Alec Edward Shelbrooke is a British Conservative politician who has been Member of Parliament for Elmet and Rothwell since 2010. Shelbrooke won with 42.6 per cent of votes cast in the new constituency of Elmet and Rothwell. The seat was number 107 on the Conservative target list. Shelbrooke was re-elected with increased majorities at the 2015 general election and the 2017 general election, in both elections winning more votes than any other Conservative candidate in West or South Yorkshire.
Early life
Born in 1976 in Bromley, Kent, Shelbrooke was educated at Saint George's Church of England Comprehensive School, Gravesend, and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brunel University in 1998. After leaving university, Shelbrooke worked as a kitchen and bathroom fitter, and later as a project administrator at the University of Leeds. He has lived in the constituency since 1999.
Political career
He was a campaign manager during the 2001 General Election, has fought four local elections and unsuccessfully stood in Wakefield at the 2005 General Election. He was Deputy Chairman of Elmet Conservative Association from 2001 to 2004. In November 2010, Shelbrooke was confirmed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Minister of State for TransportTheresa Villiers. In September 2012, Shelbrooke was made PPS to Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Mike Penning. He announced his delight at taking over the responsibility for "Northern Island" on Twitter and later blamed the spelling mistake on autocorrect. In December 2012, Shelbrooke introduced a Ten Minute Rule bill under which UK welfare claimants would be issued with a cash card instead of receiving their benefits in cash. The card would only permit claimants to make purchases such as food, clothing, energy, travel and housing, and prevent them purchasing items considered non-essential, such as cigarettes, alcohol, satellite television, and gambling. In May 2013, Shelbrooke was one of the 'rebel' Tory MPs who voted to 'express regret' at the lack of a referendum bill in the Queen's speech. He subsequently voted in favour of a 2017 referendum on continued EU membership and opposed a rebel motion calling for it to be held in 2014. Shelbrooke was re-elected to the House of Commons in May 2015 with 27,978 votes in Elmet and Rothwell. He gained 4,201 more votes than he had gained at the 2010 election, and his majority over the next candidate in second place increased by 4,969. Shelbrooke spoke in the Commons in support of the government's Trades Unions Bill on 15 September 2015, summarising: "..the Bill will start the process of restoring faith in the trade union movement so that those in the private sector can feel that they have workplace representation without a militant tendency that could destroy their livelihood or fund a political party that they do not agree with." Following his speech and during the debate he was picked up on the BBC Newsbeat camera apparently asleep, "resting his eyes" according to the subtitled caption. The allegation was tweeted but later retracted when it was explained Shelbrooke, who is partially deaf, was listening to the debate via speaker device beside his seat. BBC Newsbeat tweeted their retraction: Very heartfelt apologies to @alecshelbrooke MP. He is partially deaf and was listening on a speaker. Shelbrooke was opposed to the UK leaving the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum. Shelbrooke backed Jeremy Hunt in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Views
From his working background, Shelbrooke describes himself as a "Conservative Trade Unionist" and is member of union reform campaigning groups Blue Collar Conservatism and The Trade Union Reform Group.
