-sex marriage as an "attack on religion".[9]
In 2015, Offord successfully retained his seat in Hendon, increasing the 2010 Conservative majority of 106 votes to 3,724.
References
- ^ "Hendon's new MP, Matthew Offord, marries – Gazette". Conservativehome.blogs.com. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Matthew Offord – Parliamentary candidates – Telegraph". Ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ [2] Archived 21 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Hendon". ukpollingreport.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "King's College London – Completed PhD Students". Kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Matthew Offord, Conservative, Hendon". Yourlocalguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ a b Hewett, Chris (20 June 2013). "Prayer ban and same-sex marriage part of 'campaign against religious beliefs', says Hendon MP Matthew Offord". Hendon and Finchley Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
External links
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- Use dmy dates from December 2012
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