Lee Rowley
Lee Benjamin Rowley is a Conservative Party politician and former management consultant who was elected as the MP for North East Derbyshire at the 2017 general election. It was a notable Conservative gain as Rowley defeated the sitting Labour MP Natascha Engel in a seat which had been represented by the Labour Party since 1935.
Early life and career
Rowley was born in Scarsdale Hospital in Chesterfield. The son of a milkman, he grew up in Chesterfield and attended St Mary's High School. Rowley became the first member of his family to attend university in 1999, when he won an Exhibition to study Modern History at Lincoln College, Oxford. He then read for a master's degree, also in History, at the University of Manchester.Before becoming an MP, Rowley worked in financial services and management consultancy. He has held positions at Barclays, KPMG, Santander, and Co-op Insurance, where he was Head of Change at the time of his election to Parliament. Rowley had also contributed research on welfare and housing to the centre-right think tank, the Centre for Social Justice.
Westminster councillor
Aged 26, Rowley was elected as a Conservative councillor in May 2006 for the Maida Vale ward on Westminster City Council in London. He was re-elected in May 2010 and was appointed as Cabinet Member for parking and transportation. Rowley was transferred to a new role as Cabinet Member for Community Services in January 2012. He stood down as a Councillor and Cabinet Member in Westminster in May 2014 to focus on seeking election as an MP.As the Cabinet Member for parking at the Council, Rowley was tasked with implementing the council's policy to expand evening and weekend parking restrictions, which the Council argued was to improve traffic congestion and pollution, but critics argued was partly for income generation. The policy was supported by some residents, as well as environmental and disability campaigners, but was criticised by some local residents, business owners and religious groups. The plans were dropped when its architect, council leader Colin Barrow, resigned.
As Cabinet Member for community services Rowley received positive national media coverage for a merger of library management across the London councils of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea. The councils and Rowley said it resulted in significant financial savings, ensured all libraries stayed open across the three councils while retaining front-line staff, and gave residents access to one million books. Working with the Groundwork Federation Rowley also helped oversee a new environmental area that opened up a previously closed part of Paddington Recreation Ground.
Member of Parliament
Rowley stood unsuccessfully in the 2010 General Election as the Conservative candidate for Bolsover, where he came second to Dennis Skinner. He stood again at the 2015 general election as the Conservative candidate for North East Derbyshire, again coming second, but reducing the sitting Labour MP Natascha Engel's majority to under 2,000 votes. He was subsequently elected as the MP for North East Derbyshire at the 2017 general election with a majority of 2,861. The result was notable as it made Rowley the first Conservative MP for the seat since 1935.In Parliament, Rowley currently serves on the Public Accounts Committee. He is Chair of an All Party Parliamentary Group, which he set up, investigating the impact of shale gas fracking, and Vice-Chair of an APPG on Ovarian Cancer.
Along with fellow Conservative MP Luke Graham, Rowley helped set up and is Co-Chair of 'Freer', an initiative of the right leaning think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. The group aims to promote a freer society and freer economy, through liberal economic and social policies.
When interviewed in June 2017 by the Financial Times, Rowley said that he had voted for Brexit at the 2016 referendum, but had not actively campaigned for it. The paper suggested that it appeared 'he had deleted social media posts relating to the referendum period that might reveal how he had voted'. He is not a member but has supported positions taken by the European Research Group – the primary Eurosceptic lobbying group within Parliament, currently chaired by Steve Baker – and was one of a number of Conservative MPs to publicly oppose Theresa May's Chequers proposal.
Rowley has obtained government support for the Staveley By-pass, a dual carriageway by-pass of Brimington, Staveley and Mastin Moor that has been planned since 1927.
In October 2019, Rowley proposed the loyal address following the Queen's Speech. He increased his majority from 2,861 to 12,876 at the 2019 general election.
Fracking
Rowley's constituency includes six oil and gas licence blocks, all awarded to chemical firm Ineos by the Oil and Gas Authority under the 14th licensing round in 2015. There are plans for four shale wells, one hrz frac well and 2D and 3D seismic surveying.Rowley has actively campaigned against planning applications in his own constituency for fracking operations. He has also argued against his party's efforts to reduce delays in approving schemes. Rowley argued that the specific Marsh Lane application was wrong in terms of content, location and timing, arguing the rural setting was not right for industrial activity. He stated that he would support concerned residents, oppose it and put his own objections against it to Derbyshire County Council. Rowley was also reported to have had a fiery clash with an Ineos barrister when giving evidence in opposition to the planning application by INEOS for Marsh Lane.
Although opposing one specific application for a site in his constituency, he has said on fracking in general: "I am willing to look at fracking long term and to look at new ways of producing energy long term if they can be proven to be safe and efficient and effective for the country." It was reported in the national media that, at the Conservative Party Conference in October 2018, he argued his party's support for fracking could see them lose a future general election, due to the unpopularity of the process in local areas.